ST. HELEN'S
"ST. HELEN'S, a parish in the East Medina liberty, Isle of Wight, county
Hants, 4 miles S.E. of Ryde, and 9 E. of Newport. The village of St.
Helen's Green is finely situated on the bay called St. Helen's Road, near
Brading Harbour. The parish includes the ecclesiastical district of
Oakfield, or Seavil, and the hamlets of Sea-View, and Spring Vale, and
Nettlestone. A Cluniac priory was founded here in 1115, which was
subsequently given by Edward IV. to Eton College, Windsor. The remains of
the ancient watch-tower belonging to the priory, now converted into a
gentleman's seat, still crown the cliffs overlooking the sea, and command
views of the Hampshire and Sussex coasts. In the Roads outside Spithead
there is anchorage in three to five fathoms, with some dangerous rocks and
sandbanks in the vicinity, but much used in time of war as a rendezvous of
the royal navy."
[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of
Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson (c)2003]
[Last updated: 4th August 2003, 04:02 BST - Brian Pears]
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