Alverstone
Alverstone is said to derive its name from an early Saxon one meaning Aelfred's Farm; various forms such as Alfredestone have appeared from time to time.
A stone bridge over the Yar marks the boundary between the parishes of Newchurch and Brading, and the first house inside this boundary used to be the Station – river and railway once running side by side to Newchurch. Now the railway is no more. The old Alverstone Mill, to which corn was sometimes brought by way of the river, was mentioned in Domesday Book. It is now a dwelling. During the last war, when all the beaches were closed, Alverstone became a favourite place for outings, with the Mill, and boats on the river, and a charming tea-garden on the river-bank. A little old apple tree beside a stile marked the beginning of a lovely walk, and anglers delighted to fish along the river bank where kingcups, water forget- me-not, comfrey and iris grow, and one may see heron, kingfisher and waterhen. Not so long since it was possible to see otters at play, but now the river is often dredged, and a concrete path crosses a catchment area where the apple tree once stood. A pumping station helps out the local water-supply, and the river no longer floods as it did years ago.
Ten of the village houses were built between 1860 and 1888 by Richard Webster, who later became Lord Alverstone, Lord Chief Justice. One house is still in the possession of the grandson of his steward. There is no public-house, and by the deeds laid down by Lord Alverstone it is unlikely that there ever will be one, for he was against the taking of "strong drink and liquor". The prettiest cottage is Rose Cottage, known to be well over two hundred years old. The Schoolroom, now used as the Church and Village Hall, was built and dedicated in 1897 to the memory of Thomas Webster, father of Lord Alverstone.
Kern (Lachern in 1086, probably referring to a quern or millstone) is the oldest farm adjacent to the village. It lies enfolded in the Downs, and is reputed to have an underground passage. In 1818 the Highway Commissioners ordered road repairs from Mersley Down to the entrance to Kern Farm by "filling the ruts with stones taken from the side of the road where the same could be found" – if "the same" were not available one presumes the ruts remained!
The Websters must have held a great deal of land about here in their time, for on the Newchurch side of the boundary lies Alverstone Garden Village, which was once their game reserve. This village was planned between the wars; trees, shrubs and bulbs were planted, and a few semi-bungalows and country-style houses built; it was then quiet and peaceful, but now development has started again in the modern manner.
A well-remembered character of some forty years ago was Mr. Mackett, a retired missionary, who lived at The Grange; no newborn baby in the district ever went without a shawl, for with his own hands Mr. Mackett knitted one for each little newcomer.
In the days of the railway, the Station was the meeting-place to hear all the news. The local ducks used it too, waddling across the bridge and railway-line to dabble in the little ditch beyond; then, just as the gates had to be closed for the train from Sandown, they would scrabble up the bank and waddle off home. One day the last duck was late, and disappeared under the incoming train, and the horrified engine-driver leapt from the footplate shouting, "Blimey, mate, did you see that?" "It's all right," answered the signalman, pointing to the back of the train; and, sure enough, out from under the guard's van scrambled the last duck, shook herself, quacked a protest, and waddled off home, quite unharmed!
