Appley Towers was a substantial mansion built in the Jacobean and Dutch Revival style to the east of Ryde, but it was sadly demolished in 1959.
The former Appley Estate once formed part of the St John’s Estate. The famous landscape gardener Humphry Repton landscaped St John’s Estate from 1796. Appley Park is the only part of this estate that survives to this day.
The story of Appley Towers (or Apley Towers as it was formerly known) begins in the mid-19th century when the area was acquired by Scottish corn merchant George Young, who commissioned local architect Thomas Hellyer to build much of the main building on the site of an earlier marine villa, located in an elevated position with magnificent views across the Solent towards Spithead.
!n 1872, the Appley Estate was purchased by William Hutt, a politician who was heavily involved in the colonisation of Australia and New Zealand. Hutt has given his name to rivers and cities in both Australia and New Zealand.
Hutt added numerous buildings to the Appley Estate, the most significant of which was the Appley Tower folly, built just above the beach in the form of a castle tower in around 1875, complete with battlements, turret and an external stair.
The folly remains an iconic landmark for Ryde.
Further buildings added to the Appley Park Estate included the 100ft Appley Pier (demolished in 1911), a boathouse, an orangery and an aviary that housed rare species of parrots. There was also an Italian fountain in the grounds together with sculptures and ornaments of stone and terracotta. The grounds were filled with an exotic collection of trees and plants.
After the death of Sir William Hutt in 1882, the Appley Estate passed to his brother’s family. Following the death of Captain George Hutt, it was put up for auction in 1910 and sold to Sir Charles Hedworth Williamson – a prominent landowner in the North East of England.
The Williamson family were football fanatics, who had donated Roker Park to Sunderland FC. The Sunderland football team were often entertained at Appley Towers when playing matches in the South.
Sir Hedworth Williamson passed away in October 1942. The house and its grounds were purchased by Ryde Borough Council in 1945, with the foreshore developed as Appley Park – now owned and maintained by Isle of Wight Council.
The principal building was demolished in 1959 to be replaced by a housing estate. The kitchen garden and greenhouses were also redeveloped for housing in the 70s.
What – other than the iconic Appley Tower – remains of the former estate…? Many of the former buildings which were part of a model farm belonging to the estate are in private hands and can still be found to the south of Appley Road.
2 surviving lodges marking the entrances to the estate remain along Appley Lane.
The old boathouse for the estate is to be found at the bottom of Appley Lane and is still used by Ryde Rowing Club.
Do any Island Echo readers recall Appley Towers or played in its grounds? Let us know in the comments…
In the next edition of Historic Isle of Wight Buildings we shall examine Fernhill in Wootton.
Great story, keep them coming, better than
reading about all the uneducated local Numpty’s
who are crashing vehicles, whilst being drunk or drugged up
or speeding
Lol
Such a shame this grand building is no longer.