CHALE CHURCH
Must be passed in the regular tour, going to or returning from Blackgang; stands close to the road; and though simple in its architecture, has a venerable and rather picturesque appearance—especially its square tower, which proves a great relief to the flatness of the view looking westward to the Freshwater cliffs: dates its erection in the 12th century; and exposed as it is to the rage of the elements, affords an instance of the stability which characterizes the structures of antiquity.
The cemetery of Chale incloses many a shipwrecked mariner—no doubt some hundreds who were deposited, in the course of ages, without any memento whatever: but the public are now more interested, from the circumstance of the unfortunate sufferers in the wreck of the ship Clarendon being here interred,—to whose memory tombstones are erected, on which the date and other particulars of their melancholy fate are recorded.
WRECKS ON THE SOUTHERN COAST.
We have already stated how dangerous this part of the coast is during a south or south-west wind, to vessels unmanageable in a storm: and previously to the erection of the new Light-house, few winters passed without two or more wrecks occurring between Niton and Freshwater Bay. In former times, the waifs, or possession of such remains of ships or their cargoes as were washed ashore, seems to have been a valued right of this, as well as some other manors in the Isle of Wight; and many tales have been told of the inhumanity of the wreckers who in those days are said to have resided in the neighbourhood,—which, if true, are strongly contrasted by the ready zeal and liberality which the present inhabitants display in assisting those unfortunates whom the furious elements so often cast on this fatal shore.
Of the numerous vessels which have been lost here in our own time, the largest was perhaps the Carn-brea Castle East Indiaman, in July 1829: she left Spithead at nine o'clock in the morning, and about six hours afterwards struck on the rocks near Mottistone: the weather being fine, her crew and passengers easily reached the shore. The size of the ship, and the remarkable circumstances under which she was lost, attracted a considerable number of visitors to the spot,—as she was not immediately broken up, though all hopes of removing her were soon abandoned.
A far more disastrous wreck was that of the CLARENDON, a West India trader of 350 tons, which took place on the 11th of October, 1836: and will be remembered with increased interest, as the acknowledged fact of her loss being mainly attributable to the want of some warning beacon on the land, led almost directly to the erection of the splendid light-house at Niton. She had 11 passengers, male and female, and 17 seamen on board: her cargo consisted of sugar, rum, molasses, and turtle; she was heavily laden, and had been about six weeks on her voyage. The preceding evening was fine, and the breeze favorable, and the passengers retired to rest in fancied security, with the pleasing hope of safely reaching their destination on the following day. After midnight the wind increased; but though the ship drove rapidly before it, no danger was perceived till about day-break,—when, already in the surf, there was no longer a possibility of escape. The crew immediately proceeded to set all sail the storm would permit, in hopes of weathering the point; but their gallant efforts could not long delay the fate of the doomed vessel, she continued to drift towards the beach, on which she struck a little before six o'clock, and within five minutes was totally demolished. It would be a useless attempt to describe the horrors of that short but fearful period: all that could be gathered from the statements of the survivors was, that she twice touched the ground lightly, forward, at which time all her people were assembled on the deck; and presently one mountain wave hurled her broadside on the beach with such stupendous force, that the huge hull at once parted into a thousand fragments! The frightful brevity of the whole catastrophe prevented any measures being taken for the relief of the passengers and crew, although the ship was scarcely twice her own length from the cliff; and all perished except the mate and two seamen, who were rescued by the courageous exertions of some countrymen who had hastened to the spot as soon as dawn disclosed the inevitable danger of the vessel.—For some hours afterwards a hideous spectacle was here presented,—the naked and mangled bodies of the unfortunate sufferers, with the remains of the vessel and cargo, were tossed about in dire confusion by the raging waves, or dashed again and again on the stony beach; but before the close of the day, most of the former had been drawn ashore, and the broken fragments of the wreck were strewed on the beach for several miles. Six of the passengers (an officer named Shore, his wife, and daughters,) were buried in Newport churchyard, where a monument has since been erected to their memory; and it is a strange fact that the premises which adjoin that cemetery on the western side, had been but a short time previously engaged for their reception by a near relative, who there anxiously awaited the ship's arrival. Most of the others (as already mentioned,) were interred at Chale.
Subsequently, the wrecks on the island coast have been less numerous, and rarely accompanied by loss of life or any other circumstance of particular interest: the case of H.M. Steam-sloop SPHYNX, however, having excited so large a share of public attention, claims a brief notice. Returning from her first voyage to Africa, she neared the coast during a thick fog about six o'clock on the morning of Jan. 16, 1847: and by the force of her engines was driven over the outer ledge (off Brooke), and firmly fixed in the clay beds within. The suddenness of the accident caused great alarm amongst her crew and passengers (300 in number): and the startling discharges of her heavy artillery quickly aroused the inhabitants for miles round: but daylight and the ebbing tide enabled her people to reach land with no great difficulty,—although a boat, sent to her from another war-steamer, capsized with the loss of seven men. For nearly two months, repeated efforts were made to extricate the Sphynx from her awkward position: and after her masts, guns, and most of her stores and machinery had been removed, and the hull itself buoyed up by a vast number of empty casks, and some decked lighters (called camels), she was at length brought off and towed into Portsmouth harbour on the 3rd. of March. Her bottom had sustained considerable injury, though much less than was expected from her having lain so long in such a situation, and during several severe gales.
The VILLAGE OF CHALE lies at the foot of St. Catharine's Hill, and comprises a considerable number of scattered cottages: none of them however deserving a stranger's notice, except perhaps the Parsonage, and the Abbey-farm-house; the latter covered with the most luxuriant ivy.
If the visitor be on his return to Newport, he will within three miles of it pass GATCOMBE, a small village, and a first rate seat: exhibiting altogether perhaps the most charming inland scenery in the Isle of Wight:—
"Sweet are its groves, and verdant are its fields."
The mansion is a large square edifice, extremely well-situated,—in front a fine lawn falls with an easy slope, shaded by many noble oaks and elms: and immediately behind rises a steep hill luxuriantly clothed with hanging plantations. At a short distance from the house is a small lake; and near the latter, the neat little parish-church, and the Parsonage, both beautifully embosomed in wood.