Ventnor
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Ventnor is a seaside resort established in the Victorian era on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast of England. It lies underneath Saint Boniface Down, and is built on steep slopes and cliffs leading down to the sea. The higher part is referred to as upper Ventnor; the lower part, where most of the amenities are located, being known as lower Ventnor.
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. This garden commissioned by Queen Victoria is unusually large and well stocked. Part of it is built on the site that was once the Royal National Hospital for diseases of the chest, and is said to be haunted. The gardens also contain a large temperate house.
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."
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.
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 (whose parish Ventnor is situated in) and St Lawrence to the West. Charles Dickens lived nearby for some time. 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 much smaller than other comparable tourist beaches at nearby Sandown and Shanklin.
Ventnor railway station was the terminus of the line from Ryde through Sandown and Shanklin, and it brought many visitors to the town. Ventnor West station was the terminus of the line from Cowes through Newport. Both stations suffered from being well away from the town centre, necessitating a road journey for travellers to get to their destination. Ventnor West station was closed early in the 1950's, long before the closures ordered by Dr Beeching. Ventnor was closed in 1966, ironically just before the surviving Ryde - Shanklin line was electrified. Thereafter the town suffered a period of economic decline, from which it has not fully recovered.
Other places of interest
- Smaller Parks and Gardens: The town has a small park on the west side of town with a bandstand, aviary and stream. There is a garden crossed with a waterfall, built in the Victorian era of the town around which winds the main path between the beach and the town. The waterfall is known as The Cascade. A 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 are physically modelled and roads and towns are painted on.
- 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.
- Antique and bric-a-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: The town was also home of Burts Brewery, which closed in the 1980s and whose site was empty for many years. It was reopened as a microbrewery in 1996 as the Ventnor Brewery producing a number of cask ales including the quite unusual Oyster Stout.
- RAF Ventnor High above the town exists the former site of RAF Ventnor, once an RAF radar monitoring station. Now used mainly for communications antennae, the site provides views over the English channel.
Events
- Crab Fair: Every year the town celebrates the town fair, based around the local crab harvest. It's now held at Watcombe Bottom Rugby Ground in Upper Ventnor. It was previously held in the cricket grounds next to Ventnor Botanical Gardens, which many believe to have been the superior venue.
- Carnival: Traditional English town carnival. Carnival Floats, Marching Bands and Drinking.
- Celebrate Ventnor Day: annual festival.
Education
Schools in Ventnor include Ventnor County Middle School and St. Catherine's School, a special school for students with speech and language difficulties.
Trivia
- The band The Bees are from Ventnor.
- Mark King, the bassist and singer of 1980s band Level 42, is from 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. It was named after the English town mentioned above.
- Ventnor City is a coastal town in New Jersey adjacent to Atlantic City.