Thorley   Contents

Kelly's Directory 1886 - Thorley

"Thorley is a parish, in the liberty and rural deanery of West Medina, archdeaconry of the Isle of Wight and diocese of Winchester, situated about 1 mile east-by-south from Yarmouth and 9 west from Newport. The church of St. Swithun is a building of stone with tile roof in the early decorated style, erected by subscription, on a site given by Lord Heytesbury, and was consecrated December 9th, 1871, by the late Bishop of Winchester: it consists of chancel, nave, and south porch, with tower and 2 bells: the bells are from the old church, also the oak of which the pulpit is made. A portion of the old church is still standing, and is used as a mortuary chapel. The regiser dates from the year 1614. The living is a vicarage, yearly value £111, with residence and 16 acres of glebe, in the gift of trustees and held since 1864 by the Rev. Abraham Peat M.A. of St. Peter's College, Cambridge. Lord Heytesbury is lord of the manor and sole landowner. The soil is clay; subsoil, clay. The chief crops are wheat, oats and barley. The area is 1,589 acres and 31 of water and foreshore; rateable value, £1,897; and the population in 1881 was 189." (From Kelly's Directory of the Isle of Wight, 1886)