Tower Of St Catherine'S Oratory

The Tower of St Catherine's Oratory is a former lighthouse located on St Catherine's Hill in Chale. It dates back to the early 14th century and was constructed by the local landowner Walter de Godeton as penance for disposing of church wine cargo from the Saint Marie, which was wrecked on Atherfield Ledge in 1314. The tower was built to serve as a lighthouse to prevent further shipwrecks and originally included an oratory chapel with a monk responsible for maintaining the light and saying masses for those lost at sea.

After the Reformation, the chapel fell into ruins and was gone by the 18th century, but buttresses were added to the tower during that time to ensure its stability as a seamark. The tower was restored by P G Stone in 1891 and again by the Ministry of Works in 1950. It is constructed of ashlar and features four storeys, being octagonal on the outside and square on the inside, with four buttresses and a pyramidal stone roof that is domed internally. The ground and first floors have pointed doorways that originally connected to the Priest's dwelling and the chapel, respectively, and there are loop lights on the ground, first, and second floors. The top storey has eight windows that are splayed outward to allow light from the brazier that served as the beacon. The stairs and floors are now missing. This tower is a rare example of a medieval lighthouse and is locally known as "the Pepper Pot" due to its shape, especially in relation to the remains of the 18th-century lighthouse known as "the Salt Cellar" located to the southeast in the adjoining parish of Niton. The tower is also designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.