In 1959, members of the Blake family, longshoremen at Ventnor over several generations, dismanted Britannia’s Hut, the wooden structure on tall stilts that over many years formed the home of Miss Olivia Parkes (locally known as Britannia). The hut had originally been built for the Undercliff Swimming Club in the 1880s, was bought by the… read more »
The house known as Puckaster sat on higher ground above Puckaster Cove, not far from Niton Undercliff. It had been built in the early 1820s as a summer home for a wealthy merchant, James Vine Esq. By 1925, when it figured in a set of sale particulars, it had been transformed into a small country… read more »
Timothy White’s was once a familiar sight on British high streets. In Ventnor, there was a Timothy White’s chemist at 12 High Street by the early 1900s, located in the new block known as Clarence Buildings, with the National Telephone Company’s call office housed above the shop. The shop remained at 12 High Street well after… read more »
In December 1927 a blizzard raged across a large part of southern England, right from Kent to Cornwall. One to two feet of snow fell in that period, but in exposed places, huge drifts formed. The Regel Bus (driven by Fred Lawson) became snowbound in Wroxall on its trip back to Shanklin from Ventnor, at… read more »
Bernard Augustus Beavis was a Captain with the Clan Line Shipping Company, plying between England and the rest of the world. He was born in Whitwell in 1908, the son of Frank & Edith Beavis (nee Slaughter), one of twelve children and spent most of his life at sea, with the latter years as Master of… read more »
The road from Belgrave Road to the Esplanade was named Bath Road. The reason for this was as a result of the common belief in Victorian times that salt water was a cure for everything from bruises to hysteria. A ‘bathhouse’ had been constructed at the western end of the esplanade for patrons of the… read more »
We regret that our monthly Society Meetings are suspended during the pandemic. We hope to resume them as soon as possible.
From the late 1920s travellers and staff alike would have sought the warmth of the Refreshment Room at Ventnor Station to escape the wintry weather. Over the years there were several different proprietors. Initially run by the Dixon family of Mitchell Avenue, it subsequently was run at different times by the Channings, (Gwen along with… read more »
This exhibition highlights some of the live bands appearing on stage at Ventnor Winter Gardens in the 1960s who went on to become household names. In June 1965 these included The Who, as well as the Moody Blues and the Pretty Things. And the following month the support band for Johnny Kidd and the Pirates… read more »
Between 1855-1880, Ventnor became the summer home of many of Russia’s leading political radicals, writers, and poets, men and women who helped shape a new future for Russia in opposition to the Imperial Romanov regime. This exhibition highlights some of these visitors, including Alexander Herzen, described as ‘The Father of Russian Socialism’, who stayed in… read more »