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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VDLHS Newsletters

Regular newsletters sent out to Ventnor & District Local History Society members were first produced in 2002, and almost all past newsletters are now available here in PDF format.  It’s fascinating to see how the Society has changed over the last twenty years, while always keeping local history at its core.  Sadly we are missing Newsletter No. 23, September 2013 – if anyone has a copy we would be delighted to see it!

The newsletters continued regularly until, sadly, the Covid 19 Pandemic struck; as well as losing friends, volunteers and members, we were unable to produce or distribute regular newsletters for more than two years.  But we are back to normal now, with news of the Society and Heritage Centre  once again being sent to all our members.  We  welcome new members, so if you are interested in the local history of Ventnor and the surrounding area please join us – for details see   Becoming a Member.

VDLHS Newsletters for Society Members (2002 onwards):

2002-14

Exhibitions, stories, images . . .

Town Band

The Town Band is thought to have been formed in 1863 by George and William Pearson and Albion Wheeler; at various periods there were other local bands.  After the Second World War there were efforts to re-form the band but these were unsuccessful. The bandleader in pre-war days was Jacob Hess and his son, Leonard Hess, was a first rate cornet player. Jacob's brother, Arthur, played the string bass and was a real character with a flowing beard.  Other players included Fred Richards, Jack Howell (cornet), Arthur Bennett, Frank Bailey, Burt Adams  (clarinet), Bart Brown, Ern Howell (trombone), Dodger Ward (piccolo), Dutch Lale (side drum) and Harold Barons (?) (Bass drum/ tubular bells). There were regular concerts on Sundays in Ventnor Park and the Pier Pavilion and the band headed the carnival procession for many years. Other town bands included the Band of Volunteer Rifle Corps and in 1918, the Band of C. Company IOW Volunteers Regiment.

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