Natural History of the Isle of Wight - 28th January

Our ever-popular speaker Andy Butler gave a slide illustrated talk based on three habitats to be found on the Isle of Wight. He started with woodland describing how they were managed. The rides are cut only on one side at a time to enable the various species to continue to flourish. Beautiful slides of butterflies were shown in the rides at Walter’s Copse.

Downland is cropped by thousands of rabbits; a decline in numbers affects the vegetation. He mentioned and showed slides of the Burnt tip Orchid, that occasionally appears on Garston Down, Early Gentian and Autumn Ladies Tresses.

He showed some very dramatic pictures off the sea at Ventnor. The sea spray from the storm before Christmas reached about two-thirds the way up the cliff and may have an effect this year on the various species that are normally found there.

Andy started the meeting saying he had a world first for the Island captured on slide and he finished the meeting by showing Toga the penguin sitting on a rock in the sea at Ventnor. It was in fact a Guillemot in disguise!!

Jackie Hart

29th April - The Island's Archaeology: Recent Projects and Discoveries

County Archaeologist Ruth Waller wove this fascinating talk round a series of Island projects from the most ancient period to the most modern. She began with the evaluations at Great Pan Farm, where the IW Council had been required to make an archaeological assessment as developer of the Pan Urban Extension. Illustrating her talk with a 'bout coupe' - a special type of handaxe found on site - Ruth showed how Neanderthals had used the area in the Palaeolithic period, and how the site had taken on a national and even international significance, with visits from the famous Boxgrove site team, who will henceforth include Great Pan in their national work regarding the Palaeolithic. Through the use of optical stimulated illuminescence - whereby minerals which accept sunlight are assessed for how long they have been hidden and how long remaining on the surface - a series of river terraces were found to have been laid down in the Ice Age glaciations, when the ice waters melted. The youngest terrace, where the oldest handaxes were found, dated to between 60,000 and 40,000 years ago, indicating that the Medina has been here a very long time, originally as a tributary of the Solent River. Ruth further pointed out that the original work on the Great Pan site had been undertaken by Society stalwart Hubert Poole last century, and that we are therefore part of a great tradition we can be justly proud of!

Moving forward in time, Ruth alluded to the many new Bronze Age discoveries on the Island during the last year or two, not least the superbly preserved hurdle which fell out of the cliff at Chilton Chine - its uprights interwoven, still in its own block of soil, and carbon-dated to exactly 2,000 BC, at the beginning of the Bronze Age. Humans were changing the landscape at this period, and the hurdle may have been a structure for living in, fencing for a land division boundary, or even one of the walls of a cesspit! Further analysis should reveal a lot about the Island's environment; the artefact also has the advantage of not being worth a fig in monetary terms and therefore much easier to keep on the Island.

The round barrows are a familiar feature on the Island's landscape and well studied, but in some ways give us a skewed picture of what was going on in the Bronze Age. The ongoing Wootton-Quarr survey by contrast has given us a chance to leave the mounds of the dead and move to the lives of the living. The stunning finds include an Early Bronze Age fish-trap and show how humans were interacting with the tides and natural resources in a way that we no longer do. Ruth's colleagues Frank and Becky have done a sterling job, out on Fishbourne beach at 5am before light and in all weathers. But dating is not a cheap job - wooden posts cost £1,000 a time.

A Late Bronze Age metalworking breakthrough has come with the Kirkton Hoard, named after the two metal detectorists that discovered it at the base of a cliff near Sandown, and comprising the personal socketed tools of one single individual, used for woodworking. They were put into a bag and deposited in the Bronze Age, maybe as an offering to the gods, or perhaps out of sight of a raiding party. The previous hoard for this period and of this quality dates as far back as 1907, at Ventnor.

Ruth pointed to the continuing importance of the Bronze Age barrows in later periods: for example, Harborough Barrow was used as a beacon in medieval times and then as a defensive post in World War One. But we must be concerned over the damage being done to them, not least the mindless vandalism by four-by-four vehicles, and repairs to some of the barrows with temporary fencing are planned for the near future.

