Chale, Hampshire

Description
Chale, a parish in the Isle of Wight, on the south coast, 6 1/2 miles W of Ventnor. It has a post and money order office under Ventnor, R.S.O. (Isle of Wight); telegraph office, Niton. Acreage, 2222; population, 607. The manor belonged to Carisbrooke Priory, and passed to the Pelhams. Chale Farm house is an interesting architectural relic, with features of Decorated English. The coast includes Blackgang Chine, and the interior includes St Catherine's Hill. A slight indentation of the coast, 3 miles long, bears the name of Chale Bay, is overhung by terrific cliffs, and was the scene of the shipwreck of the Clarendon in 1836. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Winchester; net value, £336 with residence. The church is partly transition Norman, has a Perpendicular English tower, and contains a piscina, and a handsome monument to Major-General Sir Henry Worsley. The graves of many of the passengers and crew of the Clarendon, with a monument to the Shores, are in the churchyard. A large mission hall was erected in 1873, and a Wesleyan chapel in 1888. There is a military road from Chale Church to Freshwater.