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Page 25
ST. HELEN's GREEN,
We are presented with a beautiful view of the Peninsula of Bembridge,
Brading Haven, and the British Channel. The houses are mostly scattered
round a large verdant square (which gives the name): and a spacious
building, to answer the purposes both of a parish school and chapel, has
been lately supplied by the liberality of a resident gentleman. But the
chief object of curiosity here is THE OLD CHURCH-TOWER, _standing now at
the water's edge_, and still struggling against the further
"encroachment of the sea," which in the year 1719, was such as to oblige
the parishioners to build another place of worship in a more secure
situation: this we passed near the Priory. The old tower was
strengthened with a thick facing of brick-work, and painted white; for
it was required to be preserved as a landmark to ships entering the
roadsted. There is something extremely tranquil and pleasing in the
whole of the scene,--and though the composition is simple, forms an
excellent subject for a sketch.
>> The Party may either cross the ferry with their vehicle to
Bembridge--for there is a good horse-boat in attendance, and drive
round Yaverland and Brading; or they may go to the latter place at
once; returning over the downs to Ashey Sea-mark, which affords an
almost unrivaled prospect,--and hence descend towards Ryde, making
altogether a charming circuit of about sixteen miles.
* * * * *
BRADING HAVEN
[Illustration: BRADING HAVEN, _As viewed from Bembridge Mill looking
across to the Town of Brading, Nunwell, &c._ ISLE OF WIGHT.]
Exhibits during high water the beautiful appearance of an extensive
lake: but at the recess of the tide, a mere waste of sand and ooze,
comprehending above 800 acres.
As the sea comes through a very narrow inlet at St. Helen's,
several unsuccessful attempts have been made to recover from its
usurpation so valuable a tract of land:--in 1630 the famous Sir H.
Middleton was engaged, and indeed succeeded for a short time, by
means of a bank of peculiar construction. But the sea brought up so
much sand, ooze, and weeds, as to choke up the passage for the
discharge of the fresh water, which accumulating, in a wet season
and a spring-tide, made an irreparable breach, and thus ended an
experiment which _then_ cost altogether about �7000. "And after
all, the nature of the ground did not answer the expectations of
the undertakers; for though that part adjoining Brading proved
tolerably good, nearly one-half of it was found to be a light
running sand." But it should be observed, that previous to the
above attempt, several of the rich meadows contiguous to the haven
were at different times taken in.
One circumstance was very remarkable: namely, A WELL, cased with
stone, was discovered near the middle of the haven;--an
incontestible evidence, that at some remote period, the spot was in
a very different condition.
* * * * *
To the very remarkable CHANGE which appears (by the discovery of a
well,) to have taken place in the condition of the haven--and the
threatened existence of St. Helen's Church, from the "encroachment
of the sea,"--we beg to call the attention of our more reflecting
readers. History and tradition are silent as to the cause; and the
popular opinion of the present day briefly dismisses the question
by ascribing it to an increased elevation of the sea. But this
hypothesis is not supported by the appearance of the coast
immediately to the westward of the haven, where some creeks or
inlets _have become dry_; a circumstance which induced the Rev. P.
Wyndham, who wrote almost the first intelligent Guide to the
island, to conclude that there actually had been a secession of
tides in this quarter; yet, singular enough, he makes no allusion
either to the haven or the church. Now as there is really no
evidence whatever in the neighbourhood that would lead us to
suppose in the slightest degree, that the sea has encroached upon
the land _by its gaining a higher_ GENERAL _level_ (an idea
deprecated by many eminent geologists), we must take the
alternative in accounting for the phenomenon, and infer that the
land of the haven must have SUNK at some very distant period, and
that more recently, the same fate attended the foundations of the
church, which certainly could not have been originally built so
very close to the water's edge, as to be constantly enveloped in
sea-foam during every fresh breeze from the east.
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