Culture of the Isle of Wight Isle of Wight has an active branch of the Pagan Federation (many of whom style themselves as "Druids" and of inmates in Parkhurst Prison, paganism makes up the third most popular religion (according to the Isle of Wight County Press. The Isle of Wight was the last area of English paganism until 686CE when, according to Bede, Cædwalla of Wessex conquered the island, killing its inhabitants and installing Christians in their place. A "sheela-na-gig" is preserved in the gateway to Holy Cross Church in Binstead. Historically several women were alleged to be witches (such as the nineteenth-century Bembridge woman Molly
Lord of the Isle of Wight privileges as feudal overlord of the Isle of Wight. In 1293, lying on her death bed, the countess sold the island to Edward I for 6,000 marks. The Lordship thereafter became a royal appointment. The last Lord of the Isle of Wight was Edward Woodville, Lord Scales (d. 1488). Lord of the Isle of Wight The Lord of the Isle of Wight is a title that began when William the Conqueror granted the Isle of Wight to William Fitz Osbern. It was a hereditary title. The last Lord of the Island of Wight was actually not a lord but a