BROOK
Broc (xi and xii cent.); Broke, La Brouke, Brok
(xiv cent.).
Brook was at one time claimed as part of Freshwater. (fn. 1)
The village consists of a few scattered cottages, mostly
to the south of the road from Shorwell to Freshwater,
which here takes a sharp turn to the north past the
church standing above it. The parish was early
separated into Upper and Lower Brook, (fn. 2) north and
south of the little stream from which it apparently
takes its name. There is a coastguard station and a
station of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution on
Brook Green. Hulverstone and part of Brook Green
were transferred from Shalfleet parish to Brook in
1889. (fn. 3) There is a National school (mixed) at
Hulverstone for the parishes of Brook and Mottistone,
founded about 1870. In 1905 the parish of Brook
included 538 acres of arable land, 744 acres of
permanent grass and 113 acres of woodland. (fn. 4)
MANOR
BROOK at the time of the Domesday
Survey was held in demesne by King
William, (fn. 5) having been forfeited by Roger
second Earl of Hereford, lord of the Isle of Wight. (fn. 6)
It was held of Carisbrooke Castle (fn. 7) by the Mackerel
family, a member of which, William Mackerel, granted
the tithes of his mill of Brook and common pasture
on the down land to the Abbot and convent of Quarr
before 1189. (fn. 8) Sir Ralph Mackerel, brother and
successor of William, was in possession of the manor
early in the 13th century, (fn. 9) but before the end of
that century it had passed to the Glamorgan family, (fn. 10)
who, according to Sir John Oglander, obtained it by
marriage with the daughter and heir of William
Mackerel. (fn. 11) Brook passed, like Mottistone (q.v.), from
Robert de Glamorgan (fn. 12) to John de Glamorgan, who
was granted free warren in both Brook and Mottistone
in 1326. (fn. 13) He died in 1337, (fn. 14) having before his death
made a life grant of the manor to his daughter Isabel
wife of Godfrey de Hunstan, with reversion to his
own right heirs. (fn. 15) Isabel and Godfrey held the
manor for about fourteen years, but on their alienation of it to John Stopham it was seized by Thomas
Haket, guardian of Nicholas de Glamorgan, (fn. 16) brother
and heir of Peter de Glamorgan, son and heir of John,
and thus the right heir of John. (fn. 17) Nicholas being an
idiot, the manor was taken into the king's hands, (fn. 18)
and at his death without issue about 1362–3 the
manor appears to have been divided among his sisters. (fn. 19)
Geoffrey Rookley or Roucle, who had apparently
married Isabel Hunstan mentioned above, (fn. 20) seems to
have acquired the shares of three at least of the other
sisters, and was styled in 1370 Geoffrey Roucle 'de la
Broke.' (fn. 21) He died in 1390, (fn. 22) and in 1445–6 his son
John (fn. 23) gave the manor to John Lisle of Calbourne,
John Stoure and Thomas
Bowerman. The two former
in 1450 released all their
claim to Bowerman, (fn. 24) who
had married Joan, one of the
daughters of John Rookley. (fn. 25)
This transaction probably related to only half the manor,
which alone passed to the
Bowermans, the other falling
to the share of Joan wife of
John Gilbert, who seems to
have been the daughter and
one of the co-heirs of John
Haket, a descendant of Nichola
wife of Thomas Haket, one
of the co-heirs of Nicholas Glamorgan. (fn. 26) Joan Gilbert
outlived her husband and died in 1502 holding a
moiety of the manor of Brook, which then passed to
her son Robert. (fn. 27) This part of the manor was sold
in 1566 by George Gilbert son of Robert to William
Bowerman, (fn. 28) a descendant of Joan Bowerman, and
thus the two moieties again became reunited.
Bowerman. Ermine a bend cotised sable with three boars' heads or thereon cut off at the neck.
