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Newport, Isle of Wight
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St Peter and St Paul's Church in the village of Mottistone, Isle of Wight, dates from the 12th century. It was built by Brian de Insula, lord of Mottistone Manor. Much of the current building is from the 15th century. The Cheke chapel was added in the 16th century, by the Cheke family who became lords of the manor in 1300. The chancel was reroofed in 1862, with timber from the Bermudan barque Cedrene which was wrecked nearby. The Cedrene was just 16 days old when it wrecked on the shores of the Back of the Wight.
A Victorian restoration was carried out in 1863, which included the reconstruction of window tracery, nave arches and piers, roofs and walls.
The stone building has a tile roof and shingle spire. It consists of a nave with aisles, chancel, north chapel and south porch. The west tower has a crenellated parapet and spire.
The interior includes a font which may date back to the 12th century, however it was refashioned in the late 19th or early 20th century. In 1948 John Seely, 2nd Baron Mottistone commissioned the parclose screen in the Cheke chapel in memory of his father General J. E. B. Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone.
References:The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.
The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.