Proceeding to the Iron Age, Ruth next jogged our memories regarding the Yaverland Project: the discovery of an Iron Age village and hillfort, Bronze Age burial mound, Roman building and two Saxon villages, the collapsed wall with huge quantities of Vectis ware, and a hoard of 21 Iron Age silver staters linking the hillfort with the Durotrigans and, along with other finds, indicating some form of maritime trading activity going on in the area. Despite several setbacks to the prospect of further funding for a community archaeology project, the site had now been sold to the National Trust and the RSPB, and Ruth was currently seeking landowner permission to apply to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Jumping forward again to the Mediaeval period, Ruth highlighted the work of her colleague Owen Cambridge, who, as planning archaeologist in the Unit, checks every planning application for possible archaeological interest and under planning law can request the developer to carry out a series of works. This applied to the South Street area in Newport, and the first scrape of the ground brought up a layer of 14th/15th century "wasters" - pottery fired in the kiln and gone wrong, but very difficult to spot with the naked eye. The pots were fired right next to the river, most likely in the 'pits' which also appear in the archaeological record; if so, they constitute one of the best pieces of evidence for industrial activity in Newport in the Mediaeval period (1960s development destroyed much of the rest). A Mediaeval wall was also found on site.

Arriving at the modern period, Ruth pointed out that the industrial archaeology of the Island is different to many other places, being less industrialised and more marginal, but for those reasons perhaps more important where it does exist. She told the sorry tale of the West Medina Cement Mill, with its production site, kilns and business end, the whole built around 1840. English Heritage inspectors stated that hardly any of these were left in the country and scheduled the site to be protected by law, but before the paperwork was completed the developer went in with a bulldozer and knocked the buildings down. The tale has a redeeming feature: the site was subsequently sold to SEEDA, who were required to do an archaeological survey, during which the remains of the original 1840s cement works was found, including the chamber kilns.

Ruth concluded her talk with reference to Vicky Basford's Historic Landscape Characterisation Project, now completed, and to the two-year Historic Environment Action Project (HEAP) which will follow it. The project is modelled on the Biodiversity Action Plan and provides a good opportunity for the Society to get involved in something that will really help. The HEAP policies can be fed into the Island Plan that will in due course replace the UDP, and will hopefully ensure that the Island's historic environment is properly protected and managed, with full community involvement; by so doing, they should help to constrain some of the worst effects of any proposed development strategies.

Alan Phillips

20th May - The Mill Trail

Eleven members gathered at Whitcombe Road on a windy afternoon for an extensive walk led by Bill Shepard following the route of the old mills of Carisbrooke and Newport, but with Bill's inexhaustible knowledge of the area we were treated to many other snippets besides, and a large selection of old photos by which we could make a comparison with the scene today. He began by explaining how the original water supply for the Priory was insufficient, and in 1880 a self-activating pump was installed, which proved very successful.

Walking down Froglands Lane, our attention was drawn to the pathways which run from all round the Castle and across the fields, so there was access at many points. Passing Paper Mill Field, where the spring rose which fed the 18th century mill at Clatterford (of which nothing now remains), we came upon a man-made pond where the materials - possibly wood or bark - would have been soaked, and then made by hand into a very coarse paper. As we crossed the ford, Bill pointed out Court Mead, where a leet ran in the fields all the way to Bowcombe, and even today, incredible though it might seem, this watercourse still supplies 60% of the water we use on the Island.

Turning into Miller's Lane, we passed the pond which once served Carisbrooke Mill, though from a distance of a quarter of a mile; the pond is now silted up, but Bill remembered paddle- and rowing-boats using it. The ford over the Lukely Brook presented a scene which was thankfully unchanged from the old photos, and from here we came upon Carisbrooke Mill itself, a corn mill with an undershot wheel. Bill pointed out that the number of mills we were visiting - 7 or 8 - within a distance of only one-and-a-half miles was fairly unusual but not unique.

Priory Mill was located at the foot of Carisbrooke High Street, and served the medieval priory which stood on the site of St Mary's Church. Mill Cottage still stands, now called Waterworks Cottage. The large mill pond is of course still in situ and hidden behind the Eight Bells pub, though the link with the priory is now mostly forgotten. The pond has an extensive brick or tiled bottom. There was formerly so much water running through Carisbrooke that it had to be divided by a ford and sent down both sides of the road.

