Brading
One of the island's most ancient settlements, with a superb Roman villa, a medieval Bull Ring, and a high street that predates the seaside resorts by centuries.
Brading is one of the oldest settlements on the Isle of Wight and carries a weight of history that belies its modest size. This small town, set on a ridge overlooking the eastern plain, was an important borough when Ryde was still a fishing hamlet, and its Roman villa, medieval church, and ancient Bull Ring speak to a continuity of settlement stretching back nearly two thousand years.
Brading Roman Villa is the town's most significant attraction and one of the finest Roman sites in southern England. Discovered in 1880, the villa has been excavated and displayed under a modern cover building that protects its remarkable collection of mosaic floors. The mosaics include depictions of Orpheus, Bacchus, and various mythological scenes, executed with considerable artistry. The villa was a substantial estate centre, and the quality of its decoration suggests that its owner was a person of wealth and status. The museum displays finds from the site and interprets the Roman presence on the island, which is more extensive than many visitors realise.
The High Street of Brading runs along the ridge, and its buildings reflect centuries of development. The Town Hall, a small but dignified building on the High Street, dates from the Tudor period and served as the meeting place for the ancient borough. Brading was one of the island's original boroughs, returning members to Parliament from the medieval period, and its administrative importance lasted long after its economic significance had waned. The stocks and whipping post outside the Town Hall are a reminder of earlier forms of justice.
The Bull Ring, a small open space near the Town Hall, is a genuine medieval feature. Bull-baiting took place here until the practice was banned in 1835, and the iron ring to which the bull was tethered was set into the ground. The ring has been replaced with a replica, but the space itself has been in continuous use as a public area since at least the 14th century. The Bull Ring is overlooked by old stone buildings and provides an atmospheric focal point for the upper town.
St Mary's Church, standing on high ground above the town, is a substantial building with Norman origins. The church contains some notable features, including a 12th-century arcade, medieval wall paintings, and the tomb of Sir John Oglander, the 17th-century diarist whose writings provide one of the most vivid accounts of life on the Isle of Wight during the Civil War period. Oglander's home, Nunwell House, lies a short distance south of Brading and is occasionally open to the public; its gardens offer views across the eastern plain to Culver Down.
Brading Haven, the low-lying area east of the town, was until the 19th century a tidal inlet that extended from Bembridge Harbour deep into the island's interior. The reclamation of this haven, principally through the construction of a sea wall in the 1870s, created the flat agricultural land that now occupies the valley floor. Before reclamation, Brading was effectively a port, and its position at the head of the haven gave it commercial importance. The former tidal creek is now Brading Marshes, a nature reserve managed by the RSPB, where freshwater pools and reed beds support a variety of wetland birds.
The Lilliput Museum of Antique Dolls and Toys, housed on the High Street, is one of those unexpected attractions that gives a small town additional interest. The collection includes dolls, dolls' houses, teddy bears, and toys dating from the 18th century to the present, displayed in a series of rooms in a period building. It is a niche attraction, but one that draws visitors who might not otherwise stop in Brading.
Brading railway station, on the Island Line between Ryde and Shanklin, provides a rail connection that makes the town accessible without a car. The station is a short walk from the High Street and the Roman villa, and the train journey from Ryde takes only about ten minutes. The line passes through the reclaimed haven, and the flat landscape here contrasts markedly with the ridgeline that Brading occupies.
The downs south of Brading offer excellent walking. Brading Down, managed by the National Trust, provides open chalk grassland with views across to the mainland. The walk south from Brading to Adgestone and Alverstone passes through quiet agricultural countryside with hedgerows, old farmsteads, and the kind of deep rural peace that the busier parts of the island sometimes lack. Morton Common, to the south-east, is an area of acid heath and bog that supports a different range of species from the surrounding chalk.
Brading's economy today is modest, sustained by tourism to the Roman villa, passing trade from visitors exploring the eastern island, and the needs of its residential population. There is a village shop, a pub, and a handful of other businesses along the High Street. The town has a primary school and a community hall, and the compact nature of the settlement gives it a strong community feel.
What sets Brading apart is its depth of history. Standing on the High Street, looking south towards the downs and east across the reclaimed haven, you are in a landscape that has been continuously inhabited for at least two millennia. The Roman villa, the Norman church, the medieval Bull Ring, the Tudor Town Hall, and the Victorian railway station each represent a different chapter, but together they tell a story of endurance. Brading may be small and quiet today, but it has been here longer than almost anywhere else on the island, and that antiquity gives it a dignity that no amount of modern development could replicate.
Highlights
- Brading Roman Villa with exceptional mosaic floors
- Medieval Bull Ring and Tudor Town Hall
- St Mary's Church with Norman arcade and Oglander tomb