Culver Down
Encyclopedia
Culver Down is a chalk
down
to the north of Sandown
, Isle of Wight
.
It is believed that its name derives from "Culfre" - old English for "dove".
The down has a typical chalk downland
wildlife on the uncultivated areas (generally the southern and eastern slopes). This includes plants such as Small Scabious
, Harebell
, Cowslip
and Lady's Bedstraw. The chalk cliffs to the north and east are important nesting places for seabirds.
Historically Culver has been the source of commercial bird's egg collecting from ropes over the cliff. It was also known for breeding peregrine falcons.
The northern side is intensively grazed by cattle
, so fertilization and poaching of the soil, not to mention a spell as an artillery
training ground, have all but eliminated the natural chalk ecosystem.
On Culver Down a number of unusual ant
species live, including the semi-myrmecophilous Solenopsis fugax
(Latr.), a thief ant which was recorded there several times by Horace Donisthorpe
. The ant Ponera coarctata has also been taken from this location.
The public parts of this prominent headland are owned and managed by the National Trust
. Spectacular views of the English Channel
can be had.
For many years the whole site was a military zone and not open to the public. There are several historic military features on the down, a number of private dwellings, the Culver Haven pub, and the very visible Monument. The military barracks which once adjoined the monument has been almost completely erased, but there is a substantial fort, now under the ownership of the National Trust and occasionally opened to the public. Part of the fort is leased to Micronair, manufacturing crop-spraying and military equipment. It is a Palmerston Fort
, constructed in the 1860s. At the end of the cliff is a coastal and anti-aircraft battery from the Second World War.
In 1545 a French force was intercepted crossing from its beach head at Whitecliff Bay
to attack Sandown by local levies under Sir John Oglander and a skirmish fought on the Down. The French were finally repulsed at Sandown
.
The poet Algernon Charles Swinburne
said in a letter that he had climbed the cliffs at 17, in order to prove his manhood to his family after they refused to let him join the army.
There is a legend that a 14th century hermit lived at the end of the cliffs in a cave in a structure then known as Culver Ness. He is said to have predicted that the well at Wolverton would be poisoned. When a pilgrim from Jerusalem came to bless the well, the vigilant and pious villagers are said to have murdered him. Shortly after the French sacked the village and since when it has been lost beneath the trees of Centurion's Copse. They were repulsed from further mischief by Sir Theobald Russell. There was subsequently a great storm which destroyed the Ness and drowned the hermit. This was held to be divine retribution.
, the 2nd Baron Yarborough (later first Earl of Yarborough
and also Baron Worsley), founder of the Royal Yacht Squadron
at Cowes
. It was originally erected in 1849 on the highest point of Bembridge Down, 3/4 mile to the west, and was moved to its present position in the 1860s when its former site was used for the construction of one of the Palmerston forts.
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
down
Downland
A downland is an area of open chalk hills. This term is especially used to describe the chalk countryside in southern England. Areas of downland are often referred to as Downs....
to the north of Sandown
Sandown
Sandown is a seaside resort town and civil parish on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, neighbouring the town of Shanklin to the south. Sandown Bay is the name of the bay off the English Channel which both towns share, and it is notable for its long stretch of easily accessible...
, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
.
It is believed that its name derives from "Culfre" - old English for "dove".
The down has a typical chalk downland
Downland
A downland is an area of open chalk hills. This term is especially used to describe the chalk countryside in southern England. Areas of downland are often referred to as Downs....
wildlife on the uncultivated areas (generally the southern and eastern slopes). This includes plants such as Small Scabious
Scabiosa
Scabiosa is a genus in the teasel Family Dipsacaceae of flowering plants. Many of the species in this genus have common names that include the word scabious; however some plants commonly known as scabious are currently classified in related genera such as Knautia and Succisa; at least some of...
, Harebell
Harebell
Campanula rotundifolia is a rhizomatous perennial flowering plant in the bellflower family native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.In Scotland, it is often known as the Bluebell...
, Cowslip
Primula veris
Primula veris is a flowering plant in the genus Primula. The species is found throughout most of temperate Europe and Asia, and although absent from more northerly areas including much of northwest Scotland, it reappears in northernmost Sutherland and Orkney.-Names:The common name cowslip derives...
and Lady's Bedstraw. The chalk cliffs to the north and east are important nesting places for seabirds.
Historically Culver has been the source of commercial bird's egg collecting from ropes over the cliff. It was also known for breeding peregrine falcons.
