Mersley is a farming hamlet on the Isle of Wight. Mersley is in Newchurch Parish, and is adjacent to the village of Newchurch itself. Mersley is home to a large garlic farm which is part of the Isle of Wight Garlic Festival in nearby Newchurch, held annually since 1983 and now drawing 25,000 visitors a year.[1] This garlic farm has also been investigated for inappropriate pesticide use in the past.[2][3][4][5][6]

Potter Molly Attrill worked out of a converted barn in Mersley from 1982 to 2014.[7]

Mersley is the subject of archaeological interest because of findings of Roman pottery in the area. Earthenware and crockery were discovered at the Garlic Farm in the 1970s and 80s.[8][9] Ridges on nearby Mersley Down[10] might be terraces, suggesting the previous presence of a Roman vineyard.[11] There is evidence of a possible earthwork enclosure on a farm in Mersley.[12]

There is a chalk pit on Mersley Down.[13]

References

  1. ^ The Isle of Wight Garlic Festival
  2. ^ Pesticide Incident Report 1999/2000 Archived 2007-06-10 at the Wayback Machine, Health and Safety Executive.
  3. ^ Pesticide Incidents Report 2000/2001 Archived 2007-06-10 at the Wayback Machine, Health and Safety Executive.
  4. ^ Garlic baron bounces back, James Arnold, BBC News, 24 July 2002.
  5. ^ Mersley Farm, Isle of Wight, Lords Hansard text for 20 Dec 2000.
  6. ^ Mersley Farm, Isle of Wight, Lords Hansard text for 15 Dec 1999.
  7. ^ "About Molly Attrill". Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  8. ^ Trott, K., 2002, The evaluation excavation at Mersley Farm, Newchurch, Proc Isle of Wight Nat Hist Archaeol Soc 16, 95-112.
  9. ^ ROMAN WIGHT, Malcolm Lyne
  10. ^ Mersley Down pictures,Megalithic Portal[permanent dead link].
  11. ^ IRON AGE VINEYARDS ON MERSLEY DOWN ? Archived 2007-08-19 at the Wayback Machine, Archive of Monthly News Items As previously featured in the History Centre, Isle of Wight History Centre Archived 2007-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, January 2000.
  12. ^ An assessment of LIDAR for archaeological use Archived 2007-07-17 at the Wayback Machine, David Motkin, formerly with the Isle of Wight Council Archaeology Service, AERIAL ARCHAEOLOGY RESEARCH GROUP Annual Meeting, Aberdeen University, 5–7 September 2000.
  13. ^ DUXMORE CHALK PIT, MERSLEY DOWN, NEWPORT[permanent dead link], Isle of Wight Unitary Development Plan, Appendix E.

50°40′45″N 1°12′56″W / 50.67917°N 1.21556°W / 50.67917; -1.21556


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