Isle of Wight Heritage

In the 1st of our series on Isle of Wight Railways, we look at the railway at St Helens, which was the main commercial docks on the Island until Medina Wharf was rebuilt in 1928. Since the 17th century, there...

1947 ended on a positive note when a retriever dog called Laddie was awarded a People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals silver medal on 31st December for the rescue of 2 young boys. The PDSA medal was instituted in 1943 to...

In the 4th part of Made on the Isle of Wight, we look at the contribution Ryde designer John Ackroyd and Isle of Wight engineers made to a series of world-beating balloons. John ‘Ackers’ Ackroyd had already designed the world’s...

Former location of Seaview pier On 27th December 1951, the residents of Seaview woke up to discover 100 feet of the decking of the beautiful Seaview Pier had been washed away by the sea. Most of us know that Shanklin...

Thrust2 was a jet-propelled vehicle – built and designed on the Isle of Wight – which held the world land speed record for 14 years from 4th October 1983 to 25th September 1997. Amazingly, the story of Thrust2 began when...

(Illustrative) On a Sunday evening, 2 days before Christmas in 1883, the vicar in charge of St Catherine's Church in Ventnor, Revd Willan, demanded the keys to the vestry and attempted to lock the doors to prevent members of the...

Lord William Beauchamp Nevill In the 4th of our series on Parkhurst prisoners, we examine the curious tale of the aristocratic swindler and author of Penal Servitude, William Beauchamp Nevill. William Beauchamp Nevill - the 4th son of the Marquess...

A-Class destroyer HMS Acheron struck a mine 10 miles off St Catherine’s Point with the loss of 196 crewmen and dockyard workers on 17th December 1940. HMS Acheron was named after a river in Hades in Greek mythology. She was...

Image: Oldelpaso 2 Newport boys - James Riley and William Shepherd - were charged under the Police Clauses Act with playing football in South Street, Newport on Sunday 13th December 1891. James and William were given the alternative of paying...

In the 2nd of our series Made on the Isle of Wight, we examine the history of submarine construction and design in both East and West Cowes. We have all heard of the giant hovercraft and flying boats made by...