Olivia: Portrait of a Life Olivia Parkes (1881-1962) was born in Walsall in the Midlands, but for many years lived a solitary life in a wooden hut in Myrtle Bay in Ventnor, where local people referred to her as ‘Britannia’.Her Her has been a constant source of fascination to local people and visitors, and this… read more »
To mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the Normandy Landings we have a special exhibition which concentrates on the experience of the Island and Ventnor and the surrounding district in particular. The exhibition features the the log book from the St Boniface Down (Ventnor) Radar Station for the month of June 1944, and we… read more »
Our new publication, ‘Oh Day of Days!’ has been produced to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in June 1944, and is available in the Heritage Centre (price £4.50), and from our online shop (price £6.50 including postage and packing). Along with a new exhibition, which will be available in the Heritage Centre… read more »
This exhibition highlights some of the live bands appearing on stage at Ventnor Winter Gardens in the 1960s who went on to become household names. In June 1965 these included The Who, as well as the Moody Blues and the Pretty Things. And the following month the support band for Johnny Kidd and the Pirates… read more »
Between 1855-1880, Ventnor became the summer home of many of Russia’s leading political radicals, writers, and poets, men and women who helped shape a new future for Russia in opposition to the Imperial Romanov regime. This exhibition highlights some of these visitors, including Alexander Herzen, described as ‘The Father of Russian Socialism’, who stayed in… read more »