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The Parish of Niton.
The name itself is suggestive of early Anglo-Saxon origins; "the suffix 'ton' constitutes a sort of test-word by which we are enabled to discriminate the Angol-Saxon settlements. The primary meaning - believed to be related to the Celtic 'dun' - denotes a place surrounded by a hedge. Usually, however the 'ton' included the settler's house. In most cases the isolated 'ton' became the nucleus of a village" [2].
The name of the village is found spelt in a veriety of ways. When the Domesday Book was compiled in 1086, the name appears as Neeton, in 1216 as Newton, in 1507 as Nyton and by 1792 as Niton.
The village proper is situated at the base of St Catherine's Down, near the centre of the parish, and extends in detached buildings on each side in a kind of street. From north-east to south-west, the longest way possible, it does not measure two miles. It is scarcely a mile and half broad in any part, including water, of some 1,400 acres. It comprises the manor of Niton, and the reputed manors or lordships, of Beauchamp and Caine's Court. The soil is a good rich loam producing all kinds of grain.
The population during the earlier centuries probably varied little. "In the return for the year ending 1567, the marriages as being 13, baptisms 59, burials 27. In 1781 the population was 267, in 1801 as 288, in 1831 as 573, in 1851 as 681, in 1901 as 885.
Source: 2. Taylor, Words & Places, p.80
Of Niton John L. Whitehead, M.D., St. And., The Undercliff of the Isle of Wight , Warren & Son Ltd. Winchester. 1911
Submitted by: Roy Richardson
Niton can refer to:
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