Visiting circuses were a common feature of Ventnor through the 1920s and 1930s. They were typically held in a field off of York Road, or else in a field near the top of Down Lane. Keepers would daily take the elephants down to the slipway on the east side of the Pier. Here they would… read more »
In June 1925 the delivery van belonging to the Cascade Dairy of 26 Pier Street somehow half somersaulted over the esplanade wall on to Ventnor beach. The van had been left at the foot of Alma Road, but probably owing to brake failure, it began to roll across the Esplanade roadway, mounted the pavement there,… read more »
In days gone by, the railway porter was viewed largely as a member of the station staff who carried your luggage. But in reality this was a very minor part of their regular duties, as confirmed by Percy Primmer who joined the railway in 1929 and was employed at Ventnor’s main station on Mitchell Avenue… read more »
Daniel Day was the son of Stephen Day, the stone mason who built Cove Cottage in 1828, located on what is now Belgrave Road and, a few years later, Steephill Castle. Following a tragic accident there in 1832, Stephen was accidentally killed and Daniel inherited the family business at the age of just 18. Eventually… read more »
Sometime in the later 1950s, a young family happened upon the old St Lawrence Station to find it displaying a “For Sale” sign. After some vigorous negotiation with the vendor (British Rail), the family acquired it for £750, at the time the equivalent price of a decent family car, but well below the price of… read more »
Bonchurch Women’s Institute was formed in 1922 and lasted for 70 years, finally winding up its affairs in November 1992, the outcome of rising costs and a falling membership. By that time, it had been reduced to just 19 members, most of whom were pensioners with the oldest member aged 94. They had tried and… read more »
Through the first half of the 20th Century, there were fruther efforts to construct a cliff railway in Ventnor, beginning with Fritz Bernard Behr’s scheme in 1908. His plan once more linked Esplanade, Church Street, Station and the top of the Downs with an electrically operated solution. The cost was estimated at about £25,000, which included… read more »
Cliff railways or funiculars, as well as cliff lifts, have long been a familiar sight across some British seaside resorts, most constructed in the later Victorian era when there seemed to be an almost endless fascination with applying ingenious engineering solutions to the problems that steep gradients presented for visitors in resorts located in areas… read more »
On 1st June 1954, 26 pupils and three adults (two teachers and one former pupil) set off on a school trip to Montreux, Switzerland. Arriving in Montreux 24 hours later, the group were soon settled into the youth hostel at Montreux-Territet that was to be their residence for the next nine days. Over the following… read more »
Ventnor Secondary Modern School was completed and opened in the spring of 1957 at a cost of around £160,000. It was among the finest secondary schools built on the south coast in the early post-war years and many Island businesses were involved in its construction and fitting out. Moreys, for example, supplied the Gurjun floor… read more »