Brook, Isle of Wight
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brook is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Brighstone, on the Isle of Wight, England.[1] In 1931 the parish had a population of 156.[2] On 1 April 1933 the parish was abolished and merged with Brighstone.[3]
Its name is thought to mean '(the place at) the brook', from Old English brōc. Brook Chine is named after Brook.
1086: Broc
~1194: Manerio del Broc
~1200: Broke
1276: La Broke
1327: Brouke
1348: Brooke
In the spelling dated ~1194, del means 'of the'.[4]
Background
Brook is situated on the south west coast of the Island between Brighstone and Freshwater, and borders a section of rugged coastline, the Back of the Wight, facing into the English Channel and towards the famous Needles and west Wight cliffs.
Brook's principal public attraction is its proximity to a section of coast which is used by the public for walking, fossil hunting, kitesurfing and windsurfing. There is a small 'green' by the beach and a National Trust-owned section of land with a small car park, the nearby hamlet of Brookgreen is also owned by them. There are no toilets, no cafe and no souvenir shops. A chine leads down to Brook Bay, which is a semi-circular sweep of semi-rocky beach facing south west. The prevailing south-westerly winds scour the beach and alternately either pile up sand from the Dorset coast, or strip it bare, exposing rocks and sometimes fossils.
There is a section of reef extending from the shoreline for about half a mile into the English Channel. The hinterland of Brook rises steeply from the coastal road to join the chalk spine which stretches from one end of the Island to the other.
