SECRET ISLE OF WIGHT: THE ISLE OF WIGHT’S LOST TOWNS AND VILLAGES

In a new series of Secret Isle of Wight, Island Echo looks at 4 of the Island towns and villages that no longer exist.

Island residents often complain about ever-growing towns and villages eating into our countryside. But what of former settlements that are no longer with us?

Some have been lost to coastal erosion and fallen into the sea, others have been sacked by the French, still more have become lost in the mists of time.

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Here are but 4 examples of communities that are no longer with us: Southview, Francheville, Wolverton and Shoflet.

Southview – the village that fell into the sea

Southview is the most recent Isle of Wight settlement to have disappeared.

The hamlet – located under Gore Cliff on the old Blackgang to Niton road – began around 1808, when mineral was discovered in the Sandrock Spring. This became a tourist attraction, with cottages and monuments built around it.

One such monument was a Shakespeare memorial, which was moved to Haseley Manor towards the end of the 20th century. The fountain from which the mineral water flowed remains but is difficult and dangerous to access.

As most Islanders are well aware, the Undercliff is prone to severe subsidence. A massive landslip severed the Blackgang-Niton Road in 1928.

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Southview House subsequently became a nudist colony after World War II, before new age travellers took residence in the 90s.

The travellers were forced to leave by a further devastating landslide in 1994.

None of the former buildings of Southview remain although some of the foundations can still be seen. But don’t visit – it’s dangerous.

Francheville – the forgotten borough

The once prosperous town of Francheville (now the miniscule village of Newtown) was first established in 1256.

It was 1 of 3 Isle of Wight harbour towns planned by the bishops of Winchester (the other 2 being Yarmouth and Newport).

Francheville began with high hopes. The names of the streets in the original medieval grid layout included Gold and Silver Streets. By the middle of the 14th century, the town was said to have been flourishing.

This all changed when the French sacked Francheville in 1377. It never recovered. The plague and the silting of the harbour put paid to a comeback.

In 1584, Newtown (as Francheville was now known) was granted 2 MPs by Elizabeth I in an attempt to revive its fortunes.

Prosperity never returned. At the beginning of the 19th century, it had just 14 houses and 68 inhabitants. And a fancy town hall.

The Borough of Newtown was abolished in 1832. However, much of the original medieval town grid of Francheville remains under nearby fields. This represents a unique opportunity for archaeologists to study a medieval town that has not been covered in concrete.

Wolverton – the ‘town’ sacked by the French

Wolverton was located at the site of present day Centurions Copse, between Bembridge and Sandown.

There is little doubt that Wolverton existed. It was first known as ‘Ulwartone’ in the Domesday Book.

Archaeological digs have found numerous relics of human habitation at Centurions Copse over the years. Those discovered in 1840 were attributed to the Romans. However, the archaeologists had been deceived by the name ‘Centurion’ – a contraction of the name St Urian which has nothing in common with Roman soldiers.

Further digs in 1884 and 1954 discovered stone walls, slate, flint, domestic utensils, pottery and a key, which experts dated to the 12th and 13th centuries.

However, historians believe what had been described in local lore as a ‘town’ in reality consisted of a manor house and no more than a handful of further dwellings.

It is quite possible the manor was burnt down by the French, who attacked the Isle of Wight in 1340, 1372, 1377 and again in 1545. However, no written account of the destruction of Wolverton survives.

Shoflet – King John’s legendary hide out

Between 1066 and 1539, the village of Shoflet or Shoesflet lay somewhere around the wooded inlet now known as King’s Quay.

The name Shoflet derived from Old English fleot (creek or estuary) and scoh (shoe). The scoh was probably a reference to a shoe-shaped spit of land.

Archaeological finds in the vicinity show evidence of human habitation such as red bricks, thick blue slate, tiles and 13th century pottery. Radiocarbon analysis of the timber show buildings in Shoflet to have been constructed between 1210 and 1490 AD.

Shoflet was said to be the site of a medieval market of stolen goods: the plunder of Island pirates upon French and Spanish shipping.

The name King’s Quay was first used in 1769, the vicinity having been called King’s Haven in 1693. The modern name for King’s Quay derives from a supposed association with King John (1166-1216).

After signing the Magna Carta in 1215, King John is said to have retired to Shoflet (although there is no document to prove this).

Please note – King’s Quay is a nature reserve with no public right of access.

Do you know of any further Isle of Wight towns or villages lost in the mists of time or swallowed by the sea? Let us know in the comments…