We are very happy to announce the return of our regular monthly meetings, beginning in June. Our schedule of speakers for the rest of 2022 is below. As in the past, meetings will be at the Masonic Hall on Grove Road at 7:30-9:00 PM, on the last Friday of every month. There will be no… read more »
Victoria Street in the 1870s had no buildings on its west side, the ground sloping steeply away to a large area of land that, for many years, was known locally as ‘The Swamp’, and today is mostly just a car park. It was in the 1880s that it gained notoriety as a wet and muddy… read more »
The new paperback edition of Isle and Empires by Stephan Roman (Medina Publishing, 2022) is now available in our online shop and in the Heritage Centre. In this updated edition of the book the author asserts that ‘It is important that we understand the history of the British relationship with Romanov Russia if we are… read more »
During Ventnor Fringe, we will be repeating this very successful guided walk around Ventnor. The walk, Ventnor – Cradle of the Russian Revolution, is led by author Stephan Roman and is based on Ventnor’s fascinating 19th century connection with some of the Russian radicals of the 1860s: writers and poets who opposed Russian imperialism and… read more »
On the east side of Victoria Street is the three-storey stone house with known as Monte Bello Boarding House. Built around 1840-1850, it has a fascinating history. Originally erected as a lodging house for the town’s growing visitor population, in 1860, the Mercury recorded that a Russian couple were lodging at Monte Bello. Mr and… read more »
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 »
Our Society ‘Monthly Meetings’ are back at last! The first meeting for 2022 will be on 24 June, when Andy Butler and Alan Clark will be presenting a talk entitled A Naturalist’s Lockdown. The photograph here is one of Andy’s, taken on Bembridge Down in December 2021. Andy’s talks are always popular, and since we… 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 »
We are very pleased to announce that from Saturday 11 June 2022 the Museum will also be open on Saturday mornings, meaning that we are open four mornings each week – we hope to see you during the summer! Opening times 2022: Wednesday: 10 am – 1 pm Thursday: 10 am – 1 pm Friday:… 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 »