St Catherine's Point is the southernmost point on the
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
. It is close to the village of
Niton
Niton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Niton and Whitwell, on the Isle of Wight, England. It is west of Ventnor, with a population of 2,082. It has two public house, pubs, several church (building), churches, a pottery ...
and the point where the
Back of the Wight
Back of the Wight (also known as West Wight) is an area on the Isle of Wight in England. The area has a distinct historical and social background, and is geographically isolated by the chalk hills, immediately to the North, as well as poor publi ...
changes to the
Undercliff of Ventnor.
On nearby
St Catherine's Down is
St Catherine's Oratory
St. Catherine's Oratory is a medieval lighthouse on St. Catherine's Down, above the southern coast of the Isle of Wight. It was built by Lord of Chale Walter de Godeton (sometimes spelled "Goditon") as an act of penance for plundering wine from ...
, locally known as the "Pepperpot", a stone lighthouse built in the 1323 by Walter De Godeton. It is Britain's oldest medieval lighthouse.
Reportedly, de Godeton felt guilty for having scavenged wine, destined for a monastery
[J.C Medland "Shipwrecks of the Wight".Coach House Publications ltd, 2004] from the wreck of the ''St Marie'' of
Bayonne
Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...
in
Chale
Chale is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight of England, in the United Kingdom. It is located three kilometres from Niton in the south of the Island in the area known as the Back of the Wight. The village of Chale lies at the foot ...
Bay. He was ordered, on pain of excommunication, to make amends by building this lighthouse. Fires were lit in the lighthouse tower to warn ships at sea of the presence of the coast.
There was an attached chapel at one time, but it has been long demolished. There is a
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
barrow nearby which was excavated in the 1920s.
A replacement lighthouse was begun in 1785. However it was never completed. Locally this half-finished building is known as the "salt pot".
St Catherine's point is often foggy, so it is not the best location for a lighthouse, but as a weather station the location is fairly suitable. The weather station is one of the
22 locations whose reports are included in the
BBC Shipping Forecast.
LB&SCR H1 class
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) H1 class was a class of 4-4-2 steam locomotives for express passenger work. They were designed by D. E. Marsh and were built by Messrs Kitson and Company in 1905 and 1906.
History
Prior ...
4-4-2 no. 40 (later no. B40 and 2040) was named ''St. Catherine's Point'' after this landmark.
Climate
See also
*
Egypt Point
Egypt Point is the northernmost point of the island county of the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England, and was one of Queen Victoria's favoured places during her time on the island. According to the Post Office at the 2011 Census the po ...
References
External links
Weather station information at Met Office
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Catherines Point
Headlands of the Isle of Wight
Nature Conservation Review sites