is evidence of a Roman harbour at the end of the Western Yar. In 530 AD, the Island fell to a combined force of Saxons and Jutes. After the Norman Conquest, Lord of the Island William Fitz Osbern gave the Saxon All Saints' Church and its tithes to the Norman Abbey of Lyre sometime between 1066 and his death in 1071. In 1414 all alien priories were seized by the Crown. In 1623, when King James I gave Freshwater Parish to John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln, Williams then granted Freshwater to St John's College, Cambridge on 24 March 1623. The Freshwater Parish originally was composed of five farms, known as "tuns": Norton, Sutton, Easton, Weston and Middleton. All of these place names still exist, except for Sutton, which is now called Freshwater Bay (previously Freshwater Gate). The first meeting of the Freshwater Parish Council was on 31 December 1894. In 2010, 250 kg of cocaine was found in Freshwater Bay. The "Freshwater Five" fishing crew were convicted in relation to this, but are appealing their conviction. Village attractions There are several attractions within the immediate area: Farringford House, home of poet Alfred Lord Tennyson. Dimbola Lodge, home of photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. West Wight Sports Centre. Freshwater Bay Golf Course. Afton Down, the site of the Isle of Wight Festival 1970. The Needles Old Battery, a Victorian fort and post-Second World War High Down Rocket Test Site. Needles Lighthouse and chalk rocks. Compton Bay, where dinosaur footprints are visible at low tide. The Longstone, some four miles distant, the only megalithic monument on the Island. Not all of these attractions are within the formal boundaries of the village. Transport Freshwater is linked to other parts of the Island by Southern Vectis buses on route 7 and route 12 serving Totland, Yarmouth and Newport as well as intermediate villages. In the Summer, open-top bus "The Needles Tour" and tourist service "Island Coaster" serve Freshwater Bay. Freshwater is on the Isle of Wight Coastal Path. See also List of current places of worship on the Isle of Wight References External links Villages on the Isle of Wight Civil parishes in the Isle of Wight Bays of the Isle of Wight