 Hollier's Hotel at the lower end of the high street,
is a picturesque thatched building, with its walls gay with roses, and
beautiful subject for the artist's pencil.
(click on left thumb nail to view)
The Crab, a neat and smaller Inn
(click on the right thumb nail to view),
but quite equal in picturesque ness to its more aspiring dwelling.
opposite which is a beautiful drinking fountain, in front of which are the
following line by Longfellow:-
"O Traveller stay thy weary feet,
Drink of this fountain cool and sweet,
It flows for rich and poor the same,
Then go thy way remembering still
The wayside-well beneath the hill'
The cup of water in His name"
July,1868
Shanklin is
described in the Domes-day Book as "Sencliz" Gozelin Fitz-Azor holds
Shanklin. The whole was in the Confessors time worth eight pounds,
afterwards six pounds, and now seven pounds" Sencliz is evidently a Norman
perversion of its original appellation, an approximation to which,
obtained in the roll of Cardinal Beaufort, where the church is alluded to
as Johis de Sentling, and exempt from taxation on account of its
insignificance. Probably, the correct meaning of Shanklin may be
ascertained by deriving it from "lynn," common enough in Scotland as the
name of a waterfall. while prefix might allude to the peculiar formation
of the Chine.
In the eighth of Edward the third, Sir John
de Lisle was in possession of the third part of a knights fee in "Shentlyn"
which is described as the estate of a knights fee in "Shentlyn" which is
described as the estate of William Russell, Lord of Yaverland, held of
Isabella de Fortibus, in capite, the manor has passed through
various families :-Dennis, Broad, Alcorn, Popham, Hill and White, into the
hands of F W Popham, Esq.
To the north east of the church stands the
"Manor House" square built, with high peaked roof, heavy cornice, and long
casements of the early part of the last century. In the garden is a large
summer-house where tradition tells that the Pretender's health used to be
quaffed in flowing bumpers, the possessors of the manor being staunch
Jacobites.
 The Chine.
(click thumb nail (left 1880), (right
present day))
Whoever has heard of the Isle of Wight, of "that
beautiful Island which he who has seen can never forget, "has assuredly
heard of Shanklin Chine, the pride of the garden Isle, and verily it
presents some memorable features though by no means so far excelling the
sister Chine of Luccombe; and is indeed, one of those "green spots" in the
"memory's waste" which blossoms so fairly by the wayside of the world.
Shanklin Chine is an immense chasm in one of the lofty cliffs which bound
the bay, in which the parish is situated, it commences nearly half a mile
from the shore, and gradually increases in width until it reaches the sea,
its lofty cliffs two hundred and fifty feet in height, gashed as it were,
with a vast ravine, three hundred feet wide at its abysmal mouth, from
one peak to the other, penetrating deep into the bowels of the earth, with
abrupt precipitous sides terminating on narrow ledges, and then again
shelving downwards boldly on the shore; whose sides of varied hues,
sometimes luxuriantly verdant with lichens, mosses, ivy, and wild flowers;
sometimes diversified with strata of different colours, orange, grey,
black, purple and the deep red of the iron ore. A small but rapid stream
falls over the rocky ledge at the head of the fissure, with a fall of
thirty feet; then widening round through the Underwood and breaking over
the jutting crags, leading far away and sparkling over the yellow sands,
Half way up, on a pleasant terrace stands a
quaint little cottage, around which masses of earth heaped around in
singular confusion. A wealth of wild flowers bloom about the path, and
coltsfoot, hearts-tongue, sea-beet, mallows, and various other plants grow
profusely in the rifts.
 
A fisherman's house stands on the beach,
(click on thumb nail left) (click on thumb nail
right for present day image)
where the rill runs into the waters of the bay. At
the head of the Chine is the picturesque Tower Cottage (Mrs Cameron) which
contributes a pleasing feature to the scene.
