Herbert Charles Beavis was born in 1886, one of thirteen children (eight girls and five boys) to Frank Beavis and his wife Edith (nee Slaughter). Like his two brothers (Hector Beavisand Bernard Beavis), he had maritime connections (albeit tenuous). The family lived in Morey’s Cottage, Steephill, on the Steephill Castle estate where Frank was a… read more »
Ventnor Comic Jazz Band is a vital part of our Carnival, providing what has been described as ‘Music, Mirth and Mayhem’ for many years. Starting as a ‘Mop Brigade’ entertaining the Carnival crowd in 1894 by drilling with Mops instead of rifles, the Band has never failed to entertain. James ‘Skimbo’ White led the Band… read more »
On the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation, a fancy dress parade took place in Wroxall village. It was the kind of event that took place in communities up and down the land. In nearby Whitwell, the fancy dress procession was led by the Ventnor Jazz Band, while in Bonchurch a similar procession wended its way… read more »
The Isle of Wight Mercury’s headline of June 8th 1951 was ‘St. Lawrence Hall burnt out –Ventnor’s biggest ever blaze?’ The beautiful residence, built around 1886 in the style of a French Chateau, was once the home of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Jellicoe. Formerly called Inglewood, it had 24 bedrooms by this time, a fine… read more »
In 1883, a brand new range of shops was opened on the east side of Victoria Street, Ventnor. The new range was presumably named after Cheapside in the City of London, for this was the street that, for centuries, had acted as a market, cheap deriving from ‘chepe’, the Saxon word for market. The individual… read more »
Tom Harry Loosemore was born in Newport and his wife, Alice, in Ryde, so both were Islanders. He entered the grocery business in Ventnor at Parker’s corner by taking over the store run there by Mr. Amis. By the late 1880s, though, he had relocated to the opposite side of the junction of Madeira and… read more »
Thomas Brading came to Ventnor from Newport about 1881, initially as an apprentice to the firm of Messrs Silsbury and Kingswell, based on Grove Road. By the 1901 Census, Thomas is given as aged 35, with a wife Emily, aged 38, along with seven children, ranging in ages from twelve to one. He is described… read more »
Charles Hibberd’s mineral water business was started at the rear of the butcher’s shop of his uncle, Moses Hibberd, 86 High Street, in the early 1860s. On the double doors to the side archway, the signage read ‘C. Hibberd’s Soda Water, Ginger Beer and Lemonade Manufactory’. The mineral water business thrived and manufacture was soon… read more »
At one time, Prospect House (near the bottom of the south side of Grove Road), provided regular rooms for the YWCA, the Young Women’s Christian Association. It appears, ostensibly, to have been a boarding house, but its specific use may also have included being a hostel and club for working women. In the Ventnor Red… read more »
Albert Bull died at the age of 67, a prominent local figure with a lively interest in local affairs, becoming Chairman of the Ventnor District Council. He had been born in 1845, the son of William and Peggy Bull who lived at Rock Cottage on Belgrave Road. He started his working career assisting in his father’s business… read more »