From the late 1920s travellers and staff alike would have sought the warmth of the Refreshment Room at Ventnor Station to escape the wintry weather. Over the years there were several different proprietors. Initially run by the Dixon family of Mitchell Avenue, it subsequently was run at different times by the Channings, (Gwen along with… read more »
The road from Belgrave Road to the Esplanade was named Bath Road. The reason for this was as a result of the common belief in Victorian times that salt water was a cure for everything from bruises to hysteria. A ‘bathhouse’ had been constructed at the western end of the esplanade for patrons of the… read more »
Bernard Augustus Beavis was a Captain with the Clan Line Shipping Company, plying between England and the rest of the world. He was born in Whitwell in 1908, the son of Frank & Edith Beavis (nee Slaughter), one of twelve children and spent most of his life at sea, with the latter years as Master of… 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 »
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 »
We are pleased to announce that our new, long awaited, book, Ventnor and the Undercliff, in Search of Lost Time, is now published and available in our online shop, The 160 pages span the years from 1860 to 1950, with more than 180 black and white images drawn from the Society’s archive as well as… read more »