Poplar Cottage is the building that once stood on the site of Ventnor’s former main Post Office. It was for some fifty-five years the home of John Thomas who was a common carrier operating between Ventnor and Newport. Read PDF version here: Poplar Cottage, Church Street
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 »
In the early years of the 20th Century, running races always drew a large crowd in Ventnor, regardless of the distance and the number of competitors. In 1910 there were just 10 young men preparing to sprint up the High Street. Read PDF version here: Running Races
‘Ventnor: Cradle of the Russian Revolution’ – a walk in the footsteps of Russia’s political radicals, writers, and poets For this year’s Ventnor Fringe, we have collaborated with Medina Publishing on a local history walk looking back at Ventnor in the 1860s, when some of Russia’s best known political radicals, writers and poets made the… read more »
On 6th July 1911, hundreds of spectators assembled in the evening in a meadow at Home Farm, St. Lawrence, to watch a Bristol bi-plane, piloted by Mr Pixie and Mr. England, land there. The pair had left Shoreham airport at 7.15 p.m. and it took just an hour to reach the south coast of the… read more »
At last we are delighted to be able to welcome visitors back into the Ventnor Heritage Centre Museum. From Wednesday 14 July the Museum will be open three days a week, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm each day. Please read the important information below about your visit. We hope to… read more »
The White Lion has a history that goes back at least to the first half of the 18th Century and has always been a favourite among Island visitors as well as local clubs and societies. Charabanc tours from Ventnor would always stop there for refreshments, whilst soldiers acting as messengers for the Revenue Department were… read more »
Continuing the story of the large selection of retail shops that provided for Upper Ventnor – or as it was known in the early days, Lowtherville. The only establishments and premises that remain today are The Fish & Chip Shop, The Social Club, The Convenience Store and the Ladies Hairdressers, all the others have either… read more »
Upper Ventnor – or as it was known in the early days, Lowtherville, has changed beyond all recognition in the last 70 or 80 years, not least of all the shopping habits of the residents and the shops they would regularly use. In the early years after WW2 most people did not have cars which meant… read more »
During the late Victorian period, Steephill Castle was renowned for the luxuriance of its gardens and often hosted Royalty. However, by the late 1930s the gardens had become shadows of what they once were, the estate was no longer in the ownership of wealthy entrepreneurs and after use as a school during the Second World… read more »