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Brighstone

Coordinates: 50°38′38″N 1°24′00″W / 50.644°N 1.400°W / 50.644; -1.400
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Brighstone
Brighstone Village
Brighstone is located in Isle of Wight
Brighstone
Brighstone
Location within the Isle of Wight
Area19.7665 km2 (7.6319 sq mi) [1]
Population1,603 (2011 census including Brook , Hulverstone , Limerstone and Thorncross )[2]
• Density81/km2 (210/sq mi)
Civil parish
  • Brighstone
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townNewport
Postcode districtPO30
Dialling code01983
PoliceHampshire and Isle of Wight
FireHampshire and Isle of Wight
AmbulanceIsle of Wight
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Isle of Wight
50°38′38″N 1°24′00″W / 50.644°N 1.400°W / 50.644; -1.400
View of Brighstone from Limerstone Down, looking south-west, with the English Channel in the distance
Brighstone village

Brighstone is a village and civil parish[3] on the Isle of Wight, 6 miles southwest of Newport on the B3399 road. Brighstone was previously known as "Brixton". The name derives from the Saxon name "Ecgbert's Tun".

Brighstone is the largest village in the area locally known as the Back of the Wight[4] and extends toward Limerstone and Mottistone. In Roman times a villa was built to the north, to take advantage of the clean waters of the Buddle Brook.[5]

History

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Brighstone history dates back to the 9th century when it was given to the Bishopric of Winchester by King Egbert.

Brighstone parish was formed in 1644. The civil parish comprises the main village of Brighstone together with the smaller villages of Brook, Hulverstone, Limerstone and Mottistone. The entire parish lies within an area of the Isle of Wight AONB and its coastline is designated as Heritage Coast and Site of Special Scientific Interest.

St. Mary's Church, Brighstone is a venerable old church that has stood for more than eight centuries. The village also features Brighstone Shop and Museum, owned by the National Trust, displaying exhibitions on village life in the 19th century and contains a wealth of information about the Brighstone lifeboats.[6]

In 2021 a newly-identified species of dinosaur was named Brighstoneus simmondsi to reflect that its fossilised remains had been discovered at a nearby excavation site;[7][8] it was discovered alongside another dinosaur, Neovenator salerii in 1978.

Today

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Brighstone is popular with tourists for its thatched cottages and local shops. Several large events are hosted in the village each year, including the Brighstone Show, Art exhibitions and the Brighstone Christmas Tree Festival. The local scout hut functions as a Youth Hostel during the summer.[9]

Notable residents

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The village pub is called The Three Bishops, named after three rectors of Brighstone parish who went on to become famous bishops.[10] The first was the 17th-century Bishop Ken who wrote the famous hymns "Awake my soul and with the sun" and "Glory to Thee my God this night". Bishop Samuel Wilberforce became rector in 1830, and used to entertain his father, anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce. Wilberforce Road is named after him, and Brighstone's village hall is called the Wilberforce Hall. The third bishop, Doctor George Moberly, was headmaster of Winchester College before becoming rector of Brighstone in 1866 and bishop of Salisbury a few years later.

Another notable person who lived in the village in the 19th century was the clergyman and amateur palaeontologist William Fox, who discovered several species of dinosaur in Brighstone Bay.

Bus routes

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The village is linked to other parts of the island by Southern Vectis bus route 12, serving Freshwater, Totland and Newport as well as intermediate villages.[11]

See also

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  • St. Mary's Church in Brighstone is a venerable old church that has stood for more than eight centuries.
    St. Mary's Church in Brighstone is a venerable old church that has stood for more than eight centuries.

References

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  1. ^ Office of National Statistics: QS102EW - Population density retrieved 30 May 2017
  2. ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  3. ^ "English Parishes & Welsh Communities N&C 2004". Archived from the original on 9 January 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  4. ^ http://www.iwight.com/just_visiting/towns/brighstone[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "Home". brighstoneparish.org.
  6. ^ "National Trust | Brighstone Shop & Museum". Archived from the original on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  7. ^ Lockwood, Jeremy A. F.; Martill, David M.; Maidment, Susannah C. R. (10 November 2021). "A new hadrosauriform dinosaur from the Wessex Formation, Wealden Group (Early Cretaceous), of the Isle of Wight, southern England". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 19 (12): 847–888. Bibcode:2021JSPal..19..847L. doi:10.1080/14772019.2021.1978005. S2CID 244067410.
  8. ^ Devlin, Hannah (11 November 2021). "New species of big-nosed dinosaur discovered by retired doctor". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  9. ^ http://www.yha.org.uk/find-accommodation/south-east-england/hostels/brighstone
  10. ^ "The Three Bishops Plaque, St Mary's Brighstone. All three had been previous Vicars of St Mary's". 13 June 2010 – via Flickr.
  11. ^ "Southern Vectis - bus route 12". www.islandbuses.info. 2011. Archived from the original on 25 October 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
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