Shanklin Chine, according to Mr Froude, was
the scene of the disastrous landing of the brave d' Eulx for a supply of
fresh water, at the close of the unsuccessful invasion of the French in
1549. "The stream was small," writes the historian, the task was tedious,
and the chevalier who with a few companies was appointed to guard the
watering-parties seeing no signs of danger wandered inland attended
by some of his men to the high down adjoining. The English who had been
engaged with the other detachments two days before, had kept on the hills,
watching the motions of the fleet. The chevalier was caught in an
ambuscade, and after defending himself like a hero, he was killed and most
of his followers.
Shanklin Parish Church (St John
Baptist)
(click thumb nail left), situated on a little knoll with groups of elms and other trees
scattered round, and deep gorge of ferns hard by. Though an ancient
foundation built as a manorial chapel by one of the great family of De Insula or de Lisle, about Edward third's reign. It was formerly annexed to
the Rectory of Bonchurch, with which it was held for 300 years, but has
been rendered independent by a late Act of Parliament. It formerly paid an
acknowledgment of 10 shillings a year to its mother church of Brading, but
was separated in the reign of Stephen. It has received so many alterations
and additions that almost every trace of antiquity has vanished. It is a
cruciform building, and consists of nave, chancel, north and south
transepts, and a taper shingled spire rises at the intersection. The
exterior is not wanting in picturesque ness, and it forms a pretty object
in the views around. It was restored in 1859 and 1864 at a cost of £713.
In the interior is a piscina and (until recent years) a very curious oaken
chest, elaborately carved in two compartments with the initials, in floral
ornaments TS., a sword and key, while along the border runs an inscription
in letters:- Thomas Silksted, Dominus:Prior : An. Dni, 1512. It was
probably the gift of Silksted, the last prior of Winchester. The chest was
removed to the manor house. The living is a Rectory in the patronage of F
W Popham Esq, and held by the Rev George W Sonthouse, MA. Annual value £47
5s 8d., with 53 acres of glebe and residence. Rev W Barry Cole BA.
The Church of St Saviour's on the Cliff
(click on the left thumb nail to view the
building as it is today)
(now in the course of erection) when finished will consist of Nave,
Chancel, north and south aisles, tower, surmounted by a spire, and south
porch; the situation of tower is at the west end of the north aisle. This
church was consecrated in May 1869, by Bishop Ryan, for Bishop Sumner,
late Bishop of Winchester. It was designed by Mr Hellyer of Ryde. This
church in itself a proof of the rapid growth of Shanklin, at first
consisted of nave and chancel, provision being made for the addition of
aisles on the north and south sides of the nave, whenever the
accommodation should be required. The south aisle and porch have this year
1871 been built, and the cost of the church as it is at present stands is
about £3500. The general effect of the building, with the exception of the
east window, is pleasing, and when the church is completed, and the north
aisles, the choir seats, and reredos added, the windows filled with
stained glass, it will be in some degree worthy of the beautiful locality
in which it is placed. The parish of St Saviour's on the Cliff was
separated from the rest of Shanklin, and constituted a Vicarage by order
in Council in October, 1869, and the present vicar, the first incumbent,
was instituted in January 1870. It is for all ecclesiastical purposes a
distinct parish. There is no endowment; the benefit arises from seat
rents. The living is a vicarage in the gift of the Rev G W Sonthouse, and
held by the Rev Charles Isherwood Burland MA. Rev William M Harrison, MA curate.
Beyond the east end of the chancel, between it
and the cliff, a vicarage is being erected, from designs furnished by H
Woodyer, Esq. of Graffham near Guildford, the well known ecclesiastical
architect. In it some Gothic features are being introduced with great
success, and it will not only to some extent harmonize with the church,
with which it groups exceedingly well, but in itself forms an attractive
object, and an ornament to that part of Shanklin, and we trust a means of
improving the style of the houses that are being erected in the
neighbourhood.
The parish comprises about 775 acres,
and the population in 1841 was 462, in 1861 was 479 and the registrar's
return for the census of 1871 being 1,425. |
