Bonchurch

Infobox UK place |
country = England
official_name= Bonchurch
civil_parish= Ventnor
latitude = 50.599545
longitude = -1.181629
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= VENTNOR
postcode_district= PO38
postcode_area= PO
dial_code= 01983
os_grid_reference=

Bonchurch is a small village to the East of Ventnor, on the southern part of the
Isle of Wight, England. It is situated on The Undercliff, which itself is subject to regular landslips. A nearby Site of Special Scientific Interest is actually named Bonchurch Landslips (or "The Landslip"). Bonchurch is one of the oldest settlements on the Isle of Wight.Citation |last= |first= |title=WightStay|url=http://www.wightstay.co.uk/context/bonch.html|accessdate=2008-02-10]

History

The presence of a water spring is believed to be the reason why humans first settled in the area where present-day Bonchurch is located. A prehistoric race lived in the area around the Undercliff, land which was wild forest. Evidence has also been found showing that men that lived during the Stone Age had lived near to the water spring. Five burial mounds have been discovered at St. Boniface Down. Evidence has also been discovered showing that the Romans established a settlement in the area.

The Saxon patron saint, St. Boniface, is believed to have visited the Isle of Wight, and possibly the area where Bonchurch is now located, in the 8th century. Legend states that monks from Lyra in Normandy landed at Monks Bay, near to modern-day Bonchurch, and erected a building in dedication to St. Boniface. This building could be the wooden building which is believed to have existed in the 9th century where the Old Church now stands.

The first documented proof of the existence of Bonchurch is found in the Domesday Book.Brett, "Bonchurch", 1.] In the Domesday Book, the settlement was called Bonecerce. 'Cerce' is Anglo-Saxon for 'church', whilst 'Bone' is presumed to have been derived from St. Boniface.

Bonchurch has two churches.Goodwin, "Bonchurch from A-Z", 8.] The oldest one is called the Old Church. The Domesday Book recorded its existence.

In July 1545, the Battle of Bonchurch was fought. 500 French soldiers had landed at the coast near Bonchurch, one of three landings that took place on the coastline of the Isle of Wight by French soldiers.Goodwin, "Bonchurch from A-Z", 7.] 300 Isle of Wight militiamen engaged the French forces, and the militiamen won the engagement. Some accounts state that local women participated in the battle by firing arrows at the French soldiers. The victory is considered to have decisively stopped the French invasion of the Isle of Wight.

Soon after the battle, a number of men from the French fleet which had retreated from the Solent after the Battle of the Solent landed on the coast near Bonchurch. The men were engaged in a military action by English soldiers whilst they were on a mission to collect fresh water on the island. A French senior officer, Chevalier D'Aux, was killed. His body was burried in Bonchurch, but would be exhumed and taken back to France in 1548 after the war between England and France had ceased.

The poet Algernon Swinburne is buried at Bonchurch and his grave is the subject of a poem by Thomas Hardy. He had an atheist funeral which was picketted in protest by his relatives.

References

ources

*Goodwin, John. "Bonchurch from A-Z". Bonchurch: The Bonchurch Trading Company, 1992. ISBN 873009 003
*Brett, Peter. "Bonchurch". Bonchurch: Bonchurch Parochial Church Council.