SaintHidden
The monks from Lyra
They stepped off the boat and started building.
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- Small rocky cove below the village
- Legend from
- Local legend
- Tone
- Curious
A boatload of monks from Normandy, landing in a tiny cove to build a church.
Bonchurch takes its name from St Boniface, the Saxon saint who is believed to have visited the island in the 8th century. Wikipedia records a legend that monks from Lyra in Normandy landed at Monks Bay and put up a building dedicated to him. This may have been the wooden church thought to have stood there in the 9th century, where the Old Church now stands. The Old Church of St Boniface is one of the oldest on the island. Monks Bay is a small cove below the village.
One sourceOnly one written account of this legend has been found so far.