Wootton

"WOOTTON, a parish in the liberty of East Medina, Isle of Wight, county Hants, 4 miles N.E. of Newport, and 3 W. of Ryde. The parish is bounded on the N. by the Motherbank, and on the E. by a creek or inlet of the sea, which runs from Fishbourne past the bridge, or causeway, called Wootton-Bridge, about 2 miles to Briddesford. There is a ferry from here to Portsmouth. The village consists of only a few houses and cottages built in the valley on either side of the creek, but close to the bridge in the adjoining parishes of Arreton and Binsted is a larger village called Wootton Bridge. On an eminence S. of the bridge is Fern-hill, a modern residence with a tower. It was built by the late Lord Bolton, when governor of the island, and is now the residence of S. Saunders, Esq. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Winchester, value £250. The church, dedicated to St. Edmund, contains tablets to the White and Shute families. The Wesleyans have two chapels. In the vicinity are the ruins of Quarr Abbey, and at Wootton Farm is an oak 47 feet in girth. "

[From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]