St Peter and St Paul's Church, Mottistone

The church is medieval, dating from the 12th century,[2] by Brian de Insula, lord of Mottistone Manor.[3] Much of the current building is from the 15th.[4] The Cheke chapel was added in the 16th century,[5] by the Cheke family who became lords of the manor in 1300.[3] The chancel was reroofed in 1862, with timber from the Bermudan barque Cedrene which was wrecked nearby.[6] The Cedrene was just 16 days old when it wrecked on the shores of the Back of the Wight [7]

"Where the fragrance of Bermuda Cedar still lingers after 100 years... a token of the beauty that was Cedrene."

A Victorian restoration was carried out in 1863,[5] which included the reconstruction of window tracery, nave arches and piers, roofs and walls.[1]

In 2014 a publicly funded project to improve access to the church for disabled users was carried out.[8]

Theatre and opera director Sophie Hunter, great-great granddaughter of General J. E. B. Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone, was married to actor Benedict Cumberbatch in the church on 14 February 2015.[9]

The parish is part of the West Wight benefice within the Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth.[10]

The stone building has a tile roof and shingle spire. It consists of a nave with aisles, chancel, north chapel and south porch. The west tower has a crenellated parapet and spire.[1]

The interior includes a font which may date back to the 12th century, however it was refashioned in the late 19th or early 20th century.[11] In 1948 John Seely, 2nd Baron Mottistone commissioned the parclose screen in the Cheke chapel in memory of his father General J. E. B. Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone.[8]