Holy Cross Church, Binstead is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

located in

Binstead Binstead is a village on the Isle of Wight. It is located in the northeast part of the Island, west of Ryde on the main road A3054 between Ryde and Newport. In the 2011 Census Binstead had been incorporated within Ryde whilst still retaining it ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

History

The 11th and 13th century church is located between the village and the coast. Its location some distance from the modern centre of Binstead probably indicates a medieval village associated with the quarries in the church's vicinity. Most of the chancel is of herringbone masonry. The original

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was replaced in 1844 and enlarged in 1875 by the addition of the north

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

. The bellcote dates from 1925 and contains a pre-reformation bell believed to have come from the original, now ruined, Cistercian abbey at Quarr. On 7 June 1969, the church was seriously damaged by fire. It was restored and rededicated in February 1971. Many stained-glass windows were destroyed and replaced by new designs by

Lawrence Lee Lawrence Stanley Lee (18 September 1909 – 25 April 2011) was a British stained glass artist whose work spanned the latter half of the 20th century. He was best known for leading the project to create ten windows for the nave of t ...

. Outside a sheela na gig, locally known as the "Saxon Idol", is carved on a stone gateway to the churchyard which contains several old and interesting burials. Possibly the best known is that of Thomas Sivell who was mistaken for a smuggler by customs officers and shot. His gravestone, with

long s The long s , also known as the medial s or initial s, is an archaic form of the lowercase letter . It replaced the single ''s'', or one or both of the letters ''s'' in a 'double ''s sequence (e.g., "ſinfulneſs" for "sinfulness" and "poſ ...

replaced with short s where appropriate, reads:

To the memory of THOs SIVELL who was cruelly shot on board his sloop by some officers of customs of the Port of Portsmouth on the 15th June 1785 at the age of 64 years leaving a disconsolate widow & family. All you that pass pray look and see How soon my life was took from me By those officers as you hear They spilled my Blood that was so dear But God is Good and just and true And will reward each to their due

In more recent times Nicholas Dingley, known as Razzle, the drummer of

Hanoi Rocks Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish rock band formed in 1979. They were the first Finnish band to chart in the UK and they were also popular in Japan. The band broke up in June 1985 after drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley died in a drunk driving accide ...

was buried here.

Organ

The church has a pipe organ dating from around 1897 by

Hele & Co Hele & Co (also known as Hele & Sons) were the main organ builders in the south west of England from 1865 to 2007.''The Freeman-Edmonds Directory of British Organ Builders''; by Andrew Freeman & Bernard Edmonds. 2002 History The company was fo ...

. A specification of the organ can be found on th
National Pipe Organ Register

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Binstead, Holy Cross Church of England church buildings on the Isle of Wight