There was a Manor at Mottistone recorded in the Domesday Book (1086) and if you had £6 you could have bought the estate. Mottistone is in the south west of the Isle of Wight and is a substantial estate. The house itself, though much modified is substantially the same. Note the strange dual tiling of the roof. It would appear that the local limestone used to cover the roof was not suitable to split and shape for the upper part of the roof, so red tiles were substituted. As with many old estates the Manor House fell into a poor condition reflecting the prosperity or lack of it of the owner. It was in the late 1800’s that the house came into the ownership of the Seely family, Coal Barons from Nottinghamshire . It is the Seelys and their decendants who have restored the estate to be seen as we find it to-day (you could say it was built on Coal!)
But it is the Gardens that are the main attraction for visitors. A modern garden in layout but designed to provide beautiful herbaceous borders near to the house and orchard, vegetable and even an Olive Grove beyond.
The plantings are selected for poor sandy soil and are drought tolerant.
THE MOTTISTONE LONG STONE
On Mottistone Downs above the Manor House can be found Mottistone Long Stone. The tall stone stands some 15ft height and is in a commanding position on the downs. It’s history is old than the Manor as the stone is located close to a Neolithic Burial ground (Barrow) and it is thought that the stones and the area around them were possibly used for ‘sky burials’ with only the bones being interred in the barrow. It is also from the Long Stone that the manors named was derived…Moot Stone or Meeting Stone becoming Mottistone.
The Long Stone, Mottistone Downs
AS A Post Script.
Most men are supposed to yearn for a shed or shack at the bottom of their garden, and I suspect many women, particularly those of us who wish to have somewhere quiet to work or create. Well here is Mottistones ‘Shack’…….very desirable
Mottistone Manor is now a National Trust Property with a great Tea Garden.
6th July 2011
DAVID OAKES - IMAGES. 