page_title: St Lawrence, Isle of Wight
section_title: William Spindler
hierarchical_section_title: St Lawrence, Isle of Wight / William Spindler
caption_attribution_description: English: St Lawrence, Isle of Wight, UK
context_page_description: St Lawrence is a village on the south side of the Isle of Wight, in southern England. It is located to the west of Ventnor and many consider it a part of that town. St Lawrence is situated on the Undercliff, and is subject to frequent landslips. The village is a 1 ¹⁄₂-mile strip along the coast next to the English Channel, nearby bays include: Woody Bay, Mount Bay and Orchard Bay. The area of the village is around 329 acres in size.
context_section_description: St Lawrence was in the nineteenth century the subject of an ambitious plan by a German developer, named William Spindler (who had made his fortune as a chemist in Berlin), to develop St Lawrence as a resort to rival Ventnor. He lived on the Isle of Wight from 1881 to his death in 1889 and is buried in Whitwell. During his time in St. Lawrence, he had an enormous influence there and on the surrounding areas. He possibly alienated local opinion with a series of "improving pamphlets" criticising local perceived laziness. His legacy has been a number of grand Victorian houses, often semi-derelict and half hidden by woodland. Perhaps his most noticeable memorials are several huge pieces of masonry in Binnel Bay, which once formed a harbour which is all but inaccessible from the land. These have fallen into titanic ruins and are known locally as "Spindler's Follies".
caption: St Lawrence village
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