Knighton is a largely deserted hamlet near Newchurch on the Isle of Wight, about 2 miles NW of Sandown. The name should be[clarification needed][How is it actually pronounced?] pronounced as Kay-nighton to avoid confusion with the larger village of Niton, near Ventnor.
Knighton is situated under Knighton Down and has historically always been a part of the parish of nearby Newchurch. Knighton consists of little more than a collection of farmhouses, most now turned to residential use. The only amenity in the settlement is a post-box. To the south is Knighton Sandpit Ltd which is an aggregate extraction company. The pit is also used for off-road driving events.[1] This is however, a little way from the main residential area.
Knighton Gorges Manor in Knighton was one of the grandest manor houses on the Isle of Wight. But when the owner's daughter married against his will, he had it demolished, rather than allowing her to inherit it.[citation needed]
Hugh De Morville, one of the knights responsible for the murder of Thomas Becket, fled to Knighton Gorges.
There was a medieval settlement in Knighton, but nearly all of the population moved to the nearby village of Newchurch to escape the Black Death. Flint arrow heads can still be found in fields surrounding the area. It was estimated that at one time, the hamlet contained up to 60 houses.
Jimmy Tarbuck lived at Griggs Farm in the 1980s whilst performing in the nearby town of Sandown.
Knighton is the home of the Wight Crystal drinking water company, whose water comes from Knighton.
John Wavell and Anna Cowlam farmed Knighton farm after their marriage in 1735 in Newchurch. They were the great-great-grandparents of Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell (1883-1950), former Field marshal and Viceroy of India.