Marigold Harding was ten when WW2 broke out. Her family lived at the foot of Nine Stone Steps, where her father, builder Tom Harding, ran the ‘Trinity Works’. This is the final article of three based on her memories of a wartime childhood in Ventnor. It mentions the family moving to the country (St Lawrence)… read more »
Marigold Harding was ten when WW2 broke out. Her family lived at the foot of Nine Stone Steps, where her father, builder Tom Harding, ran the ‘Trinity Works’. This second of three articles using her memories of a wartime childhood in Ventnor, and mentions home life and the disruption and damage caused by air raids… read more »
Marigold Harding was ten when WW2 broke out. Her family lived at the foot of Nine Stone Steps, where her father, builder Tom Harding, ran the ‘Trinity Works’. This is the first of three articles using her memories of a wartime childhood in Ventnor, and mentions home and school life during the war, and Vivian… read more »
In Ventnor one hundred years or so ago, there were probably twice as many shops as can be seen now, lining the High Street where the main shoppers’ car park is found and continuing, only partially interrupted, along both sides of the higher reaches of the High Street and into Trinity Road. Tom Mulliner’s business… read more »
In February 1932, the Isle of Wight Mercury recorded on its front page the disappearance of one of the oldest and most picturesque of the town’s landmarks. Rose Cottage, on the central part of Ventnor’s High Street, had been demolished. Read PDF version here: Rose Cottage: a piece of old Ventnor
By the summer of 1950, steps were already being taken towards the withdrawal of services from Ventnor West station, although final closure of the branch didn’t happen until 13th September 1952. Read PDF version here: Ventnor West station in 1950
‘Riviera’ was a boarding house in Ventnor, dating from the 1840s. Previously known as ‘Marine Villa’ it played host to the Russian poet Count Alexei Tolstoy, his new wife and his young family, in the early 1860s. Read PDF version here: Riviera Boarding House
Alfred James Sharpe established a drapery and furnishing store on Ventnor High Street in 1893. An astute businessman, he was also a generous participant in the life of the town, holding numerous positions of responsibility over the years. He also believed in rewarding hard-working staff, for he regularly organised a summer outing for the shop staff…. read more »
June Farnworth was admitted to the Hospital in February 1949, aged 20, direct from Guy’s Hospital in London where, for some seven months, she had been under treatment for TB on an ordinary medical ward. Read PDF version here: The Royal National Hospital: a patient’s story – part two
Among the Ventnor Heritage Centre’s archives is an eleven-page account of a 20-year old young woman’s five-month stay at the Royal National Hospital as a TB patient. Read PDF version here: The Royal National Hospital; a patient’s story – part one