One of the oldest places on the Island. Said to be the some of the early labours of St Boniface. The little cove amoung rocks below the Old Church (11th century) and shown in the sign, is called Monk's Bay said to be the landing place form monks from the Abbeya of Lyra in Normandy who at one time owned much of the island. The Duck and the Fish on the sign indicates the pond. 19th century was the golden age of Bonchurch, when many famous residents and visitors, and many fine houses built.
Celebrated Victorians such as Charles Dickens, Thomas Carlyle, and Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay came here and stayed in large villas that they rented, often for the season. The poet Algernon Charles Swinburne spent his boyhood in Bonchurch, at East Dene.
No self-respecting village is without its ghosts, and Bonchurch has several. A phantom horseman, and a ghostly coach used to pass through the village past this cache. These could have been devices of the smugglers for which Bonchurch was notorious. Hauntings at St Boniface House resulted in closed room and finally demolition. More recent phantom car passed down the village.
The sign is at Donkey Bank, where Madeira Road branches from the Village street.
About Village Sign Caches
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This cache belongs to the Village Sign Series, a series of caches based on ornate signs that depict the heritage, history and culture of the villages that put them up (generally on the village green!).
The signs can be made of different materials from fibreglass to wood, from forged steel to stone. They can depict anything from local industry to historical events. The tradition probably started in Norfolk or Suffolk and has now spread across most of the country so we thought we would base a series on them!
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More information, bookmarks and statistics can be found at the Village Signs Website
If anybody would like to expand the Village Sign Series, please do.
I would ask that you request a number for your cache first at www.villagesignseries.co.uk
so we can keep track of the Village Sign numbers and names to avoid duplication.