Mottistone Down stands about 667 feet above sea level and is a pleasant area that is dotted with trees and green pastures with wild flowers much in evidence.

The road winds between the church and the 16th century manor house with its lush green lawns. This was the home of the Cheke family, who were related to Sir John Cheke who was the first Professor of Greek at Cambridge and he was taught by King Edward Vi and in Milton's sonnets her is mentioned thus:

Thy age, like ours, 0 soul of Sir John Cheke,
Hated not learning worse than toad or asp,
When thou taughtest Cambridge and King Edward Greek.

Just behind the manor house there is a hill and a huge landslide buried much of the manor under 1,500 tons of sand. Due to this it was left unattended for quite a considerable time and nobody wanted to shift the sand, which was in a dangerous state, and reclaim the house. However the first Lord Mottistone excavated the building and revealed to the 20th century a beautiful noble Tudor house.

Above the doorway is a stone with the date 1559 engraved on it and it is said that the boy king Edward VI once stayed here with his tutor.

There is a path that climbs up past the house and leads to woods, that are a picture of blueness during the spring with the masses of bluebells that grow here, and on the lower part of the downs there are two large stones which are believed to be the oldest man-made monuments on the Isle of Wight and may be all that remains of a Stone Age burial mound. One is upright and about 15feet high while the other lies flat on the ground. Several ancient barrows can be found on the downs and the larges is Black Barrow which is a huge mound and from here there are some spectacular views of the sea, woods and downs.

The charming church is full of history covering several centuries, the nave arcades and chancel probably date from the 15th century and the chapel has a handsome arcade that is on 'clustered' columns and comes from the Tudor period.

A table tomb of Sir Robert Dillington's wife, Jane who died in 1674 is near the altar. The 13th century font is of an unusual square design and is on a base made in Norman times, and it has a pillar at each corner.

The pulpit is also Jacobean and its panels are filled with pretty designs, and probably a carpenter from the village made gave the chancel its reddish coloured roof made from cedar that was taken from the cargo of a ship that ran aground off the coast.

Text courtesy of: Southern Life (UK)