Godshill

The name means 'the hill associated with a Christian or heathen god' from Old English god and hyll. It could also mean a pagan god, as the hill the church was built on was a site for pagan worship. However, even if it is associated with a Christian god, it could still be implying that it was used for pagan worship, and then transferred to Christian.

1142-1147: Godeshul

~1145: Godeshelle

1183: Godeshull

1255: Godeshille

1311: Goddeshulle

1449: Godyshille^[6]

Ford Farm near Godshill was the site of the first Isle of Wight Festival in 1968, which attracted 10,000 people to see acts such as Jefferson Airplane and Arthur Brown.^[7]

Godshill Park House dates from about 1760 and was built as a home farm to serve the Appuldurcombe Estate. In around 1860 the house was extended, adding the Regency front, and became a private residence. It was used in the Second World War as an army hospital.

Godshill is a much-visited tourism destination on the Isle of Wight. The village has thatched cottages and All Saints Church on the hill. There are tea rooms, gift shops and two pubs: the "Griffin", with a griffin-shaped maze and children's playground,^[8] and "The Taverners".

Public transport is provided by Southern Vectis buses, routes 2 and 3.

Godshill is part of the electoral ward of Central Rural, previously Godshill and Wroxall. The population of the previous ward at the 2011 Census was 3,212.^[9]

Since 1952, Godshill has been the home of a model village portraying itself and Shanklin's old village at a scale of 1:10. It is so detailed and on such a large scale that it contains a scale model of the model village. Within that second model there is a third, even smaller model of the village.^[10] The site is also an RHS Partner Garden showcasing around 2,000 conifers and shrubs. Many are coarse bonsai-treated trees, to retain scale with the models.

The parish church is a medieval building noted for its medieval wall painting of a Lily crucifix, and a stained-glass window by William Morris.