Arriving at the Wellington Road turning, we were made aware of the former West Mill pond which was infilled to create the new road. Bill remembers a beautiful four-acre lake, and rued the fact that it is now being encroached on for building, whereas it might have made a superb nature reserve. At this point he showed us some wonderful old photos of the fields being used for haymaking and harvesting. As we walked along the cycle path, we came upon a view of West Mill itself, formerly a corn mill, and still a fine building which has now been converted into flats.

At the end of Wilver Road the stream can be seen at the point where it once entered Westminster Mill Pond, formerly another beautiful lake but now a modern housing development. Westminster Mill was a fulling mill which processed cloth made from local wool. From 1900 it became a bakehouse, but is now also converted into private residences. Bill informed us that there was also a bone mill close by, where bones were crushed for marrow which in turn went for soapmaking, but the stench was so appalling that it generated numerous complaints in the town.

Next on the itinerary was Home Mill, at the junction of Petticoat Lane and Mill Street. The miller's name was Hearn, and Hearn Street is close by. The mill was demolished in 1935 to make way for a dairy. A brisk step brought us to the Town Gate, and Bill pointed out where the railway used to go over the viaduct. Towngate Pond was never, however, a mill pond, and Towngate Mill received its power from a mill dam further upstream. The mill was demolished in 1998 owing to its unsafe condition when Sainsbury's developed the area. The pond was used by cattle on their way to market from the 16th century. At this and many other points on the walk round the town, Bill produced photos of severe flooding in the 1960s.

Following the pathway round to the oldest part of Newport, we came upon St Cross Mill, dating to 1406. The mill is still standing and probably the oldest milling site on the Island. Mew Langton Brewery in Crocker Street (now flats) used the Lukely Brook to transport their beer barrels to the Medina, using barges known as 'lighters', and from there to the mainland. Arriving at the Quay, Bill referred to his ancestors working in the area from the 14th century onwards. This initially involved ferrying monks from St Cross Priory to Southampton, then was later expanded into carrying passengers and cargo from the Isle of Wight to the mainland - over five centuries!

At Coppins Bridge Bill produced some fascinating photos of how it used to be, and the comparison with today was almost too painful to make. Ford Mill was once located immediately opposite the bottom of Pyle Street - it was the first place one could ford the Medina. We crossed to Pan Mill, which was working until relatively recently producing cattle feed, and which is now converted into a set of offices. Old photos recalled the Newport-Sandown railway siding, situated right within the mill area. Our attention was drawn to the appalling state of the river at this point, as we followed the river path through a surprisingly green area to the site of Lower Shide Mill, of which no trace remains today.

As we arrived at the Barley Mow, Bill pointed out on a side wall the unlikely design of the four national flowers of the British Isles. Then along Dairy Lane, where the former Shide Dairy - with only ten or twelve cows - was once owned by Guy's the seed merchants. A footpath by St George's School brought us to Watergate Road, Whitepit Lane and thence to Mountjoy, where Bill produced a photo of the house he had lived in for over 50 years, datable exactly to 1901 owing to the mourning boards in the windows for the death of Queen Victoria. The name 'White pit', he explained, derived from having the second largest chalk pit in the Island - the largest being Shide Pit, which at its height produced 100 tons a day, taken away in four truckloads.

Nobody could have imagined that when we set off at 2pm it would be 5.45pm before we finally arrived back at the starting-point. But nobody minded. What is so astonishing about Bill Shepard is that his cumulative knowledge is not just a collection of interesting facts, but he seems able to cast himself right back to the scene exactly as it was, as if he were there at the time and recalling the events. It was another remarkable tour-de-force.

Alan Phillips

17th June - Brownsea Island 33 members met at East Cowes Ferry Terminal to catch the 8.30 am car ferry. A coach awaited us at Southampton to take us to Sandbanks and from there we caught a ferry to Brownsea Island, where 2 representatives from the Dorset Wildlife Trust met us. We split into two groups for a conducted tour around the reserve. Southern Marsh Orchids were in full bloom in the marshy area at the beginning of the reserve and four Common Spotted Orchids were well protected from browsing Sika deer. Large numbers of Common and Large Red Damselflies, Four-spot Chaser, Broad-bodied Chaser, and a Brown Hawker Dragonfly were flying in the area.

