Warblington
The tiny tower at Warblington has a little spire that is made from wood and was built by the Saxons but the craftsmen from the Norman times as well as the 13th and 14th centuries all contributed to it, There are a couple of Saxon doorways built with Roman tiles and a yew with a girth of 18ft is nearby. The Countess of Salisbury lived at Warblington castle the ruined turret of which is all that remains today of this 14th century castle where Henry Cotton the godson of Queen Elizabeth I was born and when she made him a bishop she is reputed to have said she had blessed many of her godsons but had never had a godson bless her before.

It was here also that Henry VIII butchered Margaret Pole, the Countess of Salisbury who was a daughter of George Pantagenet the Duke of Clarence and her mother was a daughter of Warwick the Kingmaker. She married Richard Pole who was a Buckinghamshire man and who had a family relationship to Margaret Beaufort Henry VII's mother.

There are in fact two churches in Warblington parish, St James and the church of Thomas à Becket, the latter being the ancient parish church of Warblington. Warblington used to be an important place with its mediaeval castle and a church that dated back to the time of the Saxons, today though Warblington is quiet compared to Emsworth two miles away which is now a bustling little town. The name of the church seemed to have changed for some unknown reason as it was dedicated to St Mary but was changed to St. Thomas à Becket during the nineteenth century.

 
St. Thomas à Becket   The Church of St James
 
All that remains of Warblington castle    
     

The churchyard of St. Thomas à Becket    has many gravestones from the 18th century and one even depicts a man being swallowed by a fish and another a sailor drowning on an upturned ship, a third one shows a ship of fire probably in Portsmouth Harbour, there is also two stone huts that were built to give shelter to those who were employed to guard the churchyard against body snatchers, which went on right up until the Anatomy Act of 1832 outlawed this practice.

 

I must go down
to the sea again
To the lonely sea and the sky
All all I ask
is a tallship
And a star to steer her by
And the wheel's kick
and the wind's song
and the white sails shaking
and a grey mist
on the seas face
and a grey dawn breaking

  

Sir Peter Blake KBE
1948 - 2001
Yachtsman and adventurer
of NEW ZEALAND
and of
EMSWORTH

It was on December 14th 2001 that the body of Sir Peter Blake the famous yachtsman  who was born in the area but was living in New Zealand, was buried in the ground of Thomas à Becket. Hundreds of people attended the service including well know celebrities from the Yachting world, including Sir Robert Knox-Johnston and Helen McArthur who capture the hearts of the world with her yachting prowess. Also attending was the Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark.