Isle of Wight Heritage

Island Echo takes a look at Isle of Wight Christmas traditions, some of which have survived to the present day... The 'Wold Hark': the Isle of Wight Christmas Carol What would Christmas be without Christ? The Isle of Wight was...

For 4 decades - from 1861 to 1901 - Queen Victoria spent her Christmases at Osborne House here on the Isle of Wight - and they were luxurious and elaborate, to say the least. Christmases at Osborne were on another...

In this week's edition of Isle of Wight Railways, Island Echo examines the 7 railway tunnels of the Isle of Wight. Did you know that a total of 7 railway tunnels were built on the Isle of Wight between 1862...

Gloom fell over the Christmas festivities at Fort Victoria near Yarmouth following a tragic accident on 23rd December 1889. 24-year-old sapper Andrew Templar of the 22nd Company Royal Engineers - stationed at Fort Vic - fell to his death while...

Island Echo dives into the news headlines from 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 90, 100 and 120 years ago, including a pair of identical twins from Brading who both broke their legs in the same PE lesson in December 1973....

What is believed to be the most commercially successful can opener of the 19th century was designed, made and patented by Ryde man Henry Knight in 1881. Henry was born in Worthing before moving to the Isle of Wight with...

Island Echo takes a look back at the local headlines from 30, 50, 60, 70, 90, 100, 110 and 120 ago, including the Isle of Wight man who created a synthetic lugworm half-a-century ago. 1993 (30 years ago) CHRISTMAS GIFTS DELIVERED...

Princess Alice – reputedly Queen Victoria’s prettiest daughter – died in Darmstadt, Germany on 14th December 1878. The 3rd child and 2nd daughter of Victoria, Alice was the 1st of her 9 children to die at the comparatively young age...

Father Jacques Kerssmakers The Catholic Herald reported the execution by the Nazis of Quarr Abbey monk Jacques Kerrsemakers in the Netherlands on 10th December 1943. Jacques was born on December 16th 1896 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. He expressed his desire to...

Calbourne & Shalfleet Railway Station had a tranquil, rural West Wight existence until closure, when mysterious happenings occurred halfway along Elm Lane... The official name 'Calbourne & Shalfleet' caused disputes between the 2 villages as the sign on the platform...