Bembridge
The parish of Bembridge covers 2,261 acres. On old maps this N.E. corner of the Island is marked as Binbridge Isle, for on one side it was bounded by the sea, Brading Haven, and on the other by the flooded marsh-land at Sandown. In 1338 William Russell, Lord of Yaverland, bridged the River Yar at Yarbridge to prevent his manor being cut off from Brading. The peninsula area was then referred to as "Within Bridge", corrupted to Binbrydge, and finally Bembridge.
Very early inhabitants were the tribes who left their tumuli on the Down. Later on the Normans founded Wolverton with its manor and chapel of St. Eurien, served by a monk from Quarr. The cottages and manor were burnt to the ground by the French in 1340. The chapel fell into ruin after the Dissolution; its site is marked by Centurion's Copse. This name may be a corruption of St. Eurien, often spelt "Urian", or it may equally have been suggested by the finding of Roman tiles and pottery in the copse, which is said to be haunted.
Bembridge remained for years a scanty collection of huts and farm-houses, until in the early 19th century wealthy people began to settle in the village. Edward Wise gave the land for a Church and helped to raise £13,000 for its erection in 1827. Unfortunately, "blue slipper" clay under the foundations caused the building to became badly cracked, and a new Church was built on the same site in 1846. Edward Wise also gave a plot of land for the first Girls' School built in 1828, and in 1883 Sir Henry Thompson, the first Vicar, bought land adjoining the Church for £75 to build the Junior and Infant School which, with various additions, still remains. A new school is now being built in Steyne Road.
In 1834 a Penny Post was in force from Ryde through Seaview and St. Helens to Bembridge, later extending to Sandown.
Between 1850-1900 a Dame School was run by Dame Priscilla Attrill.
The Mortons were one of the influential families who settled in Bembridge over 100 years ago. Col. Morton purchased "East Cliff" and built "Colonel's Hard" for his yacht.
For many years the only water supply for the village apart from wells was the pump in Pump Lane.
The Morton family were instrumental in bringing the railway to Bembridge, and in establishing a horse boat to bring over horses and carriages, and a passenger steamboat service to Portsmouth. The passenger launch "Blanche" was run by "Quilly" Smith and his brother between Bembridge and Portsmouth in 1887, the fares being one-and-eightpence First Class and one-and-twopence Second Class.
The brothers were notorious smugglers, and used to meet their cronies in the Crab and Lobster Inn at Forelands. "Quilly" would slip over to France in a fishing boat, returning with spirits and lace which were hidden in Lane End Copse. A cave in Culver Cliff was also used as a hiding-place for smuggled goods.
Mollie Downer was another leading spirit of the smugglers' gangs. She was reputed to be a witch and lived in Hill Way in a cottage called "The Witch's Cottage" which had been in the Downer family since 1558. She died in 1835, leaving it to the Vicar, Sir Henry Thompson, who ordered the cottage and its contents to be burnt to the ground.
The Haven was successfully drained in 1878, and the embankment road and the railway built. Until quite recently it was a toll-road. The harbour at one time had sufficient water for colliers to call at St. Helen's Quay. Now it can be crossed either by a small motor ferry or by the mill "Wall", which is one of the restored mill-dams belonging to the tidal mill destroyed by incendiaries during the last war.
The last train ran from Brading to Bembridge in October, 1953, and modern flats now occupy the site of the railway station. The Spithead Hotel, built in 1880, dominates the Point, and opposite is the Pilot-boat Inn, built to resemble the outlines of a pilot-boat. For many years such boats were stationed at Bembridge, and their launches were built on the shore of the harbour. The old Pilot-boat Inn was right on the edge of the water, and its cellars were frequently flooded.
A large monument to the memory of the Earl of Yarborough, founder of the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, was erected as an important sea-mark on Bembridge Down. This had to be moved to its present site when the Fort was built as part of coastal defences. The Down is National Trust property and commands extensive views; just visible is Bembridge Windmill, a 17th century mill now restored, and on view to visitors.
Bembridge had its first lifeboat in 1867; it was propelled by ten oars double-banked, and was housed in the old boathouse on the shore. The modern lifeboat is at the end of a long pier, and can be viewed on Thursdays.
