Edward I gave Brading its first charter in 1280, directly rather than through the island’s lord, so it was known afterwards as the King’s Town. At the north end of the High Street, St Mary’s Church goes back to the 12th century, and in its Oglander Chapel carved and painted wooden knights lie on the family tombs. A few steps away, the Old Town Hall still has its 17th-century lock-up, a cell for petty criminals, plus wooden stocks with five holes and a whipping post. The flat land east of town was a tidal harbour until 1881, when it was finally embanked and drained, and it’s now the RSPB’s Brading Marshes reserve. Brading Roman Villa, with its mosaic floors, is just south of town.
© Rob Purvis / Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
