NEWTOWN

"Four miles northward {of Shalfleet}. This is a pleasant and safe haven, with a broad estuary. Newtown, though small now, was formerly a town of importance, and known by the name of Frenchville. History records that it was burned down by the Danes in the year 1001, and again during the reign of Richard II. by the French. After this the new town took the new name. In Elizabeth’s reign it was vested with power to return two members to Parliament, but this privilege departed when the Reform Bill became law. The Church (the Chapel of the Holy Ghost) is built of stone in the Norman style. It was formerly part of the Calbourne parish, but is now attached to Shalfleet for ecclesiastical purposes.

Along the coast line we pass Thorness Bay and Gurnard Bay, rounding Egypt Point to West and East Cowes. We would suggest the use of the train, however, or a ride along the road, which is almost parallel with the railway, in the direction of the Capital. We thus first reach historic Carisbrooke. "

The Minerva Isle of Wight Pictorial and Guide - circa 1900