Ventnor Heritage Centre

"To make the past present, to bring the distant near . . . to call up our ancestors before us with all their peculiarities of language, manners, and garb, to show us over their houses, to seat us at their tables, to rummage their old-fashioned ward-robes, to explain the uses of their ponderous furniture . . . " Thomas Babington Macaulay describing what the study of history can do (written in 1828)

Local History Walks |
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Local History Walks

Guided walks:

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

Trails  to walk on your own:

‘Ventnor Town Trails’: a series of printed ‘Ventnor Town Trails’ are  available  in the Heritage Museum.

‘Ventnor Heritage Trail’: this is series of trail boards around the town, established by the Ventnor & Undercliff Heritage Partnership in 2016.  The first of the boards is located outside the Museum, and copies of the trail leaflet are available in the Museum, or can be downloaded here.

‘St Lawrence Village Trail’ and  ‘St Lawrence Coastal Trail’ (both produced by the Ventnor & Undercliff Heritage Partnership), and the ‘Ventnor Historic (Beer) Walk’ are specially written local history trails visitors can follow by themselves, to explore the fascinating history of our town. They are available to download from this page – click on the images below:

Ventnor Historic (Beer) Walk: An historic stroll through the social history of Ventnor in the early 19th Century (click image to download):

St Lawrence Coastal Trail : (click image to download):

St Lawrence Village Trail  (click image to download):

 

 

 

Exhibitions, stories, images . . .

Publication: The French Attack on Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight 1545

In the summer of 1545, King Henry VIII, already at war with France, heard that the French might soon attack him in England. Portsmouth was a target, along with the Isle of Wight. This booklet on the battle, researched and written by C.T. Witherby (author of The French Attack on Bonchurch 1545) was never published in his lifetime. Vi Vokes, who has now prepared it for publication, introduces it: Since the raising of the Mary Rose a great deal has been written and published about her. This booklet, however, is about just one of the attacks on the Isle of Wight. Hopefully, for visitors to the Island it will provide something of interest between the Romans and buckets and spades; and for those who live here the thoughts of what happened in their backyards. Available to buy online through Ventnor Heritage Centre Website Publications Sales page.

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