Shorwell
Shorwell, lying in a wooded valley at the foot of the windswept downs, has changed little over the years. There are many stone-built cottages with thatched roofs, and gardens filled with flowers; the ancient church; and the manors. There is one shop and one inn.
The most important building is the Parish Church of St. Peter, which is visited every year by great numbers of people. The original Church was built for the tenants of the manor of Northcourt, c. 1100.
The south door and part of the north wall are all that remain of this building. About a century later the little Norman Chapel was rebuilt and enlarged, and in 1440 the Church was completely re-modelled, the tower being the latest part. Since then only two additions seem to have been made, the de Lisle window in the south wall, and the south porch, dated 1770 on the keystone.
The present vestry was once the gun chamber, the blocked arch having been the entrance for the gun.
The font cover and the pulpit canopy are good examples of Jacobean carving, and were probably given by Sir John Leigh of Northcourt. A monument in the north aisle shows Sir John wearing trunkhose and a ruff and with a broken sword. Behind him is the figure of a little boy. This child died, aged nine months, at the same time as Sir John, and was buried in his tomb in 1629. The adjacent monument is in memory of Elizabeth, wife of Sir John. Their son, Barnabas, was described by Sir John Oglander as "very liberal, so that all men loved his company, and the merriest best companion that ever this Island bred". His two wives and children are seen on a curious brass over the altar in the north aisle – the first wife was the mother of fifteen "hopeful children", but the second wife, in unhappy contrast, was childless.
The oldest brass in the church is set in the floor of the chancel; it is that of Richard Bethell, Vicar in 1518. Recently some of his descendants presented a carpet to cover, and thus help to preserve, this important brass.
The wall painting of St. Christopher over the north door is another treasure of the Church. Other possessions are an Elizabethan silver chalice dated 1569; a fine copy of Cranmer's Bible of 1541, and also a Breeches Bible 1579, and a Vinegar Bible 1717. Near the pulpit is a Jacobean hourglass, which may have been another gift of Sir John Leigh, as was the brass weathercock with the date 1617 on its tail.
There are three local manor houses:
NORTHCOURT was built by Sir John Leigh and completed in 1615. Another wing was added in 1837, and the music and gun rooms in 1905.
WESTCOURT shows traces of three distinct periods; the east wing is of the time of Henry VIII, the main part is Elizabethan, and the west wing was constructed in the time of James I. The manor was once owned by the powerful family of de Lisle. Near the gate of Westcourt is the village pound.
WOLVERTON lies in the valley of the Yafford stream. At the date of the Conquest it was called "Ulwarcombe", and was held by William, son of Stur, passing (probably by marriage) to Ralph de Wolverton, who built a house here. In the reign of Richard II the manor was held by the Dingley family. The early dwelling seems to have stood north of the present site and has completely disappeared, although materials from it may have been re-used in the new structure. John Dingley, Deputy Governor of the Island in the reign of Elizabeth I, built the present dwelling. Part of this house is haunted by a ghostly musician, who has often been heard playing his instrument; it is said that he seems to dislike strangers or workmen in the house.
In Park Lane, on the outskirts of the village, is a one-storied building which was a Dame School until Lady Mary Gordon of Northcourt had the village school built in 1861. The stone and wood used for the school came from the Northcourt estate, and local labour was employed. Lady Mary took a great personal interest in the running of the school, and engaged her butler and his wife as the first teachers. Much emphasis was placed on gardening and needlework. A lady who attended the school in the 1880s wrote "we used to make babies' dresses, socks, gloves and mittens, besides flannel petticoats which Lady Mary gave to the wives of workers on the estate. She came to inspect the garments before they left the school.
When she entered the room we all had to stand up and curtsey." The school building is now used as a Youth Club and Community Centre.
Not far from Wolverton is Yafford Mill, which has a wooden waterwheel. It is principally a grist mill, grinding feeding stuffs for animals, and is in perfect working order.
In 1903, Shorwell's future water-supply became the subject of much discussion, following extensive repairs to the Parish Pump which was on the Green opposite the entrance to Northcourt. It had been hoped that the water could be taken from the well at Northcourt, but finally it was decided to get it from the Chillerton reservoir. This took no less than twelve years to accomplish!
In 1922 a Village Hall was built as a memorial to the men of the village who gave their lives in the First world War.
Of many famous visitors to the Church, one of the most recent was Magnus Magnussen, the TV personality, who came to supervise the removal of an Icelandic picture so that it could be placed in the newly-restored Church at Thingvellir, in Iceland. At the same time, a TV recording team made a short film about the Church.
