Bonchurch - Kelly 1935 - Civic, Commercial and Private entries- Page 2

BONCHURCH is a parish and village, about 11 miles south from Ryde, adjoining Ventnor on the east.

The old church of St. Boniface, a very small but ancient structure erected A.D. 1070, consisting of chancel and nave, south porch and a diminutive bellcote, is now disused: in 1842 a fresco painting was discovered on the north wall of the nave, but has gradually faded on exposure: on the altar stands a wooden cross with a sacred heart, on a scroll-shaped carved base, and probably Flemish: the south doorway is round-headed and its Early Norman arch is formed of carved stones.

The new church, erected near [the old church] in 1848, is a building of stone in the Norman style, consisting of chancel, nave, transepts, south porch and western turret containing one bell: the church affords sittings for about 400 persons.

The rectory house, a modern building, is pleasantly situated near the new church.

This most picturesque village is a favourite resort for invalids during the winter, on account of the general dryness and salubrity of the climate and of the mildness of the temperature, it being completely sheltered from the north by lofty cliffs : it is warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

The Pulpit Rock, an interesting and striking feature, 400 feet above the sea, is surmounted by a rude cross, and many romantic caves are to be found in the high cliffs.

East Dene, now the Convent of the Sacred Heart, is an Elizabethan mansion. picturesquely situated amid undulating pleasure grounds, on the site of an ancient landslip, and commands extensive views of the English Channel. This mansion was at one time the house of Algernon Charles Swinburne, the poet, whose tomb may be seen in the churchyard. On the estate are the remains of a Roman camp, near which a quantity of human remains were found in 1865.

Monks Bay, where the first Christian monks landed in A.D. 755, from the Abbey of Lire, in Normandy, is situated just below the mansion.

The Rev. James White, a celebrated author, resided here, and the Rev. William Adams M.A. of Merton College, and for a short time vicar of St. Peter's-in-the-East, Oxford, best known as the author of 'The Shadow of the Cross,' 'The Old Man's Home,' and other Christian allegories, and who died 17 Jan. 1848, was buried in the old churchyard; over his tomb is an iron cross, supported in such a manner that its shadow falls upon the stone.

The ownership of the land is divided.

The population of the ecclesiastical parish in 1931 was 502.

By the Isle of Wight Review Order, 1933, part of this parish was transferred to the parish and urban district of Ventnor and the remainder to the parish and urban district of Sandown-Shanklin.

Rating Officer, William Arthur Lamb, Portland house