Nettlestone Point, Isle of Wight

Historical Description

Nettlestone Point, a small bold headland on the NE coast of the Isle of Wight, at Seaview village, 2½ miles ESE of Ryde. It formerly was crowned with a blockhouse for the defence of the island, and on that account is sometimes called Old Fort. The French invading force of 1545 landed here and occupied the blockhouse, which had been abandoned by its garrison, and they ventured hence inland, fell into an ambuscade, and were driven back with great loss to their ships. The rocks of the headland consist of rag or freestone, with silicious concretions passing into grit, and they abound in comminuted univalves.

Maps

Online maps of Nettlestone Point are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)