A visit to the hides saw wonderful views of the nesting Sandwich Terns, Common Terns, Black-headed Gulls and an Oystercatcher. Non-breeding Black-tailed Godwits were seen, some in summer plumage. Part of the reserve near the Villa has been deer-proof fenced and the difference in vegetation either side of the fence was very evident. In the distance the Peacocks could be heard calling so, once we had our fill of the reserve, we paid a visit to the rest of the Island, which is owned and managed by the National Trust. All to soon we had to make our way back to the jetty to catch the 4.15 pm. boat back to Sandbanks and coach to Southampton.

Jackie Hart

23rd July - Bembridge Rocky Shore

14 people gathered to explore the wonders of the Bembridge rocky shore. With only the upper ledge exposed at the outset, the group focussed on the algae living in this harsh environment, quickly learning the differences between Spiral Wrack (Fucus spiralis) and Bladder Wrack (F. vesiculosus), Sea Lettuce (Ulva latuca) and Gutweed (Enteromorpha intestinalis). The muddy substrate of pools adjacent to middle ledge supported an expanse of the delicate Peacock’s tail Seaweed (Padina pavonia).

As the water drained away, the middle ledge rapidly became accessible and that is when the fun began. A competition to find the largest Common Shore Crab (Carcinus maenus) got underway which also produced a haul of other crab species, including a young Spider Crab (Maja squinado), an Edible Crab (Cancer pagurus), Broad-clawed Porcelain Crabs (Porcellaina platycheles) and a female Hairy Crab (Pilumnus hirtellus), holding hundreds of eggs. A Hermit Crab (Pagurus bernhardus) was found in the shell of a Netted Dogwhelk (Hinia reticulata).

Common Dogwhelks (Nucella lapillus) were observed feeding on barnacles. The increase in numbers of Purple Topshells (Gibbula umbilicalis) in recent years was apparent, and some of the finely marked Grey Topshells (G. cineraria) were found under boulders.

The lagoon beyond the middle ledge drained sufficiently for some successful prawn netting, with three beautifully marked Prawns (Palaemon elegans) lurking under the invading Japanese Seaweed (Sargassum muticum). Some interesting seaweeds were seen on the edge of the middle ledge, including Codium sp. or ‘dead man’s fingers’, Irish Moss or Carragheen (Chondrus crispus), and the enigmatic Oyster Thief (Colpomenia peregrina).

As the lower shore became accessible the hunt was on for the aggressive Velvet Swimming Crabs (Necora puber). Sea Squirts, a Tube Worm and a Rock Goby (Gobius paganellus) were found and then as a fitting finale, the President discovered a velvet swimming crab, and was greatly relieved to find that it had both pincers missing!

Keith Marston

Bonchurch Down: Habitat Management - 19th August

A very heavy (but much needed) outburst of rain in the hour or so before this walk may have accounted for only ten members turning up, but those that did so were well rewarded as the rain cleared up immediately, the sun appeared and it became steadily warmer as we progressed. We were met by National Trust Wardens Robin Lang and David Mears, who explained that Ventnor Downs constituted 700 of the total 4,000 acres of NT ownership on the Island, and Bonchurch Down was one of the highest points.

We immediately made a steep descent down the slope, observing the transition from a heathland habitat to pure chalk grasslands, the chalk deposits here being among the thickest on the Island. Robin pointed out how these downlands had been subject to the influence of people for thousands of years, particularly from the Neolithic period when the pattern of use for grazing land was set. However, the non-native Holm Oak species was introduced to the area in the late 19th century and by the early 20th had spread to the downs and ever since have been in danger of taking over the open chalk grasslands. Robin referred to the duty we have to look after these historic landscapes, all the more so in an era of climate change. Consequently, goats have been introduced since 1993 to help keep the scrub down: they are browsers rather than grazers, and they do a good job on the Holm Oak; there are 30 of them at present. However, the Trust has had to accept that it will probably never be possible to get rid of the Holm Oak completely, and that whilst managing it we also need to embrace it as part of a mosaic of habitats. There are also a few cattle on the downs to keep down the long grasses and brambles.

