Ventnor Heritage Centre

"To Collect, Record and preserve the rich heritage and history of Ventnor and surrounding villages, and share it with local and wider communities"

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Local History Walks

Guided walks:

We provide occasional guided walks; details are given here when we have one planned.

Ventnor, Cradle of the Russian Revolution

During Ventnor Fringe in 2023 the Society once again collaborated with Stephan Roman, author of Isle and Empires, on this intriguingly titled local history walk, which was also provided during the Isle of Wight Walking Festival. We will probably be providing this walk again (we enjoy doing it and it is always sold out!)  For information about this and future events please subscribe to our Ventnor Heritage Newsletter.

Walks to do on your own:

 

Time Travel Ventnor: a series of trail boards exploring the history of Ventnor, starting outside the Heritage Centre.  For details of the trail and to download a copy of the leaflet click here: Time Travel Ventnor

 

 

St Lawrence Trails: The St Lawrence Village Trail and the St Lawrence Coastal Trail are specially written local history trails that visitors can follow by themselves, and are available to download here:
St Lawrence: The Coastal Trail / St Lawrence: The Village Trail

 

 

Ventnor Historic (Beer) Walk: This is an historic stroll through the social history of Ventnor in the early 19th Century (click image on left to download walk):

 

National Trust: Ventnor Downs

The National Trust page on Ventnor Downs details several walks including what is described as ‘a short but challenging walk, taking you from Bronze Age barrows to secretive cold war underground nuclear operations’. Click here for more information: Ventnor Downs: Pre-history to Cold War 

Exhibitions, stories, images . . .

The Old Vicarage

The Old Vicarage used to stand overlooking Ventnor Cascade.  It was bought by the Ventnor Urban District Council in 1929 for public use, and renamed the 'Winter Gardens'.  The upper floor served refreshments, and entertainments included open air concerts and dances. In 1936 the Vicarage was demolished and replaced with a new art deco building, which was run by the Council and periodically let to tenants. The new dance hall/concert hall had a magnificent sprung floor which could accommodate a thousand dancers, and many of the biggest bands of the time played at the 'Ventnor Winter Gardens', which at one time was known as 'Cascadia'.  

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