Ventnor

Ventnor is a seaside resort and civil parish^[1] established in the Victorian era on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies underneath St Boniface Down (which, at 240 metres (787 feet), is the highest point on the Isle of Wight), and is built on steep slopes and cliffs leading down to the sea. The higher part is referred to as Upper Ventnor (although officially it is Lowtherville); the lower part, where most of the amenities are located, being known as Ventnor. Ventnor is sometimes understood as including the coastal villages of St. Lawrence to one side and Bonchurch to the other.

The sheltered location on the cliff of the Island's south coast means the area experiences a microclimate with more sunny days than much of the British Isles, and fewer frosts. This has allowed many species of subtropical plant to be successfully planted and maintained. Ventnor Botanic Garden is particularly notable.

Geology

The geomorphology of the area in many ways defines the town. It varies greatly, with a significant area built on clay which suffers from serious landslip. The ground at Ventnor is notoriously unstable, and many buildings and amenities have been lost to subsidence or cliff-falls. There is a local expression: "We live near the sea and are getting nearer every day." This has led to considerable concern and study of the situation.^[2][3][4][5] This is the subject of displays at the Isle of Wight Coastal Visitors Centre in Ventnor.^[6] One nearby Site of Special Scientific Interest is known as "The Landslip".

At the top of the town is a geological fault known as the Graben, which marks the top of the series of landslips on which Ventnor is built. This fault moves regularly, and has been the cause of the destruction of numerous buildings over the years, serious cracking to the road which crosses it, and repeated disruption to the town's utilities, which are supplied by pipes and cables which have to pass over the fault. The latest evidence of the fault can be seen at the former bus stop site on ocean view road in upper ventnor, where a 5"by 3" vent has opened up along the geological fault.^[7]

Five kilometres off the coast of Ventnor, the seabed forms a long parallel ridge and rises to within fifteen metres of the surface. The action of the sea rushing up the channel and being forced between the Island and this ridge, has carved out a narrow channel of extraordinary depth known as St. Catherine's Deep.

History

The town grew from a small fishing hamlet in the nineteenth century between the two villages of Bonchurch to the east and St Lawrence to the west. Whereas each of those villages was a parish in its own right, the area now occupied by Ventnor was divided between the two larger parishes of Godshill and Newchurch to the north. Charles Dickens lived nearby for some time. However, it was with the coming of the Isle of Wight Railway in 1866 that the town became both a tourist and a health resort. The fresh Channel air and warm climate were considered to be very beneficial to the sufferers of tuberculosis. Several sanatoriums were established in Ventnor for those suffering from the disease. The Isle of Wight Railway at one time ran a non-stop train from Ryde to Ventnor which was named 'The Invalid Express' specifically to rush consumptive patients to their treatment at Ventnor. One train famously completed the journey in a little over twenty minutes.^[8] The town reached its zenith in the inter-war period of the nineteen-thirties with regular steam packets operating between Southsea and the town's pier. The sandy beach was ideal for bathing, and is still popular today, although it is somewhat smaller than comparable tourist beaches at nearby Sandown and Shanklin.

Transport

History of the railway

Ventnor railway station was the terminus of the Isle of Wight Railway (later called the Island Line) from Ryde through Sandown and Shanklin, and it brought many visitors to the town. Ventnor West railway station was the terminus of the Isle of Wight Central Railway line from Cowes through Newport. Both stations suffered from being well away from the town centre, necessitating a road journey for most travellers to reach their destination. Ventnor West station was closed in 1952, long before the closures ordered by Dr Beeching. Ventnor station was closed in 1966, as part of a plan which also saw the remaining Ryde - Shanklin line electrified. Thereafter the town suffered a period of economic decline, from which it has not fully recovered.
However, between 2004 and 2010 a connecting Rail Link bus (Service 16), run by Wightbus, ran from St Lawrence and Ventnor to Shanklin, making the combined bus and rail journey to and from Ventnor easier.^[9]

Current bus services

Southern Vectis run buses on route 3 and route 6 from Ventnor to destinations including Newport, Ryde, Sandown, Shanklin.^[10] Additionally, Wightbus run the local number 31 route, which connects Ventnor to Bonchurch Village and provides additional journeys to Wroxall and St Lawrence. It has recently been mentioned that the town needs better bus services; however restoring a service to Ventnor Esplanade has been ruled out.^[11]

Ventnor Botanic Garden

Ventnor Botanic Garden is on the site of the now-demolished Royal National Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, and has a variety of tropical plants due to Ventnor's subtropical microclimate. A rainfall of 31 inches (790 mm) per annum and a climate more akin to the Mediterranean seaboard enable a wide variety of plants considered too tender for much of mainland Britain to be grown. The garden includes areas of plants from different parts of the world, particularly Australia and New Zealand, but also including Japan and gardens with plants of a Mediterranean origin. There is a temperate house, and a visitor centre which was renovated in 2001.

