The Isle of Wight is an English England /ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population, while its mainland territory occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain. England is bordered by Scotland to the north, Wales to the west and the North Sea, Irish Sea, Celtic Sea, island An island or isle (/ˈaɪl/) is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another name for a small island or islet. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot, /ˈaɪ.ət/. There are two main types of islands: continental islands and oceanic and a county A county is a land area of local government within a country. A county may have cities and towns within its area, located 3-5 miles (5–8 km) from the south coast of the mainland, in the English Channel The English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about 560 km (350 mi) long and varies in width from 240 km (150 mi) at its widest, to only 34 km (21 mi) in the Strait of Dover. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of. It is separated from mainland England England /ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population, while its mainland territory occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain. England is bordered by Scotland to the north, Wales to the west and the North Sea, Irish Sea, Celtic Sea, by the Solent The Solent is a stretch of sea separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of England and is situated south of the county of Hampshire Hampshire (pronounced /ˈhæmpʃər/ or English pronunciation: /ˈhæmpʃɪər/ ), sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, (abbr. Hants), or the County of Southampton, is a county on the south coast of England. The county borders (clockwise from West), Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex. The county has an area of 1,. Various regular ferry services operate across the Solent: Southampton to Cowes is 10 miles (16 km), Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pier is 5 miles (8 km), Portsmouth Gunwharf to Fishbourne is 7 miles (11 km), and Lymington to Yarmouth is 4 miles (6 km). The island's holiday resorts have been popular since Victorian times The Victorian era of the United Kingdom was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from June 1837 to January 1901. This was a long period of prosperity for the British people, as profits gained from the overseas British Empire, as well as from industrial improvements at home, allowed a large, educated middle class to develop. Some scholars would as a holiday destination. The island is known for its outstanding natural beauty and for its world-famous sailing Sailing is the art of controlling a boat with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and dagger or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to change the direction and speed of a boat. Mastery of the skill requires experience in varying wind and sea conditions, as well as knowledge concerning based at Cowes Cowes is an English seaport town on the Isle of Wight, an island south of Southampton. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank. The western town is sometimes referred to as West Cowes where distinction is needed - such as at the two differing ferry termini. However.

The island has a rich history, including a brief status as an independent kingdom in the 15th century. It was home to the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language, and Queen Victoria Victoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India of the British Raj from 1 May 1876, until her death. Her reign as the Queen lasted 63 years and 7 months, longer than that of any other British monarch before or since. The period centered on her reign is known as the built her much loved summer residence and final home Osborne House Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat at East Cowes. The Island's maritime and industrial history encompasses boat building, sail making, the manufacture of flying boats A flying boat is a specialised form of aircraft that is designed to take off from and land on water, using its fuselage as a floating hull. Such aircraft are sometimes stabilised on water by underwing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage. It is the use of the fuselage to provide the main buoyancy of the aircraft which distinguishes, the world's first hovercraft A hovercraft or air-cushion vehicle is a craft designed to travel over any smooth surface supported by a cushion of slow moving, high-pressure air, ejected downwards against the surface below, and contained within a "skirt." Hovercraft are used throughout the world as a method of specialized transport wherever there is the need to travel and the testing and development of Britain's space rockets. It is home to the Isle of Wight International Jazz Festival, Bestival and the recently-revived Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a music festival which takes place annually on the Isle of Wight in the UK. It was originally held from 1968 to 1970, the venues being Ford Farm , Wootton and Afton Down (near Freshwater) respectively. The 1970 event was by far the largest and most famous of these early festivals; indeed it was said at the time to be, which, in 1970, was one of the largest rock music Rock music is a loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz, and classical music events ever held.[2] The island has some exceptional wildlife and is also one of the richest fossil Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous (fossil-containing) rock formations and sedimentary layers (strata) is known as the fossil record. The study of fossils across geological time, how locations for dinosaurs Dinosaurs were the dominant vertebrate animals of terrestrial ecosystems for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period (about 230 million years ago) until the end of the Cretaceous period (65 million years ago), when most of them became extinct in the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event. The 10000 living species of birds may be in Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast. Europe is washed upon to the north by the Arctic Ocean and.

It has in the past been part of Hampshire Hampshire (pronounced /ˈhæmpʃər/ or English pronunciation: /ˈhæmpʃɪər/ ), sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, (abbr. Hants), or the County of Southampton, is a county on the south coast of England. The county borders (clockwise from West), Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex. The county has an area of 1,; however, it became an independent administrative county Administrative counties were a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government from 1889 to 1974. They were created by the Local Government Act 1888 and abolished by the Local Government Act 1972. They were replaced by the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England which are often referred to, somewhat (although still sharing the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire) in 1890. In 1974 it was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county The ceremonial counties are areas of England that are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as the Counties for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997. They are often used in a geographic reference frame, and in this with its own Lord Lieutenant and the name was adopted as a postal county. With a single Member of Parliament A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of parliament tend to form parliamentary parties with members and 132,731 permanent residents according to the 2001 census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national 'population and door to door censuses' , agriculture, and business censuses. The term itself comes, it is also the most populated Parliamentary constituency Electoral areas called constituencies are also used in elections to the European Parliament in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with.

