Isle of Wight Heritage

The end of the Crimean War 167 years ago was celebrated with a mock battle to mark victory over Russia. The Depot Battalion at Parkhurst Barracks staged an attack on Carisbrooke Castle on 28th May 1856. 2,000 troops took part...

In the 3rd edition of Isle of Wight pubs, Island Echo examines the history of a few of the more (or less) respectable licensed premises of Newport. Although it has never had as many licensed premises as Ryde, historically the...

Before the introduction of the secret ballot in 1872, elections could be violent and chaotic as shown in an Isle of Wight parliamentary by-election 172 years ago. The election was contested between Edward Dawes (Radical Free Trader) and Andrew Snape...

Buckingham Palace has reportedly refused a request to repatriate the remains of an Ethiopian prince who lived on the Isle of Wight before being buried at Windsor Castle in the 19th Century. Prince Alemayehu was the son of Emperor Tewodros...

In the 2nd part of Isle of Wight place names series, Island Echo looks at where the names of our many villages come from. Do you live in an Isle of Wight village? Would you like to know what their...

In the 2nd edition of Isle of Wight Pubs, Island Echo examines a few of the very many former pubs of Ryde. Did you know that at the turn of the 20th century, Ryde was said to have had more...

Memorial to HMS Sirius, Appley Beach, Ryde The flagship Sirius set sail from the Motherbank off the northeast coast of the Isle of Wight with the 1st consignment of convicts bound for Australia 236 years ago. Altogether, a total of...

In the 1st part of our new series on Isle of Wight place names, Island Echo examines the derivation of the obvious and not-so-obvious names of the 8 Isle of Wight towns and that of the Isle of Wight itself....

2 firemen - Colin Weeks and Herbert Dewey - were killed on active service in the Cowes blitz 81 years ago. The 2 friends died at the Women's Royal Voluntary Service canteen wagon at the corner of Clarence Road and...

A London to Isle of Wight air service was launched on 1st May 1934, flying between Croydon, Somerton (Cowes), Ryde and Bembridge airports. The new service was to be known as Southern Air Services. It was organised by Southern Railways...