National Gazetteer (1868) - Calbourne

CALBOURNE, a parish in the liberty of West Medina, Isle of Wight, in the county of Southampton, 5 miles to the S.W. of Newport. It includes the chapelry and borough of Newtown, situated on the N. coast. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Winchester, value with the curacy of Newtown, £464, in the patronage of the bishop of the diocese The church, which is in the early English style, is dedicated to All Saints, and contains an old monument, with a brass of a knight who died in 1480. Near the village is Westover House, formerly the seat of the Holmes family. The bishops of Winchester, who formerly held the manor of Calbourne, had a seat at Swainston, 2 miles to the N.E., from which there is a good view over the western part of the island, the Solent, and the coast of Hampshire.

NEWTOWN, (or Newton), a chapelry in the parish of Calbourne, liberty of West Medina, Isle of Wight, county Hants, 5 miles W. of Newport, its post town, and the same distance E. of Yarmouth. The village, which is of small extent, is situated on Newton-Creek, which is navigable for vessels of 500 tons. It is a coastguard station, and was formerly a borough of importance, returning two members to parliament from the reign of Elizabeth, till disfranchised by the Reform Act. Newtown was anciently called Francheville, and is so named by Bishop Aymer of Winchester, in his Charter of Incorporation, which was confirmed by Edward II. It was burned by the Danes in 1001, and again in Richard II.'s reign by the French; hence the origin of its present name. There are some salterns. The old townhall, which stands on an eminence overlooking one of the creeks of Newton harbour, is now converted into a school-room, in which a Sunday-school is held. The chapel, dedicated to the Holy Ghost, is of recent construction. At the E. end is a stained window.

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]