Brighstone
As in most English villages, the outstanding building in Brighstone is the Church, which dates from 1190. It stands in the centre of the village surrounded by a churchyard, in springtime full of crocuses, daffodils and snowdrops – a beautiful memorial to the Misses Preston who, year by year, planted the bulbs. Over the Church porch is a sundial dated 1721; the figures and words on it are badly weathered, but we are told that it reads, "Go your way into His gates with thanksgiving".
The village is justly proud of the fact that three of its Rectors have been consecrated bishops. Bishop Ken of Bath and Wells was Rector of Brighstone from 1666-70; he was one of the Bishops imprisoned in the Tower for refusing to read James II's Declaration of Indulgence from his pulpit. He wrote a number of well-known hymns in the Rectory garden, including "Awake, my soul" and "Glory to thee, my God, this night". Bishop Wilberforce of Oxford, and later of Winchester, was Rector from 1830-40, and Bishop Moberley from 1866-69 before his promotion to the See of Salisbury.
For some 200 years the Church boasted a peal of five bells, and the village inn, which was then a thatched cottage (now a shop), was named the Five Bells. The inn was transferred to a modern building and was, rather unimaginatively, called the New Inn. In 1973 the brewers decided to change the names of their many New Inns and, at the suggestion of the present Rector, Brighstone's inn became the Three Bishops, thus commemorating the three famous Rectors.
The lovely old Rectory stands just behind the Church. It is not known when it was built, but it was there in the time of Bishop Ken (1666) and Bishop Wilberforce made extensive alterations. One of the most beautiful objects in the house is an old oak door, carved to depict Biblical scenes. Under the front stairs there is a small room said to be a smuggler's hideout, which can only be entered from the kitchen quarters and affords an excellent view of the hall through cracks in the staircase.
Smuggling was one of the main "occupations" of villagers in the past, and a famous smuggler was a Mr. William "Bung" Russell, who lived at Lilygrove from 1865-79. Lilygrove is a house of great age and was mentioned in the Domesday Book; it is reputed to have been the manor house of Uggleton Manor. Mr. Russell was a very canny smuggler who knew the ways of the coastguards, and timed his landings accordingly. He spread a rumour that Moortown Lane was haunted by a flying hare, so that villagers would be afraid to frequent the lane by night, and he could carry up his kegs unseen.
Opposite Lilygrove, on the walls of the cottage called Casses, the outlines of ships can be seen carved in the chalk stones, and it is believed that these were an indication to smugglers as to what contraband would be acceptable and when it could be received.
Brandy, in tubs tied together in pairs for ease of handling, was smuggled mostly from the Cherbourg peninsula. The tubs holding about three gallons, cost about ten shillings each. When nearing the coast, a stout rope was secured outside the vessel's gunwale and the tubs were suspended from it, so that if the boat was intercepted by the Revenue Cutter, the lashings could be cut and the tubs dropped w clear. Bearings were taken so that they could be grapnelled for and recovered later on. The kegs were hidden under cottage floors, ricks, etc., until they could be taken to their ultimate destination.
Further up Moortown Lane a cottage bears a plaque to commemorate the parental home of Miss Maria Mitchell. Richard Mitchell, born 1686, emigrated to Rhode Island, U.S.A., in the early 1700s, and his great-grand-daughter Maria Mitchell (1819-1889) became America's first woman astronomer. She was born on Nantucket Island when it was the greatest whaling port in the world, and the seafaring men relied on the stars for their safety. In 1847 Maria discovered a comet, which was named after her, and for which she was given a gold medal by the King of Denmark.
Farming is one of the main industries of Brighstone, and at Shate Farm there is one of the two oldest Jersey herds in the country. It could be called a "Royal" herd, as it is descended from a Jersey bull called "Windsor", bought from the Queen's herd at Osborne. The mill at Shate is known to have been in use in the 16th century, and is still worked today.
Another old farmhouse is Waytes Court, which was probably the court house of the old manor, once the home of the Waites family. It is thought that the manor originally stood in the Grove, but it is not known what became of it. At the lower end of the Grove are the remains of a small grist mill – the old millstones can still be seen.
In the early part of the century the Military Road, which was originally made as part of the defences against Napoleon III, was reconstructed. The viaduct which crosses Grange Chine was built of bricks which were made and baked on the site.