Continuing along a footpath westwards on the lower slopes of the down, most prominent was a large array of richly coloured Adonis Blue butterflies, a direct result of grazing by the goats - which by now had come into view - as well as rabbits. We next reached the Holm Oak woodland itself, which as Robin explained, has now become an important ecological and landscape feature in its own right, and the Trust has no intention of going in there with chainsaws. At this point we were on the edges of St Boniface Down. The climb up the woodland slope must be among the steepest on the Island, but the energies expended by us were offset by a distinct drop in temperature around us. David pointed out a few hybrids in the wood owing to exotic escapees from gardens below.

Reaching the top with some rewarding views, David explained how Combe Bottom had over the past year been extensively cleared of scrub by a digger, with the aim of returning it to chalk grassland. The Trust has applied for a grant to fence off a large area of Combe Bottom and bring in goats within a year's time. A botanical survey with ongoing monitoring of specific transects will also be required, and he had heard that the Society was very good at providing volunteers...!?

We finally took a path back along the top to our starting-point. David concluded by telling us that when he first visited the Island for interview a couple of years ago, what sold him the job was the wide variety of habitats on Ventnor Downs, and he was totally bowled over. Could either this walk or the Island landscapes generally receive a greater recommendation?

Alan Phillips

A Guided Tour of Carisbrooke Castle - 16th September

There was a good turnout for Johanna Jones' historical tour of the castle. We began the walk at the last phase of the castle's history, when the prevalent concern was of a winter attack - from Spain! The Island's governor Sir George Carey was appointed Lord Chamberlain in 1597, which helped release the colossal £2378 estimated for strengthening the outer defences. Eleven gangs of labourers were employed to construct the banks and walls, involving every single man available on the Island. The work was finished by 1601, but Elizabeth died in 1603 and the threat receded as peace was made with Spain and the defences were no longer required.

On entering the castle, Johanna drew our attention to the outside walls of the 10th-century Saxon burgh. The gatehouse is medieval, and must always have occupied this site, being the only entrance to the castle ever found. Excavations carried out in the courtyard lawn area in the 1980s have revealed the castle's earliest occupation-site: mid-6th century inhumation graves, three of them very important and including grave goods such as a copper bowl, ivory counters and drinking horn. So there must have been a Saxon community somewhere in the vicinity.

Walking round to the bottom of the keep, we learned that when the Normans arrived they constructed a bank and ditch across part of the burgh in this area to create their first defences. The stone-walled castle was then completed in 1136, following King Stephen's accession and the grant of the lordship to Baldwin de Redvers. Johanna also pointed out the early 13th-century windows which were part of Isabella de Fortibus's chapel; she did massive work here, and what we see today is largely what she built. The castle would have been all thatch when she arrived; she retiled it with Cornish slate and thereby changed the whole look of the building.

Returning to the front of the museum, our attention was drawn to the well, which was originally 'cut over a running stream' in the 1150s and which never failed during the mediaeval period. Isabella was the first person to build a well-house; George Carey built the one we see now. Isabella also built the Chapel of St Peter and, following the pattern of the king, laid out the privy garden from 1270, including a lead water feature and a 'new clock of iron', or sundial. The fashionable 'arbour garden' would have probably been surrounded by a hedge, rather than a wall as at present.

But two herb gardens were also required elsewhere in the castle for a cooking regime on a more lavish scale than ever before. The demands made on staff were huge, and a new, very long kitchen was built to include a salting house, brewhouse and bakeries - this has since become known as 'Carey's Mansion' and is now the ruined wing.

In fact, the castle was very run down when Sir George Carey arrived in the Elizabethan period, still with its open mediaeval hall, and this was not acceptable to a very well-to-do courtier. He raised the great hall to a higher level with a mezzanine floor, then built the Elizabethan mansion house, where a small orchestra played at his meals and a monthly banquet was held for the Island nobility - a really grand house.

Johanna Jones was warmly thanked for another most interesting excursion, and members were then free to continue looking round the castle on their own.

Alan Phillips

The Great Well of Carisbrooke Castle - 7th October

This was a unique and fascinating talk by John Winch supported by a brilliant powerpoint presentation put together by Claire Winch.

