{{Short description|Southernmost point on the Isle of Wight, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} [[Image:St catherines lighthouse 2010.jpg|thumb|[[St Catherine's Lighthouse]] at St Catherine's Point]] [[File:St Catherine's Point, Isle of Wight, UK.jpg|thumb|The beach directly below the lighthouse. Erosion threatens the southern wall of the lighthouse compound (2017).]] '''St Catherine's Point''' is the southernmost point on the [[Isle of Wight]]. It is close to the village of [[Niton, Isle of Wight|Niton]] and the point where the [[Back of the Wight]] changes to the [[Undercliff (Isle of Wight)|Undercliff]] of Ventnor.
==Geography== There was an attached chapel at one time, but it has been long demolished. There is a [[Bronze Age]] barrow nearby which was excavated in the 1920s.
St Catherine's point is often foggy, so it is not the best location for a lighthouse, but as a weather station the location is fairly suitable. The weather station is one of the [[List of coastal weather stations in the British Isles|22 locations]] whose reports are included in the [[Shipping Forecast|BBC Shipping Forecast]].
==History== Reportedly, de Godeton felt guilty for having scavenged wine, destined for a monastery<ref>J.C Medland "Shipwrecks of the Wight".Coach House Publications ltd, 2004</ref> from the wreck of the ''St Marie'' of [[Bayonne]] in [[Chale]] Bay. He was ordered, on pain of excommunication, to make amends by building this lighthouse. Fires were lit in the lighthouse tower to warn ships at sea of the presence of the coast.
On nearby [[St Catherine's Down]] is [[St Catherine's Oratory]], locally known as the "Pepperpot", a stone lighthouse built in the 1323 by Walter De Godeton. It is Britain's oldest medieval lighthouse.<ref>[http://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A471511 BBC h2g2 - The Pepper Pot]</ref>
A replacement lighthouse was begun in 1785. However it was never completed. Locally this half-finished building is known as the "salt pot".
[[LB&SCR H1 class]] [[4-4-2 (locomotive)|4-4-2]] no. 40 (later no. B40 and 2040) was named ''St. Catherine's Point'' after this landmark.
===Radio history=== The first effective demonstration of radio, from a boat off [[Sandbanks]] in [[Dorset]], to here, occurred. It was known as [[Niton]] Wireless Station, next to the lighthouse.
On 23 January 1901, the first over-the-horizon radio transmission took place to the Lizard Wireless Station at [[Bass Point (England)]] in [[Cornwall]].<ref>''Lincolnshire Echo'' Tuesday 12 February 1901, page 3</ref>
==Climate== {{Weather box | width = auto | metric first = yes | single line = yes | location = St Catherines Pt. (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1924-) | Jan record high C = 14.4 | Feb record high C = 15.0 | Mar record high C = 20.5 | Apr record high C = 23.0 | May record high C = 28.9 | Jun record high C = 30.0 | Jul record high C = 29.0 | Aug record high C = 32.2 | Sep record high C = 28.9 | Oct record high C = 24.3 | Nov record high C = 17.5 | Dec record high C = 15.0 | year record high C = 32.2 | Jan high C = 8.5 | Feb high C = 8.3 | Mar high C = 9.8 | Apr high C = 12.1 | May high C = 14.9 | Jun high C = 17.3 | Jul high C = 19.4 | Aug high C = 19.9 | Sep high C = 18.4 | Oct high C = 15.4 | Nov high C = 12.1 | Dec high C = 9.5 | year high C = 13.8 | Jan mean C = 6.7 | Feb mean C = 6.3 | Mar mean C = 7.6 | Apr mean C = 9.5 | May mean C = 12.3 | Jun mean C = 14.9 | Jul mean C = 17.0 | Aug mean C = 17.5 | Sep mean C = 16.0 | Oct mean C = 13.3 | Nov mean C = 10.0 | Dec mean C = 7.5 | year mean C = 11.6 | Jan low C = 4.8 | Feb low C = 4.3 | Mar low C = 5.4 | Apr low C = 7.0 | May low C = 9.7 | Jun low C = 12.4 | Jul low C = 14.6 | Aug low C = 15.1 | Sep low C = 13.5 | Oct low C = 11.1 | Nov low C = 8.0 | Dec low C = 5.6 | year low C = 9.3 | Jan record low C = -9.5 | Feb record low C = -8.0 | Mar record low C = -6.1 | Apr record low C = -2.2 | May record low C = -0.6 | Jun record low C = 1.1 | Jul record low C = 4.4 | Aug record low C = 6.6 | Sep record low C = 0.6 | Oct record low C = -1.7 | Nov record low C = -4.4 | Dec record low C = -6.1 | year record low C = -9.5 | precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm = 76.4 | Feb precipitation mm = 56.3 | Mar precipitation mm = 47.1 | Apr precipitation mm = 46.7 | May precipitation mm = 44.8 | Jun precipitation mm = 42.5 | Jul precipitation mm = 40.6 | Aug precipitation mm = 50.8 | Sep precipitation mm = 57.0 | Oct precipitation mm = 87.5 | Nov precipitation mm = 87.8 | Dec precipitation mm = 88.1 | year precipitation mm = 725.6 | unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm | Jan precipitation days = 12.5 | Feb precipitation days = 10.2 | Mar precipitation days = 9.0 | Apr precipitation days = 8.5 | May precipitation days = 7.5 | Jun precipitation days = 7.0 | Jul precipitation days = 6.6 | Aug precipitation days = 7.8 | Sep precipitation days = 7.9 | Oct precipitation days = 11.8 | Nov precipitation days = 13.5 | Dec precipitation days = 13.2 | year precipitation days = 115.5 | source 1 = [[Met Office]]<ref name="MetOffice">{{cite web |url = https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/gbzpdrr83 |title = St Catherines Pt. (Isle of Wight) UK climate averages - Met Office |publisher = Met Office |access-date = July 4, 2024}}</ref> |source 2 = Starlings Roost Weather<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.roostweather.com/ukobs/temp_station_extreme_map.php|title=Monthly Temperature Extremes}}</ref> |date=April 2026}}
==See also== * [[Egypt Point]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/se/st_catherines_point_forecast_weather.html Weather station information at Met Office]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Catherines Point}} [[Category:1900s in radio]] [[Category:1901 in technology]] [[Category:Headlands of the Isle of Wight]] [[Category:History of radio technology]] [[Category:History of radio in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Nature Conservation Review sites]] [[Category:Science and technology on the Isle of Wight]]