Brook, Isle of Wight

Infobox UK place |
country = England
official_name= Brook
civil_parish=
latitude = 50.65247
longitude = -1.45135
population=
unitary_england= Isle of Wight
map_type = Isle of Wight
lieutenancy_england= Isle of Wight
region = South East England
constituency_westminster= Isle of Wight
post_town= NEWPORT
postcode_district= PO30
postcode_area= PO
dial_code= 01983
os_grid_reference= SZ388837

Brook is a village on the Isle of Wight, England. It is situated on the south west coast of the island between Brighstone and Freshwater, and borders a section of rugged coastline facing into the English Channel and towards the famous Needles and west Wight cliffs.

Brook's principal public attraction is its proximity to a section of coast which is used by the public for walking, fossil hunting, kitesurfing and windsurfing. There is a small 'green' by the beach and a National Trust-owned section of land with a small car park. There are no toilets, no cafe and no souvenir shops. A chine leads down to Brook Bay, which is a semi-circular sweep of semi-rocky beach facing south west. The prevailing south-westerly winds scour the beach and alternately either pile up sand from the Dorset coast, or strip it bare, exposing rocks and sometimes fossils.

There is a section of reef extending from the shoreline for about half a mile into the English Channel. The hinterland of Brook rises steeply from the coastal road to join the chalk spine which stretches from one end of the Island to the other.

Brook church is perched on a small hillock at the top of the village. It was rebuilt in 1864 following a disastrous fire on 16th December 1863 [this date quoted from W.H. Davenport Adams, 1873, although Lloyd and Pevsner, 2006, says 1862] . The oldest surviving part of the church probably dates from the 13th century. Brook Manor is mentioned in the Domesday survey, and in the reigns of the three Edwards it was held by the Clamorgan family, who occupied it for more than 300 years.cite web | year = 2008 | url = http://www.wightstay.co.uk/context/brook.html | title = Netguide to Brook on the Isle of Wight | publisher = www.wightstay.co.uk | accessdate = 2008-08-31]

It is linked to other parts of the Island by Southern Vectis circular bus route 7, serving Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport including intermediate towns.cite web | year = 2008 | url = http://www.islandbuses.info/r7.shtml | title = Southern Vectis - bus route 7 | publisher = www.islandbuses.info | accessdate = 2008-05-04]

References