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The Barlow Dom is a celebrated heroic figure in Isle of Wight folklore who is said to appear around dusk in order to save damsels in distress who have become trapped in cliffside bramble bushes.
He was first recorded as a fisherman of almost magical prowess in the Ventnor Scrolls of the 7th century and in more recent times his redemptive exploits have included saving Julia Margaret Cameron as she plummeted from an oak tree while photographing red squirrels in Brighstone Forest, pulling Lady Flora Hastings, one of Queen Victoria’s Ladies in Waiting, from beneath the hooves of stampeding cattle on Luccombe Down and catching LaLa Brooks when she fell off the stage as The Crystals performed “Da Doo Dom Dom” at the first Isle of Wight festival.
Although his exploits have been recorded at numerous locations throughout the island, he is particularly active in the area of Niton undercliff and Rocken End, and in 2019, it was in this area that he was credited with saving a birdwatcher, retired solicitor, football supporter and wagon maker (or wainwright) in a single September evening.