St Peter and St Paul's Church, Mottistone

St Peter and St Paul's Church, Mottistone
Map
50°39′06″N 01°25′38″W / 50.65167°N 1.42722°W / 50.65167; -1.42722
DenominationChurch of England
ChurchmanshipBroad Church
Website[1]
History
DedicationSt Peter and St Paul
Administration
ProvinceCanterbury
DiocesePortsmouth
ParishMottistone

St Peter and St Paul's Church is a parish church in the Church of England in the village of Mottistone, Isle of Wight. It is a Grade I listed building.[1]

History

The church is medieval, dating from the 12th century,[2] by Brian de Insula, lord of Mottistone Manor.[3] Much of the current building is from the 15th.[4] The Cheke chapel was added in the 16th century,[5] by the Cheke family who became lords of the manor in 1300.[3] The chancel was reroofed in 1862, with timber from the Bermudan barque Cedrene which was wrecked nearby.[6] The Cedrene was just 16 days old when it wrecked on the shores of the Back of the Wight.[7]

"Where the fragrance of Bermuda Cedar still lingers after 100 years... a token of the beauty that was Cedrene."

A Victorian restoration was carried out in 1863,[5] which included the reconstruction of window tracery, nave arches and piers, roofs and walls.[1]

In 2014 a publicly funded project to improve access to the church for disabled users was carried out.[8]

Theatre and opera director Sophie Hunter, great-great granddaughter of General J. E. B. Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone, was married to actor Benedict Cumberbatch in the church on 14 February 2015.[9]

The parish is part of the West Wight benefice within the Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth.[10]

Architecture

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.[1]

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.[11] 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.[8]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to St Peter and St Paul's church, Mottistone.
  1. ^ a b c "Church of St Peter and St Paul". National Heritage List for England. Historic England. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  2. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus; Lloyd, David (2002). Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England). Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300096064.
  3. ^ a b "Mottistone, St Peter & St Paul Church". Britain Express. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  4. ^ "St. Peter and St. Paul's C of E Church, Mottistone". Island Eye. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Mottistone Church". Weald and Downland Churches. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  6. ^ "St Peter and St Paul's Church, Mottistone, IOW". Pictures of England. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  7. ^ J.C Medland "Shipwrecks of the Wight". Coach House Publications ltd, 2004
  8. ^ a b "St Peter & St Paul, Mottistone". Five Churches. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  9. ^ Fowler, Tara (14 February 2015). "Benedict Cumberbatch Marries Sophie Hunter". People. Archived from the original on 29 November 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  10. ^ "Mottistone: St Peter & St Paul". A Church Near You. Church of England. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  11. ^ "St Peter and St Paul, Mottistone". Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 26 March 2020.