Heritage Centre Opening times:

Please note that this week we will only be open to visitors on Wednesday morning (24 July) and Friday morning (26 July).

Normal summer opening 2024 (April – October):
Wednesday morning (10 am – 1 pm)
Thursday morning (10 am – 1 pm)
Friday all day (10 am – 4 pm)
Saturday morning (10 am – 1 pm)
We are closed on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

There is no admission charge (children under 16 must be accompanied). Location and information for visitors

How to contact us
Click here for information on how to contact us.

New publication: Bonchurch in 99 Old Postcards:
This brand new book, published 18th July, features (as you will guess!) 99 historic postcards of Bonchurch, and is available in the Heritage Centre shop (price £6.50) or through our online shop (price £9.95 including postage and packing).

New Exhibitions for Summer 2024:
Olivia: portrait of a life is a new exhibition on Olivia Parkes, who for many years lived in a wooden hut on the shore, and was better known in Ventnor as ‘Britannia’; a new book about her life will be available in August.
D-Day and Ventnor: created to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings in June 1944, this exhibition is accompanied by a new book Oh Day of Days! Ventnor The Isle of Wight and Operation Overlord, available in the Heritage Centre or in our online shop.

Next Society Meeting:
Our next Society meeting will be on 26 July 2024, when Mark Earp will present The Isle of Wight on Film & TV: Memories, Murder and Make-believe.  For full details of all forthcoming meetings see our Monthly Meetings page.

Would you like to join us as a volunteer?
We hold occasional informal open afternoons in the Ventnor Heritage Centre for people who would like to find out more about what we do: click here for more information here about these.

News
Click here for our News page with information about Society events, publications and exhibitions, and to read our weekly local history article.

Ventnor Heritage Newsletter
If you are interested in the history of our area and would like news of new publications, talks, and events – click here to sign up for our newsletter.

About the Local History Society:

Ventnor & District Local History Society was established in 1980 to record and preserve the history of our area. In 1987 the Society bought 11  Spring Hill and established the Ventnor Heritage Centre,  with space for a museum as well as room to store our collection of photographs, documents and artefacts.   We undertake research, publish books on the local history of our area, and hold popular monthly meetings.  Click here to see more about the Society, or use the menu on the left of the page to find out more about what we do. If you are interested in joining the Society please get in touch –  we welcome new members.

[The Society is a Registered Charity No 286848]

Donations:

Ventnor and District Local History Society and the Heritage Centre are entirely managed and run by volunteers.  We welcome gifts of objects, photographs and documents of local interest which can be added to our collection (please contact us if you have items to donate).  We are always grateful for financial donations.

If you are a UK taxpayer you can boost your donation by 25p of Gift Aid for every £1 you donate by completing this form Charity Gift Aid Declaration.