Yaverland Manor
Yaverland Manor is a medieval manor house in Yaverland, near Sandown, on the Isle of Wight. It was reconstructed in c. 1620 with alterations c. 1709. It became a Grade I listed building in 1949.
The house was erected in the reign of James I., after the manor had passed by purchase from the Russells, the progenitors of the noble family of Bedford, who were Lords of Yaverland from the days of Edward I. to those of Mary. Sir Theobald Russell, one of the chief heroes of the island, commanded the inhabitants in 1340, when they successfully resisted a French invading force that landed at Bembridge, but unfortunately he was slain in the moment of victory. The house contains some wood carvings, including two figures known as Nero and Cleopatra, others in the shape of Moors' heads with wings, some playing on musical instruments, some as brackets to support the ceiling of the staircase.
It has a great hall where a carriage or two might drive about comfortably. Its grey walls and great mullioned windows harmonize soberly and well with its grove of fine sheltering elms. In the green close before the house two great stone shields, with coat armour boldly carved, are laid against the trunk of a tree, evidently taken from the old gateway. Close by is the chapel, referred by most historians to the time of Edward L, but evidently of much more ancient date.
Yaverland
Yaverland is a village on the Isle of Wight, just north of Sandown. It has about 200 houses. About 1/3 of a mile away from the village is the Yaverland Manor and Church. Holotype fossils have been discovered here of Yaverlandia and a pterosaur, Caulkicephalus. The White Air extreme sports festival was held annually at Yaverland pay and display car park between 1997 and 2008, but moved to Brighton for 2009.
The older part of the village is spread along the road to Bembridge by the Norman Church. The newer part is along the seafront, consisting entirely of a bungalow estate. The name appears to come from a local rendition of "over land" - being the land over the once-tidal causeway. An alternative derivation is from "Yar Island". In the fields below Yaverland the archaeological television programme Time Team discovered a Roman smithy.
In 1545 a battle took place in Yaverland between French forces and local levies. The French were crossing Culver Down from their landing at Whitecliff Bay in order to attack Sandown Castle and link up with a force from Bonchurch. The French fought their way into Sandown but were defeated at Sandown Castle, then under construction in the sea.
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