St Lawrence, Isle of Wight

St Lawrenceis a village and formercivil parish,now in the parish ofVentnor,on the south (English Channel) coast of theIsle of Wight,in southern England. It is located to the west of the town of Ventnor, in theUndercliff,which is subject to landslips. The Undercliff lies between the original high cliff and the sea, formed over thousands of years, since the last Ice Age, from accumulated landslips. Several rocky coves can be accessed from the coastal path, which affords fine views of some prominent Victorian villas, set in a wooded landscape below the great rock wall of the original sea cliff:Woody Bay,Mount BayandOrchard Bay.The area of the parish was around 329 acres (133 ha) in size.In 1931 the parish had a population of 329.On 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Ventnor.

St Lawrence
The Undercliffarea of St Lawrence
St Lawrence Location within theIsle of Wight
Area	0.51 sq mi (1.3 km2)
OS grid reference	SZ562775
Civil parish	Ventnor
Unitary authority	Isle of Wight
Ceremonial county	Isle of Wight
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	VENTNOR
Postcode district	PO38
Dialling code	01983
Police	Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Fire	Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Ambulance	Isle of Wight
UK Parliament	Isle of Wight East

History

St. Lawrence is much older than Ventnor dating back to at least theMiddle Ages.TheOld Church of St. Lawrencedates from the 12th century. When first built it was only 20 feet long and 12 feet wide,considered at the time to be the smallest church in England. In 1842 it was lengthened by the addition of a ten-foot chancel.Although there are undoubtedly smaller chapels including the tiny church atLes VauxbeletsonGuernsey,this arguably remains the smallest to be built as aparishchurch — although this role has long since been supplanted by a larger, Victorian church in the village.

St Lawrence Old Church.

The old church has a 15th-centurybaptismal font- astoupthat is about 500 years old and a series of 18th-century hat pegs. Thepiscinaniche is almost the same age as the church. The church was refurbished in 1926–7.A larger church,St Lawrence's Church, St Lawrence,is situated 200 yards (180 m) away from the Old Church dates from the 19th century.It also has a 17th-centuryaltarand a chest that dates from 1612.

RAFSt. Lawrence. Remains of a buried reserve CH radar site

Historical Population of St. Lawrence

In the 1870s the village was described in theImperial Gazetteer of England and Walesas consisting of "ivy mantled thatched cottages, with orchards" with manyJunipertrees nearby.

DuringWorld War IIthe village was home toRAF St Lawrence.Originally a temporary base forRAF VentnorandRAF Thorney Island,by 1942 it was a fully activeradarbase in its own right. The base had two 120-foot-tall (37 m) masts approximately 200 yards apart.The base ceased operations in 1947 and in 1994 a memorial plaque was placed at the site.

William Spindler

St Lawrence village

St Lawrence was in the nineteenth century the subject of an ambitious plan by a German developer and philanthropist, named William Spindler (who had made his fortune as a chemist in Berlin), to develop St Lawrence as a resort to rival Ventnor. He lived at Old Park, a mansion near Binnel Bay, from 1881 to his death in 1889 and is buried inWhitwellchurchyard. During his time in St. Lawrence, he had an enormous influence there and on the surrounding areas. He possibly alienated local opinion with a series of "improving pamphlets" criticising local perceived laziness. He decried the lack of woodland in the area and employed local men to plant a million trees. He paid a large part of the money needed to supply St Lawrence and Whitwell with drinking water. You can see red-painted hydrants bearing lions' heads dotted about Whitwell's streets, and the occasional black-painted St Lawrence hydrants, one of which stands beside Seven Sisters Road, in the heart of the old village. Several huge pieces of masonry inBinnel Bay,all that is left of a harbour, are known locally as "Spindler'sFollies".

Amenities

The village has apost office,two churches and a village hall. A building at Old Park, where William Spindler lived, houses artists' studios, open to the public once a year over the August bank holiday weekend, together with The Bunker art gallery, housed in a Second World War radar station nearby.

Pelham Wood Nature Reserve is situated beside the Undercliff Drive and is open to the public. On the other side of the main road is a turning leading to St Lawrence Well, with its ornate Victorian well housing.

Close to the newer church is the entrance to the Rare Breeds Park, which closed down due to loss of revenue from legally enforced closure during the foot and mouth epidemic of 2001.

Transport

The Undercliff Drive, the main road between Ventnor and Niton, was closed beyond St Lawrence in February 2014 by a landslip. Access was later restored for pedestrians and cyclists via a footbridge, the lack of through motorised traffic making this stretch of road much safer and quieter for walkers and cyclists than before. Due to the road closure, St Lawrence is now only served by local bus Number 31, operated by Minibus Plus.com on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

References

Old Church of St. Lawrence

• 
  "The Church at St Lawrence", engraving by Richard Godfrey of Long Acre, c. 1780.^
• 
  R. H. C. Ubsdell."A sermon at St. Lawrence's church, Isle of Wight"

Notes

1.^Published in Worsley, Sir Richard, History of the Isle of Wight, London, 1781

External links

• Two walking Heritage Trails around St Lawrence, one around the village and the other along the coast