LAKE
"...is situated about three-quarters of a mile southward of Sandown, on the main road between Ryde, Brading, Sandown, Shanklin, and Ventnor. It is a small village lying in a valley. An iron church from Gatten, Shanklin, has served for the Church of England communion until the year 1892, when the Bishop of Winchester laid the foundation stone of a new stone building. The Bible Christians have a place of worship here, and a substantial public hall has been recently erected by a resident lady for the use of the inhabitants, providing accommodation for lectures and entertainments, with reading room and library. Postal letters received through Sandown for delivery at 9.30 a.m and 1.30 p.m., and dispatched at 7.20 p.m. (wall box). On Sundays the box is cleared at 5.10 p.m.
Visitors who wish to follow our guidance can proceed along the same road to Shanklin, or, starting from Sandown, take the more charming footpath along the cliff, starting from the High street through an opening at the side of Mr. Cecil’s Music Studio, nearly opposite the Parish Church, proceeding past the entrance to Sandown Battery with its drawbridge and dry moat; on to the road and bridge path on the edge of the cliff, one of the most delightful walks in the Isle of Wight. Half way between Sandown and Shanklin we come to
LAKE-BY-THE-SEA.
We must give a special chapter under this heading, as, though the spot we are naming is not exactly Lake, it is close to it, and yet may be safely regarded as not of it. The "Skew" railway bridge properly divides it from Lake village.
Lake-by-the-Sea may be taken as the little bay from which Litterstairs provides an ascent from the beach to the summit of the cliff whereon has just been erected a grand suite of stone buildings, to be called the Home of Rest. The buildings have been erected and furnished by a beneficent resident lady of Shanklin, Mrs Harvey, of the Cliff, the building and furnishing costing nearly £14,000. It is likely to become an institution which will be a blessing to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of women, old and young. A chapel has been erected for the holding of religious services according to the rites of the Established Church, and, being close to the sea shore, the inmates will have the unspeakable advantage of living at the seaside and at the same time in the midst of rural surroundings. After completely furnishing the place, the whole building, with furniture, including the chapel, fitted complete with organ and pews, was presented by Mrs Harvey to the Winchester Council of the Girls’ Friendly Society, and the institution was publicly opened on the 20th of May, 1893, by the Duke and Duchess of Connaught. This institution is on the east side of the railway line and the Ryde and Ventnor high road ; on the west side is the ground of the Landguard Manor Cricket Club. This ground was laid out by the Isle of Wight County Cricket and Athletic Club, with tennis courts, cricket pitches, and cinder cycle track. In the beginning of 1892, however, it was found that as a county ground it was not adequately supported and the county club was dissolved, the Landguard Manor Club taking over the ground and conducting it almost wholly in the interest of cricket. There are some excellent building sites at Lake-by-the-Sea, and as there is already a railway platform there, where the train stops by signal on special sport occasions, we have no doubt that in the no great distant future this attractive spot will be one of the favourite resorts of visitors to the Garden Isle. At this point the pedestrian may leave the cliff at right angles and turn into the highroad, on the left-hand of which he will pass the School Board Schools for Gatten, managed by the Brading School Board, the extensive parish of Brading reaching even to the High street of Shanklin. He may also continue his walk along the cliff right through the front of Shanklin to the Chine. "
The Minerva Isle of Wight Pictorial and Guide - circa 1900