By a Correspondent.
Although the roads of the island have within the last twenty years
been rendered passable for vehicles of all kinds, even to stage
coaches, yet by far the best mode of inspecting this English Arcadia
is to travel through it on foot, commencing at Ryde.
From this town a footpath leads across the park and grounds of St.
John's into the high road which may be followed to Brading. About a
mile from that place is Nunwell, the seat of Sir W. Oglander; and
opposite is a delightful view of Bembridge (the birthplace of Madame
de Feuchares) and Brading Harbour, which at high water presents to the
eye a rich, deep, green colour, with an increased effect from being
surveyed through the long line of tall elms on the road side. Brading
boasts of a mayor and corporation, and formerly sent a member to
parliament, which privilege was abolished by Queen Elizabeth. The town
is of high antiquity, as is also the church, which tradition says was
the first built in the island. It contains few monuments of interest
or note, but the surrounding burial-ground can boast of a collection
of epitaphs and inscriptions which are above mediocrity. The following
to the memory of Miss Barry by the Rev. Mr. Gill has been rendered
celebrated by the admirable music of Dr. Calcott:
Forgive, blest shade, the tributary tear,
That mourns thy exit from a world like this;
Forgive the wish that would have kept thee here,
And stayed thy progress to the realms of bliss.
No more confined to grov'ling scenes of night--
No more a tenant pent in mortal clay;
Now should we rather hail thy glorious flight,
And trace thy journey to the realms of day.
On a rising ground at the end of the town is the Mall; at the entrance
of which the earth reverberates to the tread of horses' feet in a
manner similar to that produced by riding over a bridge or hollow. It
is most probably occasioned by a natural cleft in the chalk beneath
the gravel road. Here the tourist should rest to enjoy a scene of
unrivalled beauty. On the left, below the road, lies the town of
Brading, and more remote, St. Helen's Road, and the opposite coasts of
Portsmouth and Southsea. In front, at the foot of the hill, are the
rich levels, with the sinuous river Yar slowly winding towards the
harbour, with the full broad front of Bembridge Down interrupting the
marine view, which is again presented on the right from the village of
Sandown to the extremity of Shanklin. At the foot of Brading Hill the
road divides itself into two branches. The one to the right leads
direct to Shanklin, over Morton Common: the other to the left lies
through Yarbridge to Yaverland and Sandown. We recommend the latter,
as the farm-house and church at Yaverland are worthy of notice. The
former is a fine capacious stone building, of the time of James I.,
containing some well executed specimens of carved oak. The church is
annexed to the house, and has a curious semicircular doorway. Culver
Cliffs, about a mile and a half from Yaverland, may be approached by a
footpath across the fields, which will also lead to Hermit's Hole, a
cavern of great depth in the side of the cliff. These cliffs were much
celebrated for a choice breed of falcons, which were esteemed so
highly by Queen Elizabeth, that she procured the birds regularly from
the Culver Cliffs, and they were trained with much care for her
majesty's own use. On the shore beneath, but more towards Sandown,
near what is called the Red Cliff, (from the colour of the soil,) many
fossil remains have been lately discovered; some of animals of a
gigantic size.
Sandown Fort is the next object in the road to Shanklin. "It commands
the bay from which it derives its name, and is a low, square building
flanked by four bastions, and encompassed by a ditch. A small garrison
is kept in it. This fort commands the only part of the coast of the
island where an enemy could land. A castle was built near this by
Henry VIII., and its establishment in that monarch's reign was, a
captain, at 4s. per day; an under captain, at 2s.; thirteen soldiers,
at 6d. per day each; one porter, at 8d.; one master gunner, at 8d.;
and seven other gunners, at 6d. per day. Fee 363l. 6s. 8d. It was
erected to defend the only accessible place of debarkation on the
coast from the hostile visits the island had in this and the preceding
reign been so often subjected to; but, from the encroachments of the
sea, it was deemed necessary, in the time of Charles I. to remove the
old structure, and with the materials to construct the present
building. The arms of Richard Weston, Earl of Portland, are carved in
the panels of the chimney-piece in the drawing-room, with the
supporters, and collar of the Garter, and implements of war."[1]
[1] From Sheridan's _Guide to the Isle of Wight_--one of the
best books of the kind that has lately fallen under our
notice.
About half a mile from the Fort is Sandown Cottage, formerly the
elegant retreat of the celebrated John Wilkes, the chief star in the
political horizon, during the administration of the Earl of Bute. The
cottage is situated as the Engraving shows, near the shore of Sandown
Bay, which extends about six miles, the eastern extremity being
terminated by the chalky cliffs of Culver, and the south-western by
the craggy rocks of the mountainous part of Dunnose. The house is
small, and has been elegantly fitted up; in the gardens were some
detached and pleasant apartments, constructed with floorcloth of
Kensington manufacture. But the labours of Wilkes's retirement have
been swept away, and there is scarcely a relic
Where once the garden smiled.
Shanklin may be approached by the sea shore at low water or by Lake
and Hillyards, if the high road be preferred. At this delightful
village seem assembled all the charms of rural scenery, hill, wood,
valley, corn field and water; aided by the wide extended ocean,
reaching to the eastern horizon, with the majestic white cliffs of
Culver at the extremity of the bay on the left, and the long range of
cliffs of every hue and colour gradually declining in height as the
eye glances along to the cottages of Sandown, and then again
imperceptibly rising to their highest point of elevation.
The situation of the village of Shanklin is as romantic as any of the
lovers of nature can desire. The salubrity of the atmosphere and the
proximity of the village to the sea may account for the extraordinary
growth of the myrtle-tree, which attains here an astonishing height.
Virgil tells us this plant is best cultivated on the sea side; but
every maritime situation is not congenial, unless a protection is
afforded from the cold northerly winds.
The chief attraction of Shanklin is the Chine. This is a natural
fissure or cleft in the earth, running from the village to the sea in
a circuitous direction and increasing in width and depth as it
approaches the shore. It was most probably formed by the long
continued running of a stream of water from the adjoining hills; this
now forms a cascade at the commencement of the path which has been
formed in the side to facilitate strangers in exploring their way
through the rocks and underwood. But the admirers of sublime nature
will mourn the ruthless devastation that has thus been made,
ostensibly for the public benefit, to serve private interest. In the
Chine is a chalybeate spring, highly impregnated with iron and alum,
and of course beneficial in cases of debility and nervous affections.