Product Code Database
Puckaster (also known as Niton Undercliff) is a hamlet in the civil parish of Niton and Whitwell, on sloping cliffs on the Isle of Wight, England, in the Undercliff region. Puckaster is on the southern coast of the Isle of Wight, south of Niton, between St Catherine's Point and Binnel. It has a population of 282, with historical significance.
Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Hopsonn as an orphan lived in Niton. Seeing the fleet passing offshore he literally ran away to sea, down Puckaster Lane and into a rowing boat, later distinguishing himself, especially at the Battle of Vigo Bay in 1702 and returning to become a local Member of Parliament. He is mentioned by Samuel Smiles in Self Help. The coastline around Puckaster is quite treacherous, leading to the creation of St. Catherine's Oratory on St. Catherine's Down and eventually other in the area. Among the other shipwrecks near Puckaster was that of the West Indianman "Three Sisters". The Three Sisters went aground at Puckaster in January 1799. Three of the crew were drowned in this accident. Isle Of Wight Shipwrecks: 'HMS Pomone' and 'Carn Brae Castle', BBC h2g2, December 7, 2002.
Puckaster Cove sits on the coastline beneath the hamlet, immediately east of Reeth Bay and west of Binnel Bay. It is a small remote cove that is now largely inaccessible and dangerous due to landslides. It has a narrow and rocky shoreline with a small shingle beach. The remains of several wooden structures and cleared sand channels can be seen offshore, these originate from the small fishing community that once existed at the cove, which was subsequently destroyed by landslides during the 20th century. As at Reeth Bay the cove is backed by in-situ cliffs of Lower Greensand, with superficial mudflows and landslide debris from the Gault Clay (known locally as 'Blue Slipper') and Upper Greensand.
Puckaster has inspired several renowned paintings and drawings. For example, British painter Edward William Cooke (1811–1880) made a watercolor of Puckaster Cove in 1831. PAE5457 Puckaster Cove, Isle of Wight , Edward William Cookee, water colour drawing no. 33 in Notebook of Pictures (11 July 1831) The Brigham Young University Museum of Art owns an anonymous drawn plan of a Puckaster dwelling Plan for Puckaster, Isle of Wight, Brigham Young University Museum of Art. and a watercolor of a Puckaster cottage. Puckaster, Isle of Wight, Brigham Young University Museum of Art. Mrs. W. Bartlett and W. Willis made a well known etching of Puckaster Cove that was published in "Barber's Picturesque Illustrations of the Isle of Wight" in 1845. Puckaster Cove 1845, Isle of Wight , Bluegreen Pictures website . The Tate includes a drawing by artist Sir David Wilkie (1785–1841) titled, " Sir Willoughby Gordon and his Daughter Julia, Cooking on a Griddle at Puckaster, near Niton, Isle of Wight 1822". Sir Willoughby Gordon and his Daughter Julia, Cooking on a Griddle at Puckaster, near Niton, Isle of Wight 1822, David Wilkie, 1922. Painters L. J. Wood and Richard Henry Nibbs (1816–1893) have also produced notable paintings of Puckaster.
|
|
