Global InformationList of places of worship on the Isle of Wight information
As of 2019[update] there are about 130 places of worship in use on the Isle of Wight, England's largest island. A wide range of Christian denominations are represented, and Muslims have a mosque in the island's main town of Newport. The diamond-shaped, 146-square-mile (380 km2) island lies in the English Channel, separated from the county of Hampshire by the Solent. Its population of around 140,000 is spread across several small towns and dozens of villages. Many of the island's churches and chapels are in the ancient ports of Yarmouth and Newport, the Victorian seaside resorts of Ryde, Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor, and the twin towns of Cowes and East Cowes; but even the smallest villages often have their own Anglican parish churches and sometimes a Nonconformist chapel. Methodism has been particularly strong on the island for over 200 years, and two of England's oldest Roman Catholic churches are also located here.[1]
Sixty-two churches and chapels have been awarded listed status by Historic England or its predecessor organisations in recognition of their architectural and historical interest. These range from the large and ancient parish churches in villages such as Arreton, Brading and Carisbrooke to the thatch-roofed St Agnes' Church at Freshwater Bay and the concrete-framed St Faith's Church at Cowes—both of the early 20th century—and from the simple and plain Methodist chapel at Godshill to the elaborate Castlehold Baptist Chapel in Newport. A building is defined as "listed" when it is placed on a statutory register of buildings of "special architectural or historic interest" in accordance with the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.[2] The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, a Government department, is responsible for listing; Historic England, a non-departmental public body, acts as an agency of the department to administer the process and advise the department on relevant issues. There are three grades of listing status. Grade I, the highest, is defined as being of "exceptional interest"; Grade II* is used for "particularly important buildings of more than special interest"; and Grade II, the lowest, is used for buildings of "special interest".[3] As of February 2001, there were 26 Grade I-listed buildings, 55 with Grade II* status and 1,823 Grade II-listed buildings on the Isle of Wight.[4]
Various administrative areas operated by the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church, the United Reformed Church, Baptists and Methodists cover churches on the island which are part of their denominations. These areas include dioceses, archdeaconries, networks and circuits.
- ^ Lloyd & Pevsner 2006, p. 176.
- ^ "Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (c. 9)". The UK Statute Law Database. Ministry of Justice. 24 May 1990. Archived from the original on 13 April 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- ^ "Listed Buildings". Historic England. 2017. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- ^ "Images of England — Statistics by County (Isle of Wight)". Images of England. Historic England. 2014. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2017.