Niton

Coordinates: 50°35′13″N 1°17′06″W / 50.58687°N 1.2849°W / 50.58687; -1.2849

Niton
The White Lion, the village's pub.
Niton  Niton shown within the Isle of Wight
Population	1,142 (2001 census)[1]
OS grid reference	SZ507765
Civil parish	Niton and Whitwell
Unitary authority	Isle of Wight
Ceremonial county	Isle of Wight
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	VENTNOR
Postcode district	PO38
Dialling code	01983
Police	Hampshire
Fire	Isle of Wight
Ambulance	Isle of Wight
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Isle of Wight
List of places UK England Isle of Wight

Niton is a village on the Isle of Wight, near Ventnor with a thriving population of 1142, supporting two pubs, several churches, a pottery workshop/shop, a pharmacy and 3 local shops including a post office. The post office houses a cafe which serves as a local meeting place.

Geography

Niton village is split into two halves by a break in the inner cliff large enough to house the main road through Niton. Upper Niton lies in a hollow and is set around a crossroads. The lower part of the village, below the inner cliff is often known as Niton Undercliff, and was a small fishing hamlet until the 19th Century. This part of Niton flourished in Victorian times due to the popularity of Ventnor as a health resort, and many mansions and holiday cottages were built here. The road on the Undercliff continues east from Niton towards Ventnor. The Undercliff at Niton includes the most southerly point of the Isle of Wight, St. Catherine's Point and St. Catherine's Lighthouse. That is also where the Navtex transmitting station is located.

The source of the Eastern Yar is in the parish, a little to the north of the village.^[2]

Together with Whitwell, Niton composes a civil parish.^[3]

Niton lighthouse

St Catherine's Lighthouse was bombed in World War II, receiving a direct hit on the boiler house that killed three lighthouse keepers. The lighthouse itself was only slightly damaged, its lens only being chipped; the same lens is still used today.

Niton Church

Radio

Marconi used Knowles Farm in Niton as a location for radio experiments when he was living on the Isle of Wight in the late 1890s and early 1900s. In January 1901, he transmitted radio signals a record 186 miles from his transmitter station at Knowles Farm at the southern tip of the Isle of Wight to his Lizard Radio Telegraph Station at the southern tip of Cornwall. There is a stone at Knowles Farm into which is cut the inscription, "This is to commemorate that Marconi set up a wireless experimental station here in A.D. 1900". While in Niton, Marconi stayed at the Royal Sandrock Hotel^[4] in Undercliff.

A ship-to-shore radio station was established in 1900 and Niton Radio (callsign GNI) was maintained as a coastal radio station well known to yacht masters—including being featured in a British Telecom International information film—until it finally closed, along with the rest of the coastal radio network, in 1997.^[5] The Navtex transmitter at St. Catherine's Lighthouse is still in operation as of 2013 (Navtex is a shore-to-ship service).

Surfing

Niton has a reputation as a notoriously dangerous spot for Surfboarding a powerful rip current and a rocky landing await the surfer who attempts to tame Niton's powerful shore break. ^[6]

Transport

Southern Vectis bus route 6 serves the village on its way between Newport and Ventnor, including intermediate villages.^[7] During the summer, the Island Coaster also runs through the village.^[8]

Notes and references

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Niton, Isle of Wight.

v t e Ceremonial county of Isle of Wight Isle of Wight Portal Unitary authorities Isle of Wight Major settlements Bembridge Brading Cowes East Cowes Freshwater Newport Ryde Sandown Shanklin Ventnor Yarmouth See also: List of civil parishes in Isle of Wight Rivers River Caul Bourne River Medina Newtown River Solent Wootton Creek Eastern Yar Western Yar Topics Buildings and Structures Culture Dinosaurs Education Geography History People Places Politics Schools Transport Visitor attractions

v t e Settlements on the Isle of Wight Towns Brading Cowes East Cowes Newport Ryde Sandown Shanklin Ventnor Yarmouth Civil parishes Arreton Bembridge Brighstone Calbourne Chale Fishbourne Freshwater Gatcombe Godshill Gurnard Havenstreet and Ashey Lake Nettlestone and Seaview Newchurch Niton and Whitwell Northwood Rookley Shalfleet Shorwell St Helens Totland Wootton Wroxall Other villages and hamlets Adgestone Afton Afton Park Alum Bay Alverstone Alverstone Garden Village Apesdown Apse Heath Barton Bathingbourne Bierley Binfield Binstead Blackgang Blackwater Bonchurch Bouldnor Borthwood Bowcombe Branstone Brook Carisbrooke Chale Green Chessell Chillerton Cranmore Cross Lane Culver Down Downend Easton Egypt Point Elmfield Fairlee Five Houses Foreland Fields Forest Side Freshwater Bay Great Thorness Gunville Hale Common Hamstead Haylands Hillway Horringford Hulverstone Hunny Hill King's Quay Kingston Knighton Limerstone Little Atherfield Little Thorness Littletown Locksgreen Lowtherville Luccombe Marks Corner Mersley Merstone Moortown Morton Mottistone Nettlecombe Newbridge Newtown Ningwood Ninham Niton Undercliff Norton Norton Green Nunwell Oakfield Osborne Parkhurst Pondwell Porchfield Princelett Puckaster Puckpool Quarr Hill Queen's Bower Rew Street Rookley Green Roud Rowridge St Lawrence Sandford Seagrove Bay Shalcombe Shide Staplers Steephill Steyne Cross Thorley Thorley Street Thorncross Totland Bay Upper Ventnor Wellow Westridge Whippingham Whiteley Bank Winford Wootton Bridge Wootton Common Yafford Yarbridge Yaverland See also List of places on the Isle of Wight List of civil parishes on the Isle of Wight