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Shalfleet Church(St Michael the Archangel)Isle of Wight |
Old postcards are sometimes poorly produced and grainy, I've done my best to scan them. Please click thumbnails for full size picture. Dates are from the card or my estimate (where possible).
This is a recently taken picture of the church. It was dedicated to St Michael the Archangel in 1964, as the previous dedication was long lost. The oldest part (the tower) dates from about 1070 and was mentioned in the Domesday book, the tower certainly formed part of the original building, its wall being over five feet thick. It was originally built as a refuge for the villagers from French raiding parties, they used to come ashore at Newtown creek. It initially had no external entrance, a ladder had to be climbed to the roof to gain access. An entrance was built in the 13th century but this has caused stability problems since then since there are very poor foundations. It has now been underpinned.
The church itself can be traced in its present form to the 13th century. A Steeple was added to the tower in about 1812, this was purchased by the sale of the parish gun and of the bells which would have rung from the steeple. This resulted in the local saying:
"Shalfleet poor and simple people
Sold their bells to build a steeple."
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A drawing of the church (from the east) dated 1809 and credited to Charles Tomkins. Note the Cupola on the tower. This suggests it may actually be earlier (the steeple was build in 1800). |
Undated (but probably from the beginning of the 19th century). Original print in the church. |
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Shalfleet church from the east around 1890. The houses on the left have long been demolished |
Shalfleet church from the west, looking over the pond which became part of the vicarage grounds. Around 1910. |
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An artists impression of the church from the west, probably around 1900. The steeple was demolished in 1912 as it was found to be unstable. |
Shalfleet church about 1933 taken from the (then) vicarage garden |
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Shalfleet church in 1955 |
Shalfleet Church from the South, probably from the 1950's |
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| An undated card of the main (north) door of Shalfleet Church | |
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Shalfleet Postcards page 1 (the village) Shalfleet Postcards page 2 (the creek) Freshwater | Totland | Alum Bay and the Needles | Yarmouth | Shalfleet | Newtown | Calbourne | Carisbrooke Castle | Newport and Carisbrooke | Cowes and Gurnard | Osborne House | Wootton, Fishbourne and Quarr | Ryde | Seaview | Bembridge | Brading | Sandown | Shanklin | Godshill | Ventnor | St Lawrence and the Undercliff | St Catherine's Lighthouse's | Niton | Blackgang Chine | Blackgang and Chale | Brighstone and Shorwell | Mottistone to Compton 15 November 2005 |
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