Isle of Wight Holidays Self Catering Holiday Rentals IOW
 

brading

 Brading Self Catering Isle of Wight 2012 Self Catering Holidays Isle of Wight

Brading first gained prominence as one of the principal  towns of the Island through its sitting at the head of a substantial sheltered  harbour whose tidal waters reached as far inland as the rear of the present  day Bugle Inn in the High street. Roman vessels plied between South Coast  ports and Brading harbour and, later, King Alfred the Great's new-born Navy  repelled a Danish Viking invasion fleet off the entrance to the harbour.

During the last 120 years, Brading has grown in population,  together with the necessary dwellings,schools and places of worship, to its  present size of some 900 households of over 1900 inhabitants.


However, the  main employments of its breadwinners now lie outside the parish and in the  larger towns of the Island and the adjacent mainland. Many of the essential  small shops of previous years; butchers, bakers, greengrocers, fishmongers,  ironmongers, outfitters, shoemakers etc, have gradually disappeared and the  premises given over to supplying the tourist trade or have simply become private  dwellings.