John began by describing how in 1136 Baron de Redvers was under siege at the castle and the well in the keep - which still survives - had run dry, so the baron was forced to give in even before the siege began. This prompted the need for a better water source for the castle, and some time after Isabella de Fortibus had taken up residence in 1263 we know that the Great Well was dug, for there is a reference to it by 1289. Records indicate that the well dried up during the Elizabethan period, and then again in January 1904, when ten feet of rubbish was cleared out from it. In 1970 Martin Woodward dived the well and 2 cwt of coins were pulled out, of which no trace now appears to survive.

Then more recently John Winch was himself offered the chance to dive the well, and he in turn persuaded the Cave Diving Group to travel down to the Island from North Yorkshire to assist him in the venture. Three dives took place, on Hallowe'en(!) 2002, Easter 2003, and Easter 2004. It is not surprising that, with a depth of 49 metres (or 160 feet) and 12.8 metres of water at the bottom, there was a certain amount of apprehension to begin with over abseiling down the well. Black slime was encountered at first, but then white chalk as the divers penetrated further down. John conjectured about the medieval well-diggers, who most likely dug with simple hand-picks and possibly little leather baskets, but without any safety protection or benefit of testing for CO2 - just candles. How long would it have taken them? 2-3 years? And how many were injured or even killed in the process?

Thankfully this contrasted with the images of modern equipment on screen before us: 6-litre cylinders, dry suits for warmth, abseiling ropes, and specialist scoops. There were photos of the divers kitted up; scary views looking down the shaft; pictures of the bucket bringing the artefacts up; and one amazing picture of a diver at the bottom, so clear that one wouldn't be aware that he was in any water at all! The divers communicated by talking naturally: there was no need to shout, and they could even hear the birds singing above. But the digging out of the artefacts - including broken glass - was done with their bare hands, so this remained a quite dangerous aspect of the work. And John referred to the black gunge which sticks with you, including to the orange oversuit, no matter how many times you try to wash it out.

The statistics regarding the artefacts recovered are mind-boggling.

In the 1st year: 5,219 coins & 50 kilos of rocks and stones
In the 2nd year: 18,609 coins & 95 " " " " "
In the 3rd year: 17,906 coins & 243 " " " " "

- making a grand total of 41,734 coins weighing 248 kilos, together with 388 kilos of rocks, stones and other rubbish extracted. The coins date to the 19th and 20th centuries and of themselves are not of any great value; all have since been washed, cleaned, sorted, and bagged up in blue bags.

In addition, eleven or twelve kilos of broken glass were recovered, as well as a large amount of peg-tile: did this occur when the roof of the well-house fell in? Along with these came a selection of workmen's tools, probably related to repairs of the wheel or well-house, yards of telephone wires, hundreds of keys, and thousands of pens and pencils. Other finds have included: two iron rings and a large disc of lead, probably from one of the old barrels, a lead sounding-weight used for plumbing the depth of the well, jugs no doubt used for the same purpose, bullet-cases, marbles, a knife and penknife, a pipe dated between 1898 & 1904, other clay pipes, a large forged iron nail, a lady's watch, hatpins hallmarked 1902, a small glass necklace, brooches, glasses, badges, a camera, and even a tooth! All these artefacts are now in store, but it is hoped that some of the more interesting pieces will eventually go on display at the castle. And yet all of these are just the 'modern' layers - who knows what is in the older layers deeper down?

There were spontaneous questions and answers as the talk proceeded, and John was particularly delighted that Dorothy Wright was among the audience, as her book The Donkeys and Wells of Carisbrooke Castle was one of the original inspirations for the whole project. Dorothy asked if the long-held claim regarding the "stream of running water" at the bottom of the well was borne out by experience, and John replied that this had been found to have no validity, it was just water percolating through the rock. With a quite dramatic musical video of the diving team at work and descending the well-shaft to end the talk, this was certainly one of the most professional presentations the Society has ever had!

Alan Phillips

The Private Lives of Butterflies - 11th November

We were treated to an entertaining and informative talk by Douglas Hammersley who described details of the life cycle, biology and behaviour of British butterflies. We were regaled by amusing details of the courtship of butterflies and some of their rather bizarre habitats. Douglas, a retired medical artist, has painted beautiful and detailed pictures of all our British butterflies and, in order to execute these he has clearly spent many hours watching them and observing intimate details of their habitats, both here and on the Continent. The talk was illustrated by splendid colour photographs, many taken at very close quarters and well illustrating the points which he made.

Colin Pope