Brighstone
Another of the villages along the ‘Back of the Wight’, Brighstone and its near neighbour, Brook, lie on the sunny side of the chalk downs that march east-west across the centre of the Island. Brighstone has an interesting church, a good pub and a very pleasant tea garden.
The outstanding building in the village is, of course, the Church which dates back to 1190. The village is extremely proud that no less than three of its former Rectors were consecrated bishops, and there is a pub in the village aptly named "The Three Bishops".
Smuggling was one of the main "occupations" of the past, mainly brandy, which was brought across the Channel from the Cherbourg Peninsula in great secrecy, and smuggled ashore in sealed tubs and hidden under cottage floors and in hay ricks to avoid discovery by the Revenue men.
