Here, in the South Wight, we are blessed with some of the most beautiful and historic churches in the country. Most of them have very ancient roots and one lays claim to being the second smallest church in the country. St Lawrence Old Church nestles halfway up the cliff above the village, off Seven Sisters Road, and dates back to Saxon times. It was extended in the Norman age and then again later in 1842. The Parish Church of St John the Baptist Niton, found appropriately in Church Street, also had Saxon beginnings and was greatly enlarged in Norman times. It too has beautiful windows and very intricate carvings on the reredos which was donated in 1937 as a memorial of a loving husband to his wife. There is also some striking modern art-work by John Reilly. Near the Celtic cross outside is a marble monument marking the resting place of Edward Edwards, founder of the public library movement. There are also four Commonwealth War Graves, three from WW2 and one from WW1. At Whitwell, you can find the combined churches of St Mary and St Rhadegund on the main road. The earlier chapel of St Rhadegund was built in the 12th century and later, in about 1200, St Mary was built alongside. In the 16th century the chapel of St Mary was widened as an aisle to the newly combined church. The pulpit is from the mid 17th century and one of the finest on the Island. The decorative screen is also worthy of note for its fine carving. From the 12th century, St Andrew’s at Chale is an impressive building to be found on the main road. Famous for its five stained glass windows by Charles E Kempe, it too has a magnificent pulpit. Many victims of shipwrecks are buried near the north churchyard including those of the famous ‘Clarendon’ which was wrecked in 1836. The most modern of our churches is the 19th century church Parish Church of St Lawrence, in Undercliff Drive. It is famous for its Pre- Raphaelite stained-glass windows, designed by Burne Jones, Ford Maddox Brown, Sir William Reynolds Stephens and William Morris. The windows were originally installed in the Royal National Hospital, now site of the Botanic Gardens, but when this was demolished in 1969, they were transferred to this church. The church itself was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott in 1878 and has been little altered since.