The mansion-house of Brook evidently formed part
of the Bowermans' moiety of the manor, for when
Henry VII paid a visit to the Isle of Wight in 1499
he visited Thomas and Joan Bowerman at Brook
House, and was so pleased with the entertainment
given him that he presented Joan with his drinking
horn and gave her a warrant for a fat buck of the
season to be annually delivered to her from his forest
of Carisbrooke during her life. (fn. 29)
Joan, dying in 1503, was succeeded by her grandson
Nicholas son of Thomas Bowerman, who died in 1559,
leaving a son and heir William. (fn. 30) The latter acquired
the other moiety of the manor from George Gilbert,
as stated above. In 1580 his son Thomas was dealing
with the manor, (fn. 31) and it passed from him to his son
William, who was one of the judges of the Knighten
Court in 1625. (fn. 32) Thomas, the son and successor of
William, was member of Parliament for Newport in
1658 and died in 1677. (fn. 33) His second son John
succeeded to the manor, apparently settling it in 1688
upon his son William. (fn. 34) The
manor passed in the direct
line in this family (fn. 35) until
1792, when William Bowerman sold it to Henry Howe. (fn. 36)
On Henry's death in the
following year it passed to
his brother William Howe, (fn. 37)
who with his wife Sarah conveyed it in 1798–9 to James
Clarke for the purposes of
settlement. (fn. 38) In 1848 and
1856 John and William
Howe were joint lords of the
manor, (fn. 39) but they sold it before 1859 to Charles Seely, (fn. 40)
whose son Charles, created a
baronet in 1896, (fn. 41) is the present owner of the estate.
Seely, baronet. Azure three ears of wheat tied together or between two martlets paleways and two wreaths of roses fesseways argent.
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY stands on
a knoll at the turn of the road northward from Mottistone to Freshwater,
and possesses little of antiquarian interest. Completely
gutted by fire in 1863, (fn. 42) it was practically rebuilt the
following year, and in 1889 had the tower raised
14 ft. and finished with a shingle spire. Of the
original 13th-century church the only evidence is
the arch (fn. 43) in the south wall opening to the tower,
which must have originally opened into a side chapel, (fn. 44)
and a carved stone representing a seated lion. (fn. 45) The
north chapel was probably erected by William Bowerman, lord of the manor in the middle of the 18th
century. (fn. 46) The church consists of a nave and chancel
without dividing arch, a north chapel and a small
tower. In the west wall is a 14th-century window,
and the original tower was erected in the 16th
century on the site of the demolished chantry. There
is a piscina with an ancient drain, but it is a made-up
restoration. In the tower is a peal of eight tubular
bells.
The communion plate, consisting of flagon, chalice
and paten, was given by William Bowerman in 1717.
The registers are as follows: (i) all entries from
1653 to 1671; (ii) all entries 1695 to 1783;
(iii) marriages 1754 to 1812; (iv) all entries 1784
to 1802. There is a church rate and account book
from 1728 to 1876.
ADVOWSON
The advowson of the chapel of
Brook evidently belonged in early
times to the lord of the manor, for
William Mackerel gave it to God's House, Yarmouth,
and his grant was confirmed by Ralph his brother. (fn. 47)
Possibly by the suppression of the hospital the lords
of the manor by the middle of the 14th century (fn. 48)
became reinvested with the advowson, and they continued to hold it (fn. 49) until the sale of the manor in
1792, when William Bowerman retained it and presented in 1795. (fn. 50) The Bowermans continued to present
until about 1858, (fn. 51) when the presentations were made
by various persons, possibly as their grantees. (fn. 52) The
advowson passed about 1859 to the Gaze family, in
whose possession it remained until 1892–3, (fn. 53) when it
was sold to Sir Charles Seely, the present lord of the
manor and patron.
The chapel of Brook does not appear in the Taxatio
of Pope Nicholas in 1291, being then a chapel
belonging to Freshwater. In the 18th century a
dispute arose as to the patronage of Brook between
St. John's College, Cambridge, patron of Freshwater,
and the Bowerman family, owners of the manor of
Brook, and the cause was determined in favour of the
latter. (fn. 54) In 1535–6 there was no incumbent in the
chapel of Brook and Nicholas Bowerman took all
the income of the chapel. (fn. 55)
There was a chantry founded in the chapel of Brook
by Joan Bowerman, lady of the manor of Brook, who
died in 1503, for one priest to sing for her and her husband and her father and mother, John and Joan Roucle,
and for all Christian people. (fn. 56) The Chantry Commissioners (fn. 57) found that the patronage was in controversy
between Nicholas and the parson of Freshwater and that
they had so continued in variance for eighteen years.
CHARITIES
There are no endowed charities in
this parish other than the elementary
school at Hulverstone for this parish
and Mottistone, which is mainly supported by Sir
Charles Seely, bart.