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
Politics of the Isle of Wight single member constituencies and 1 double member constituency. The local council elections were held on 5 May 2005, the same date as the general election of that year. A local referendum on the issue of a directly-elected mayor of the Isle of Wight was held at the same time as the local elections - this failed to pass, with 37,097 against to 28,786 for. "Prior to 1995, these results are for Isle of Wight County Council." The Isle of Wight voted 62% to leave the European Union in the 2016 EU referendum, compared with 52% nationally. The Isle of Wight