Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for NORTHWOOD

NORTHWOOD, a hamlet and a parish in the Isle of Wight. The hamlet lies adjacent to the Cowes and Newport railway, ½ a mile W of the Medina river, 1 mile N E of Parkhurst forest, and 2¼ S of West Cowes. The parish contains also the town of West Cowes, which has a post-office of the name of Cowes, Isle of Wight; contains likewise the hamlet of Gurnard, and part of Parkhurst prison. Acres, 5, 122; of which 475 are water. Real property, £18,095; of which £600 are in gas-works. Pop. in 1851, 6,049; in 1861, 6, 534. Houses, 1, 217. Pop., exclusive of West Cowes, in 1851, 1, 263; in 1861, 1,052. Houses, 202. Northwood Park is the seat of G. H. Ward, Esq., author of the " Ideal of a Christian Church; " stands on the top of a hill, adjacent to West Cowes; is a large edifice, in the Italian style; and has a well-wooded demesne, enclosed by a lofty wall, with Doric entrance lodges. Egypt House and other residences are near the shore, between West Cowes and Gurnard bay. Vantage grounds, a little inland, command charming views. Gurnard bay, 1½ mile W ofwest Cowes, was the place where Charles II. landed in 1671, on occasion of his visit to Sir Robert Holmes at Yarmouth. A sea-port is said, by tradition, to have been anciently at Gurnard bay, and to have been destroyed by the inroads of the sea. A monastic house was founded at Northwood in 1512, but had a brief existence, and has left no remains. The living is a p. curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Carisbrooke, in the diocese of Winchester. The church is transition Norman, of plain appearance; consists of nave, aisles, and chancel, with small wooden belfry; and, prior to 1545, was a chapel of ease to Carisbrooke. Two other churches for separate chapelries, five dissenting chapels, and a Roman Catholic chapel are in West Cowes. Charities, £50.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a hamlet and a parish"   (ADL Feature Type: "populated places")
Administrative units: Northwood AP/CP       Hampshire AncC
Place: Northwood

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