The northern side is intensively grazed by cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, so fertilization and poaching of the soil, not to mention a spell as an artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
training ground, have all but eliminated the natural chalk ecosystem.
On Culver Down a number of unusual ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
species live, including the semi-myrmecophilous Solenopsis fugax
Solenopsis fugax
Solenopsis fugax is a myrmicine ant of the genus Solenopsis.It is the only member of its genus to be native to the British Isles, and although rare, it has been taken by Horace Donisthorpe in a number of localities on England's Southern coast, including Sandown and Shanklin on the Isle of Wight,...
(Latr.), a thief ant which was recorded there several times by Horace Donisthorpe
Horace Donisthorpe
Horace St. John Kelly Donisthorpe was an eccentric British myrmecologist and coleopterist, memorable in part for his enthusiastic championing of the renaming of the genus Lasius after him as Donisthorpea, and for his many claims of discovering new species of beetles and ants.He is often considered...
. The ant Ponera coarctata has also been taken from this location.
The public parts of this prominent headland are owned and managed by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
. Spectacular views of the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
can be had.
For many years the whole site was a military zone and not open to the public. There are several historic military features on the down, a number of private dwellings, the Culver Haven pub, and the very visible Monument. The military barracks which once adjoined the monument has been almost completely erased, but there is a substantial fort, now under the ownership of the National Trust and occasionally opened to the public. Part of the fort is leased to Micronair, manufacturing crop-spraying and military equipment. It is a Palmerston Fort
Palmerston Forts
The Palmerston Forts are a group of forts and associated structures, around the coast of Britain.The forts were built during the Victorian period on the recommendations of the 1860 Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom, following concerns about the strength of the French Navy, and...
, constructed in the 1860s. At the end of the cliff is a coastal and anti-aircraft battery from the Second World War.
In 1545 a French force was intercepted crossing from its beach head at Whitecliff Bay
Whitecliff Bay
Whitecliff Bay is a sandy bay near the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight, England about 2 miles south-west of Bembridge and just to the north of Culver Down. It is a tourist site , has a popular beach with two hundred metres of sand and shingle, and minimal facilities including 2 cafes...
to attack Sandown by local levies under Sir John Oglander and a skirmish fought on the Down. The French were finally repulsed at Sandown
Sandown
Sandown is a seaside resort town and civil parish on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, neighbouring the town of Shanklin to the south. Sandown Bay is the name of the bay off the English Channel which both towns share, and it is notable for its long stretch of easily accessible...
.
The poet Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He invented the roundel form, wrote several novels, and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica...
said in a letter that he had climbed the cliffs at 17, in order to prove his manhood to his family after they refused to let him join the army.
There is a legend that a 14th century hermit lived at the end of the cliffs in a cave in a structure then known as Culver Ness. He is said to have predicted that the well at Wolverton would be poisoned. When a pilgrim from Jerusalem came to bless the well, the vigilant and pious villagers are said to have murdered him. Shortly after the French sacked the village and since when it has been lost beneath the trees of Centurion's Copse. They were repulsed from further mischief by Sir Theobald Russell. There was subsequently a great storm which destroyed the Ness and drowned the hermit. This was held to be divine retribution.
Incident in August 2011
On 17 August 2011 Paul & Jacqueline Charles, in an apparent suicide pact, drove over the cliff from the car park adjoining the Culver Haven pub in a blue Renault Espace. They died on impact with the shoreline after a drop in excess of 300ft.The Yarborough Monument
The monument is a memorial to Charles Anderson-PelhamCharles Anderson-Pelham, 1st Earl of Yarborough
Charles Anderson-Pelham, 1st Earl of Yarborough , styled Hon. Charles Anderson-Pelham from 1794 to 1823, was the founder of the Royal Yacht Squadron...
, the 2nd Baron Yarborough (later first Earl of Yarborough
Earl of Yarborough
Earl of Yarborough is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1837 for Charles Anderson-Pelham, 2nd Baron Yarborough. The Anderson-Pelham family descends from Francis Anderson of Manby, Lincolnshire. He married Mary, daughter of Charles Pelham of Brocklesby, Lincolnshire...
and also Baron Worsley), founder of the Royal Yacht Squadron
Royal Yacht Squadron
The Royal Yacht Squadron is the most prestigious yacht club in the United Kingdom and arguably the world. Its clubhouse is located in Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom...
at Cowes
Cowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
. It was originally erected in 1849 on the highest point of Bembridge Down, 3/4 mile to the west, and was moved to its present position in the 1860s when its former site was used for the construction of one of the Palmerston forts.