On the Sunday we decided to visit Arreton Barns. We took things far more leisurely on this holiday - only visiting one place each day as opposed to several.
When we arrived there was some sort of re-enactment going on in the field by the car park.
Arreton Barns contains a huge selection of art and craft studios and is a lovely place to wander round. There is also a Maritime Museum and Shipwreck Centre.
The Medieval Carp Pool
The Church of St George is an early Norman church which partially replaced an earlier Saxon church. There is some Saxon work in the present day church. The tower was added to the end of the nave at the end of the C13th and reimbursed with buttresses in the C14th.
There is an interesting story about the Dairyman's Daughter - she featured in a book by the Reverend Leigh Richmond called "Annals of the Poor". Elizabeth Wallbridge was born, lived and died in Arreton. For the first 26 years of her life she lived in a worldly manner and was apparently quite a selfish, wilful and proud person. After hearing a sermon her life changed dramatically and she became very devout and devoted her time to humble studies. She died in 1801 from consumption at the young age of 31. I would have liked to look for her grave but to be honest my time in the church was exceedingly limited as I had yet again managed to get separated from B, D and E and I had no idea where they were!
War Memorial by Percy Stone 1919
Church interior - sorry for the quality of the photos as it was quite a dark church and despite turning up iso these pictures were the best I could manage.
The font dates from 1886 when a restoration was carried out by Ewan Christian.
The font cover was made from an oak beam which came from an old barn roof at Longdown Farm. The carvings were done by a Miss Carol Escort from a design by Ewan Christian.
Pulpit from 1924
East Window
Burma Memorial Window
I went round the church in such a rush that I missed the same features that I missed last time such as the brass of a headless knight who died at the Battle of Agincourt, a C17th parish chest and a fragment of a medieval wall painting!!!!
I would have liked to have had a look round the old village of Arreton just down the hill from the church but instead resumed my search for the family who I eventually found by the Carp Pool.
Timothy enjoying an icecream :)
In the evening we walked part of the Niton smuggler's trail (which I'll write about in a later post) and went for a drink at the White Lion.
The following day we went in search of White-Tailed Eagles and I also managed to squeeze in another visit to a church I hadn't been in before. I'll write about the day in the next post.
All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera and those marked *D were taken by my son with the Canon SX50HS bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would appreciate an email first - thanks).
