Arreton has a church that is a thousand years old containing a Saxon doorway, piscina and a piece of sculpture from the same era. Also there are eight Saxon windows. The village has a farmhouse that dates back to Jacobean times, a pond and groups of cottage that stand being the inn.

The church has a Tudor porch with a vaulted roof and the interior of the buildings is said to be one of the most enchanting on the island. Long, tall and wide with a handsome arcade and beautiful windows. Though it has a new font the old one which is 700 years old still remains. The pulpit was made from panelling dating back to Jacobean times and was found in an inn. There also a first edition copy of  Foxe's Book of Martyrs and a chest from the 17th century.

A carved table made during the reign of Elizabeth I can be seen in the south chapel along with two brasses, one of which has a poem by William Serle, who died in 1595. relating to the charities that he left. The other being a figure with no head that is dressed in armour from the 14th century and is all that remains of the portrait of Harry Hawles, there is an inscription which ends:

Long tyme steward of the Ysle of Wyght
Have m'cy on hym, Godful ofmyght,

Not many churches can boast so many Saxon windows, six of them being circular and two round-headed, three of them are on each side of the nave and accompanied by quatrefoil tracery which comes from a later date.

On the wall of the north aisle are two pieces of sculpture one is Saxon showing the Ascension and the other depicts the head of a dragon and is from a 12th century statue of St George.

The newer font is set on a pillar and has an ancient panel in the sides of the bowl which depicts two fishes which were rescued from a stream in the garden of the vicar, from where the panel was salvaged.

In the chancel there are two corbels that relate to two stone heads that are in an archway by the pulpit, they are said to be representations of a curate and his clerk.

Two memorials to an old island family are also shown, one commemorates a young lad that drowned in a storm and a third memorial is to the last baronet of the family, Sir Leonard Worsley Holms and his wife and daughters are depicted.

Outside in the churchyard two memorials stand together, these mark the graves of two sisters, Elizabeth Wallbridge who was the heroine in one of the stories of Leigh Richmond, ( in his story The Dairyman's Daughter), who was a servant at a large house when her sister died. The funeral service was in fact conducted by Leigh Richmond as he was curate at the time, and Elizabeth wrote a letter of gratitude to him and a while later a great friendship developed between the two.

There are three old manor houses in reach of the village which sits below 444ft high Arreton Down. Here on the down can be found traces of Saxon settlements and maybe even earlier ones.

Arreton Manor is a house built in the 17th century and is famed for its museum of toys and items from a time long gone.

Text courtesy of: Southern Life (UK)