Brook
Brook dates from the Bronze Age, when men walked the ancient road on the Downs, and buried their dead in the barrows which are seen there today. It became a community of small farmsteads which stretched from the east of Five Barrows, and to the south reaching to the cliff edge.
Brook Down |
Brook is situated on the south-west side of the Island between Brighstone and Freshwater. Brook Manor is mentioned in the Domesday survey, and in the reigns of the three Edwards it was held by the Clamorgan family, who occupied it for more than 300 years. The manor, through marriage eventually passed to the Bowermans. Henry VI was entertained here, and was so impressed that he made an annual gift of a fat buck from Carisbrooke forest. The Manor was eventually sold in 1854 to Mr. Charles Seely, M.P. for Lincoln, and eventually passed to his son, Charles, later created a Baronet. He founded many reading rooms for men and the one in Brook is known as the "Seely Hall", which incidentally, is still there.
There was a lifeboat station on Brook green, which now stands roofless, as a silent memorial to the brave deeds of the past.
