Freshwater, Isle of Wight
Freshwater is a large village and civil parish at the western end of the Isle of Wight, England. The southern, coastal part of the village is Freshwater Bay, named for the adjacent small cove. Freshwater sits at the western end of the region known as the Back of the Wight or the West Wight, a popular tourist area. Freshwater is close to steep chalk cliffs. It was the birthplace of physicist Robert Hooke and was the home of Poet Laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson. Landmarks Freshwater is famous for its geology and coastal rock formations that have resulted from centuries worth of coastal erosion. The "Arch Rock" was a well-known local landmark that collapsed on 25 October 1992. The neighbouring "Stag Rock" is so named because supposedly a stag leapt to the rock from the cliff to escape during a hunt. Another huge slab fell off the cliff face in 1968, and is now known as the "Mermaid Rock". Immediately behind Mermaid Rock lies a small sea cave that cuts several metres into the new cliff. Freshwater's beach is very popular with tourists and locals. It is mostly pebbles, but it is also covered in chalk from the nearby cliffs, which is frequently gathered by tourists as souvenirs. Freshwater features an excellent example of a surviving Victorian Beach hotel, The Albion. The Albion was built around the time Freshwater became well-regarded as a coastal resort and is still popular today. Frequent repair-work and repainting are undertaken on the building's sea-front exterior walls, due to strong storms which often batter rocks, and other debris, against it. The hills above Freshwater are named after Tennyson. On the nearby Tennyson Down is a Cornish granite cross erected in 1897 in tribute to Tennyson, "by the people of Freshwater, and other friends in England and America." There is also a hill in the area called 'Hooke Hill', named for Robert Hooke. The Anglican All Saints' Church, Freshwater is one of the oldest churches on the Isle of Wight, and it was listed in the Domesday survey of 1086. Mark Whatson is the current pastor of All Saints, which is in the Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth. A primary school associated with the church is nearby. There is a marble memorial commemorating Tennyson in All Saints Church. Tennyson's wife Emily and other family members are buried in the church cemetery. The church is also the site of a memorial to Tennyson's son, Lionel Tennyson, who died of malaria in 1886. Dimbola Lodge, the home of Julia Margaret Cameron and now a photographic museum, is in the village of Freshwater Bay, which is part of Freshwater. There is also a tearoom and bookstore. Tennyson's son, Hallam, donated land for a new church in Freshwater Bay. Hallam's wife Audrey Tennyson suggested that the church be named for St. Agnes. St. Agnes' Church, Freshwater was consecrated on 12 August 1908. It is the only thatched church on the Isle of Wight. Freshwater was the site of the largest station on