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The fortifications of the Isle of Wight provide an historic insight into the Island's strategic role throughout history.
Carisbrooke Castle dates from Norman times and brings history alive to many thousands of visitors each year.
Yarmouth Castle, the Needles Old Battery and Fort Victoria, will be of interest to the military historian as well as the casual visitor.
Hilltop monuments such as the Yarborough Monument on Culver Down and the Tennyson Monument on Tennyson Down await discovery by the walker.
Upon St Catherine's Down, you will find the imposing Russian-style Hoy Monument and St Catherines Oratory, the original 14th century lighthouse known locally as the "Pepperpot".
Osborne, on the north of the Isle of Wight, was the holiday residence of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. This royal stamp of approval brought many famous Victorians to visit and settle on the Island.
Alfred Lord Tennyson, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll and John Keats are just a few of the historical greats who were inspired by this "Enchanted Isle".
There are a number of manor houses on the Island with fine furniture and beautiful artefacts that are open to the public. Some manor grounds are historic landscapes in their own right, many containing walled gardens, fine plant collections and buildings of local and national significance.
Overlooking Freshwater Bay lies an earthen long barrow (an ancient tomb), left to us by the Stone Age community which lived there.
Above the pretty village of Mottistone in West Wight lies the most ambitious of the prehistoric tombs.
At the eastern end of the long mound, facing a rising sun, is the Longstone. This great stone pillar is a lasting testimony of Stone Age engineering skills and as a statement of faith in the rising of new life.
Bronze Age Islanders crowned their hilltops with bold round burial mounds, now named tumuli. Each tumulus honoured a dead leader and proclaimed, from its position in the landscape, the family territory.
Strung out along the tops of the downs, barrows like those on Brook Down and Headon Warren are there for you to find.
Recently earning itself the title of Dinosaur Island, the Isle of Wight has long been renowned as one of Europe's finest sites for dinosaur remains.
There was no Isle of Wight 125 million years ago, it was landlocked and part of a large continent. In the muds and silts of ancient marshy environments, animals and plants were trapped and preserved as fossils. These can now be found in the cliffs and on the beaches around the Island's coast. The oldest rocks are the wealdon clays formed when dinosaurs roamed the earth.
The yellow, brown and grey rocks exposed in the bays of Compton, Brook and Brighstone contain fossilised tress and dinosaur bones! Giant casts of dinosaur footprints in stone are a famous feature at Hanover Point.
Today, geologists continue to examine the rocks to understand the complex processes which formed the present Isle of Wight. To help you enjoy and interpret this scenery, take part in one of the organised fossil hunting trips.
Isle of Wight museums, galleries and exhibitions offer the perfect window into the deep and varied history of the Island and its rich arts and culture.
From the Isle of Wight's maritime connections, shipwrecks and smugglers to its significant World War 2 contribution and Roman ruins there is a whole wealth of history to explore in our varied selection of museums.
Similarly the Island's inspiring surroundings, light and atmosphere has seen the creation of some fantastic art and photography over the years, some of which you can find housed in our great selection of galleries.
Number of results: 50
, currently showing 21 to 40.
Church / Chapel
EAST COWES
This is the church used by Queen Victoria when she was in residence at Osborne House.
The church is run by volunteers and there is a guide on duty in the church.
Exhibition located within the Church and Church Centre:
There is a...
Castle / Fort
YARMOUTH
Fort Victoria, a short walk from Yarmouth, is a great family day out come rain or shine.
Historic Site
WEST COWES
You cannot miss this massive dockyard crane at the mouth of the River Medina at Cowes. You can see it as you walk out of Cowes along the Birmingham Road, as you approach the chain ferry from East Cowes, and as you come into Cowes from the sea. ...
Water Mill
CALBOURNE
Set in 35 acres of stunning rural landscape, Calbourne Water Mill contains one of the oldest working water mills in the country, dating back to the Domesday Book.
Historic Site
BROOK
Hoards of Bronze Age (2,300 - 700 BC) implements and weapons, and also round barrow cemeteries, have been found throughout the Island. Although many no longer survive, over 300 round barrows have been recorded.
Round barrows are 'bowl,' 'bell' or...
Church / Chapel
NEWPORT
Newport Minster is the principal church of the Isle of Wight and an Island venue for concerts, exhibitions and civic events. Rebuilt by Queen Victoria it houses Princess Elizabeth’s grave and other important memorials.
Historic Site
NEWPORT
Earl Mountbatten of Burma was the last Governor of the Isle of Wight. He held the position from 1965 until his death in 1979. He was killed by a bomb planted by the IRA that exploded on the boat he was sailing off the coast of the Republic of...
Historic Site
SHANKLIN
First opened to the public in 1817, the young Princess Victoria visited Shanklin Chine aged 14 with her mother in 1833. Entry was via Fisherman’s Cottage (open as a pub today) where local fisherman and smuggler William Colenutt charged an entrance...
Historic Site
FRESHWATER
Visit the legendary site of the original 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.
V-DUB ISLAND - 14TH AUGUST 2014 - 18TH AUGUST.
This year V-Dub Island (now in its Fourth year) has moved to its new site - East Afton Farm – home of the world’s largest music...
Modern Time
BEMBRIDGE
WIGHT IN BLOOM 2015 AWARD - HIGHLY COMMENDED (BEST COMMUNITY FLORAL PROJECT).
Visit the site to view the war memorial and the gardens located in the village of Bembridge. The War Memorial Gardens is located at the junction of the High Street and...
Abbey / Priory
RYDE
Quarr Abbey is a working Benedictine monastery and is set in beautiful and peaceful surroundings and can be found just outside of Ryde.
Special Interest
RYDE
Now a private residence, the Prince Consort building was previously known as the Royal Victoria Yacht Club and overlooks the Solent from the western end of the esplanade at Ryde. It was built as a private place for the Queen, because the Royal Yacht...
Victorian
VENTNOR
In Victorian times Ventnor became a fashionable holiday and health resort not least because Sir James Clark, Queen Victoria's surgeon recommended the health-giving properties of Ventnor's climate. The Ventnor Hotel was re-named The Royal Hotel after...
Historic Site
NEWPORT
Church Litten was the burial ground for St. Thomas's Church, Newport. The cemetery dates back to 1583, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It was formed shortly after Newport was hit by the plague. Previously Newport had no burial ground, being part...
Castle / Fort
NEWPORT
A royal prison in the Civil War of 1642 – 1651, part of Carisbrooke was used as a residence by Princess Beatrice from 1912 onwards. After the death of her husband in 1896, she was appointed Governor and lived with her mother Queen Victoria at
Historic Site
ALUM BAY
A spectacularly sited, cliff top fort overlooking The Needles Rocks, in the care of the National Trust.
Historic Site
ALUM BAY
Situated within Needles Park is the world famous Marconi Monument, which marks the precise location where Guglielmo Marconi undertook his pioneering work at the end of the 19th Century, which led to radio and all telecommunications as we know it...
Heritage / Visitor Centre
VENTNOR
Open the door to the Victorian and Edwardian past and meet the islanders and the landscape they shaped.
Historic House / Palace
BRADING
A black and white building in the heart of Brading village is thought to be the oldest timber-framed house on the Island. Despite its prettified appearance, it is substantially a two-bay jettied timber-framed house dating from around 1600 or earlier...
Museum
FRESHWATER BAY
Home and workplace of the internationally acclaimed Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron.
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