Isle of Wight Heritage

Simon de Atherfield was brutally murdered by his wife Amicia on 21st March 1211. His wife was sentenced to be burnt at the stake for the crime the following year. Sadly, the history of this medieval saint has been largely...

Several Newport residents were gored by an enraged bull - who had escaped on his way to market - on 19th March 1879. The 1st person to be attacked was a regimental sergeant in Lower St James' Street, who was...

In the 2nd edition of Isle of Wight Piers, Island Echo examines the 4 piers that have been built at Ryde: the Promenade pier, the Tramway pier, the Railway pier and the long-gone Victoria pier. Ryde is the most commonly...

This month marks the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the AP1-88 hovercraft - an iconic craft that not only ran between Ryde and Southsea, but around the world. From 1983 to 2018, AP1-88s were operated across the Solent, between...

John Keats John Keats - whose name has been closely associated with the seaside town of Shanklin - came on a visit to the Isle of Wight 206 years ago on 14th March 1817. Keats stayed in Carisbrooke, where he...

In this week’s edition of Isle of Wight Railways, Island Echo looks at the station in Yarmouth that closed in 1953, to become a Youth Club and now Off the Rails restaurant. West Wight has never been a densely populated...

The Aberdeen Courier reported on 6th March 1798 - 225 years ago today - that the French fleet had been spotted off the Isle of Wight coast. News travelled slowly in the 18th century, compared to the almost instant reporting...

For 130 years a pier graced Ventnor seafront, but 2 were swept away, 1 was dismantled during the war and the last caught fire. The 1st Ventnor Pier was erected in 1863, followed by the 2nd Ventnor Pier in 1872,...

Knife crime is nothing new: on 1st March 1862, William Wadden, from Winford – who was described as 'a miserable old man’ – stabbed 29-year-old James White to death in a quarrel over a girl. The fight between the 2...

Lady Baring William Basterfield was remanded in custody for attempting to extort £150 (£9,000 in 2023 values) from Lady Baring in Cowes on 28th February 1942. Lady Baring was the wife of Sir Godfrey Baring, Chairman of Isle of Wight...