St Catherine's Oratory

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St Catherine's Oratory
St Catherine's Oratory, IW, UK.jpg
The "Pepperpot" on St. Catherine's Hill.
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
LocationSt. Catherine's Down
Isle of Wight
OS gridSZ4936477278
Coordinates50°35′35″N 1°18′14″W / 50.593167°N 1.303889°W / 50.593167; -1.303889Coordinates: 50°35′35″N 1°18′14″W / 50.593167°N 1.303889°W / 50.593167; -1.303889
Constructed1328 Edit this on Wikidata
Constructionstone tower
Tower height10.8 metres (35 ft)
Tower shapeoctagonal tower with pyramidal roof
OperatorEnglish Heritage Edit this on Wikidata
HeritageGrade II listed building Edit this on Wikidata
First lit1328
Deactivated1547
Focal height240 m (790 ft) Edit this on Wikidata
ARLHS no.ENG293 Edit this on Wikidata
[edit on Wikidata]

St. Catherine's Oratory is a medieval lighthouse on St. Catherine's Down, above the southern coast of the Isle of Wight. It was built by Lord of Chale Walter de Godeton (sometimes spelled "Goditon") as an act of penance for plundering wine from the wreck of St. Marie of Bayonne in Chale Bay on 20 April 1313.[1] The tower is known locally as the "Pepperpot" because of its likeness.

It is Britain's only surviving medieval lighthouse, and the second oldest (only the Roman lighthouse at Dover being older). It is a stone structure four stories high, octagonal on the outside and four-sided on the inside, originally attached to the west side of a building; remnants of three other walls are visible.[2]

de Godeton was tried for theft in Southampton, before a jury from the island, and fined 287 and half marks on 27 February 1314. However, he was also later tried by the Church courts, since the wine had been destined for the monastery of Livers in Picardy. The Church threatened to excommunicate him unless he built a lighthouse near Chale Bay.[3]

There was already an oratory on the top of the hill, dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria. This was augmented by the construction of the lighthouse, with a chantry to accommodate the priest who tended the light, and also gave Mass for those at peril on the sea.

Although de Godeton died in 1327, the lighthouse was nevertheless completed in 1328. It remained in active use until the Dissolution of the Monasteries between 1538 and 1541.

In the 18th century Sir Richard Worsley of Appuldurcombe House bolstered the structure by adding four large buttresses to prevent its collapse.[citation needed]

The 'Salt Cellar' or 'Salt Pot' (stone structure), now lying within the compound of a modern wireless station.

Nearby there are the footings of a replacement lighthouse begun in 1785, but never completed, because the hill is prone to dense fog. Its remnants are known locally as the "salt cellar". A nearby Bronze Age barrow was excavated in 1925.[4]

The current St. Catherine's Lighthouse, constructed after the 1837 wreck of the Clarendon, was built much closer to sea level on St. Catherine's Point.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ WARD LOCK & Co's Illustrated Guide Book: Isle of Wight, 1948
  2. ^ St. Catherines Oratory, English Heritage Pastscape, National Monuments Record Number: SZ 47 NE 15.
  3. ^ The Island, Features (All Island), Isle of Wight Beacon, 31 July 2007.
  4. ^ Isle of Wight Nostalgia - Archaeology

External links[]

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