Mottistone
Mottistone is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Brighstone, on the Isle of Wight, England. It is located in the popular tourist area the Back of the Wight. It is located 8 miles southwest of Newport in the southwest of the island, and is home to the National Trust's Mottistone Manor. In 1931 the parish had a population of 114. On 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Brighstone.
Name
The name means 'the stone of a speaker or a speakers at a meeting', from Old English mōtere and stān, referring to The Longstone, formerly Menhir, an important Anglo-Saxon meeting place. Its name was given by the Jutes.1086 : Modrestan
1176: Motestan
1291: Moterestone
1374: Mottistone
1623: Motson
History
The Island's only megalithic monument, the Longstone is situated nearby.During the Norman Conquest, William son of Azor held the village, then the de Insula family. It was then passes through marriage to William de Clamorgan, possibly associated with Clamerkin Lake, and then to Edmund de Langford, and for some time after that the Cheke or Chyke family owned it. In 1623, George Oglander wrote:
in 1638, two men kept watch on Mottistone Down. In 1796 its populatiom was 30.
Claud Raymond, a recipient of the Victoria Cross, was from Mottistone.
Geography
Mottistone Down is a Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Mottistone, and covering ; it adjoins the Brighstone Down, the central part of the ridge. Most of the area is owned by the National Trust, including the manor, down and cottages, and is biologically important due to its chalk and neutral grasslands.Today
Public transport is provided by Southern Vectis buses on route 12.The church of St Peter and St Paul's, founded ~12th century, hosts part of an annual Christmas Tree festival that has become very popular.