Bonchurch

Bonchurch is a small village in the civil parish of Ventnor, to the east of the town of Ventnor, now largely connected to the latter by suburban development, on the southern part of the Isle of Wight, England. One of the oldest settlements on the Isle of Wight, it is situated on The Undercliff adjacent to the Bonchurch Landslips (or "The Landslip") Site of Special Scientific Interest. The main village is backed by a cliff to the north, with the Upper Bonchurch section on the clifftop halfway up St Boniface Down on the main A3055 road.

Bonchurch is situated on a stable section of former landslip, its main street (Bonchurch Village Road) running east–west in a valley sheltered to the north by cliffs, and to the south by The Mount, a ridge of slipped rock. Bonchurch Village Road has an adjacent landscaped pond, fed by a spring, on the site of former withy beds. The Shanklin Ventnor route originally passed through Bonchurch, descending the cliff by the steep Bonchurch Shute; now it is bypassed by the clifftop A3055 Leeson Road.

The presence of a water spring known locally as 'The Source' behind the southern wall of the old church, is believed to be the reason why humans first settled in the area where present day Bonchurch is located. In the Domesday Book, the settlement was called Bonecerce. The oldest one is called the Old Church. 300 Isle of Wight militiamen engaged the French forces, and the militiamen won the engagement. In the mid to late 19th Century, Bonchurch developed into a fashionable centre for writers and artists. Celebrated Victorians such as Charles Dickens, Thomas Carlyle, and Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay came here and stayed in large villas that they rented, often for the season. The Swinburne family residence East Dene is on the Shute running down to the Old Church; Admiral and Lady Swinburne's son, the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne spent part of his boyhood in Bonchurch, at East Dene, and was buried in 1909 at the Parish New Church, his grave being the subject of a poem by Thomas Hardy. His funeral, attended by crowds of people, aroused controversy as Algernon Swinburne was an atheist and his friends attempted to disrupt the funeral believing it should have no religious content. In 1931 the civil parish had a population of 502. On 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Ventnor, part also went to form Sandown Shanklin.

In the 2006 TV Robin Hood, Much is made Earl of Bonchurch in the episode "A Thing or Two About Loyalty". It is implied it is not far from Locksley, but the non fictional geography is different. The village is also the setting of Graham Masterton's supernatural horror novel Prey. Bonchurch, and its church is featured in the Commodore 64 videogame Spirit of the Stones, in which the game itself is set on the Isle of Wight itself.

The engineer Thomas Rumble retired to Bonchurch for health reasons and died there in 1883. He is buried in the New Churchyard there. In 1891, American chemists Arthur Michael and Helen Abbott Michael, lived and conducted research in Bonchurch in their private, self equipped laboratory. "Pastor" William Edward Rowlands, well known Church Missionary Society missionary to then Ceylon, was the vicar of Bonchurch from 1895 to 1906. Tony Bristow had a studio pottery in Bonchurch from 1961 to 1967 and in 1974 his son, Andrew, began production in Bonchurch. The pieces are often signed 'Bonchurch' on the base. Trevor Duncan (27 February 1924 – 17 December 2005) was an English composer, particularly noted for his light music compositions. Wrote the theme tune to Dr. Finlay's Casebook and longer compositions including St. Boniface Down. Charles Dickens, author, lived in Bonchurch for 3 months in 1849. Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet, East Dene, Bonchurch. Revd James White, editor of Punch Magazine, invited his many artist and literary friends to stay in Bonchurch, establishing Bonchurch and the southern coastline as 'the most painted place in Britain 1830–70'. Henry De Vere Stacpoole, author of 'The Blue Lagoon', lived in the village for over 40 years, and was buried here in 1951. Joan Wolfenden, author and owner of the first Country House Hotel in Bonchurch, Peacock Vane. Elisabeth Sewell, pioneer of girls' education, author and prolific letter writer. Birthplace of Admiral Sir Thomas Hopsonn.

Southern Vectis route 3 is the main bus service through the upper part of the village, to Newport, Ryde, Sandown and Shanklin.