Other places of interest

• Ventnor Park is a small park on the west side of town with a bandstand, aviary and stream, and a putting green open seasonally.
• The Cascade Gardens On the esplanade there is a garden crossed with a waterfall, laid out in 1903,^[12] around which winds the main path between the beach and the town. The waterfall is known as The Cascade. Below this is a paddling-pool on the sea front esplanade. In the middle, rising out of the water is a model of the Isle of Wight which children can play on. The hills and inlets are physically modelled and the towns and roads (in red) are painted on. In the past, the Island's remaining railway line has also been shown (in black).
• VENTNOR Sign: There is a sign on the cliffs at La Falaise to the west of the beach which spells out the word VENTNOR in white concrete blocks, about four metres high and intended to provide a landmark visible from the sea. This replaced the chalk letters damaged in 1992. Since about the start of the current millennium, there have also been smaller metal capital letters spelling out the town's name. These are fixed to the seaward side of the water pumping station, itself sympathetically disguised as a bandstand and observation platform, next to the harbour.
• Antique and bric-à-brac stores: There are many of these in the main town shopping area, and these provide a tourist attraction in their own right.
• Ventnor Brewery: A brewery has been in Ventnor on the same location since the 1840s. Water from the local spring, which is called "St Boniface's Well" is used to make the beer.^[13] The town was home to Burts Brewery, but it closed in the 1980s. After this, the site was empty for several years. The brewery reopened as a microbrewery in 1996, called the "Ventnor Brewery" which produced a number of cask ales, including Oyster Stout. It closed in 2009.^[14]
• RAF Ventnor High above the town exists the former site of RAF Ventnor, once an RAF radar monitoring station. Now used mainly for civilian communications antennae, the site provides views over the English Channel. However the site also contains an extensive bunker complex designed to be part of an early warning network and later converted for use as a shelter in case of a nuclear strike during the Cold War. The bunker, which was a variant on the P1 ROTOR design, has now been sealed and is generally thought to be inaccessible.
• Ventnor is on the Isle of Wight Coastal Path.

Climate

As with the rest of the British Isles, Ventnor and the Isle of Wight experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The Met Office maintain a weather station at Ventnor Park. Ventnor currently holds the English record for the warmest nights for the months of...

• May; 17.8 °C (64.0 °F) in 1989.
• June; 22.7 °C (72.9 °F) in 1976
• July, 22.6 °C (72.7 °F) again in 1976^[15]
• and 2nd warmest night on record in August,23.2 °C (73.8 °F) during 2003^[16]

These records Illustrate the warming effect of Ventnor's coastal location during the hours of darkness.

Wall Lizard

The largest British colony of Wall lizards live in walls around the town, and a wall specially designed as a habitat for them was recently built at the Botanic Garden.^[18]

Events

• Ventnor Fringe Festival: Held annually since 2010 the Ventnor Fringe is an open arts festival which takes place in various venues across the town, in a similar format to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Previous acts include Johnny Flynn and Vincent Moon. The Fringe is always held to coincide with the Ventnor Carnival.
• Crab Fayre: Every year the town celebrates the town fair, based around the local crab harvest. It's now held at Ventnor County Middle School in Upper Ventnor.
• Carnival: Traditional town carnival held in the middle of August each year. Carnival Floats, Marching Bands and Drinking.
• Isle of Wight International Jazz Festival: The 3-day festival was held from 2005-2008. Headline acts included Maceo Parker, Humphrey Lyttleton and Cleo Laine.

Churches

• Holy Trinity Church, Ventnor
• St. Catherine's Church, Ventnor

Education

Schools in Ventnor include:

• Ventnor County Middle School (closing in August 2011)
• St. Francis Church Aided Primary School
• St. Catherine's School, a special school for students with speech and language difficulties.

Media references

• The band The Bees are from Ventnor.
• The actor Brian Murphy was born in Ventnor.

Other places named Ventnor

• Ventnor is a seaside area found on the north side of the Phillip Island, which is off the southern coast of Australia, named after Ventnor, Isle of Wight.
• Ventnor City is a coastal town in New Jersey adjacent to Atlantic City, also named after Ventnor, Isle of Wight.

References

External links

• Ventnor website
• IOW Council beach information
• Isle of Wight Tourism - Ventnor
• Old pictures of Ventnor and the undercliff
• Things to do and places to eat and drink in Ventnor
• The history of Alexandra Gardens - 8 fine Victorian villas overlooking the sea
• Old pictures of Ventnor
• Ventnor Fringe website