Contents

History

Main article: History of the Isle of Wight

Early history

The Isle of Wight is first mentioned in writing in Geography by Claudius Ptolemaeus.

At the end of the Roman Empire the island of Vectis became a Jutish kingdom ruled by King Stuf and his successors until AD 661 when it was invaded by Wulfhere of Mercia Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands. The name is a Latinisation of the Old English Mierce, meaning "border people" and forcibly converted to Christianity at sword point. When he left for Mercia the islanders reverted to paganism.

In AD 685 it was invaded by Caedwalla of Wessex and can be considered to have become part of Wessex. Following the accession of West Saxon kings as kings of all England England /ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population, while its mainland territory occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain. England is bordered by Scotland to the north, Wales to the west and the North Sea, Irish Sea, Celtic Sea,, it then became part of England. The island became part of the shire In Britain "shire" is the original term for what is usually known as a county; the word county having been introduced at the Norman Conquest. The two are synonymous. Although in modern British usage counties are referred to as "shires" mainly in poetic contexts, terms such as Shire Hall remain common. Shire also remains a of Hampshire Hampshire (pronounced /ˈhæmpʃər/ or English pronunciation: /ˈhæmpʃɪər/ ), sometimes historically Southamptonshire, Hamptonshire, (abbr. Hants), or the County of Southampton, is a county on the south coast of England. The county borders (clockwise from West), Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex. The county has an area of 1, and was divided into hundreds A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in England, Wales, Denmark, South Australia, some parts of the USA, Germany , Sweden, Finland and Norway, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions. Alternative names include wapentake, herred (Danish, Norwegian), härad (Swedish) and kihlakunta ( as was the norm.

In 686, it became the last part of the country to convert to Christianity Adherents of Christianity, known as Christians, believe that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible . Orthodox Christian theology claims that Jesus suffered, died, and was resurrected to open heaven to humans. They further maintain that Jesus ascended into heaven, and most denominations teach that Jesus will return to judge all humans,.[3][4][5]

The island suffered especially from the Vikings A Viking is one of the Norse (Scandinavian) explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the late eighth to the early eleventh century. These Norsemen used their famed longships to travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga River in Russia, and as far west as Iceland, Greenland, and. Alfred the Great Alfred the Great , was king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex from 871 to 899. Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English king to be given the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself "King of the Anglo-'s navy defeated the Danes in 871 after they had "ravaged Devon and the Isle of Wight".

Memorial to Charles I Charles I, , the second son of James VI and I, was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March, 1625 until his execution on 30 January, 1649. Charles famously engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England. He was an advocate of the Divine Right of Kings, which was the belief that kings received their power from God and at Carisbrooke Castle

Middle ages

The Norman Conquest The Norman conquest of England began in 1066 with the invasion of the Kingdom of England by the troops of William, Duke of Normandy , and his victory at the Battle of Hastings. This resulted in Norman control of England, which was firmly established during the next few years. The Norman Conquest was a pivotal event in English history for several created the position of Lord of the Isle of Wight. Carisbrooke Priory and the fort of Carisbrooke Castle were founded. The island did not come under full control of the Crown until it was sold by the dying last Norman Lord, Lady Isabella de Fortibus, to Edward I Edward I , known as Edward Longshanks for his height of 6 ft. 2 in. (188 cm), and sometimes referred to as the "English Justinian" and the "Hammer of the Scots" (Latin: Scottorum malleus), was a Plantagenet King of England. Edward achieved historical fame by conquering large parts of Wales and almost succeeding in doing the in 1293.

The Lordship thereafter became a royal appointment, with a brief interruption when Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick was in 1444 crowned King of the Isle of Wight,[6] with King Henry VI Henry VI was King of England 1422–1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realms were governed by regents assisting in person at the ceremony, placing the crown on his head. With no male heir, the regal title expired on the death of Henry de Beauchamp.

Henry VIII Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) and claimant to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII, who developed the Royal Navy The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s. In World War II, the Royal Navy operated almost and its permanent base at Portsmouth Portsmouth (pronounced /ˈpɔərtsməθ/ ) city located in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is the UK's only island city and is located on Portsea Island. It is commonly nicknamed Pompey. The administrative unit itself has a population of 197,700, which forms part of the wider Portsmouth conurbation, with an, fortified the island at Yarmouth, East and West Cowes, and Sandown. Much later, after the Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, leading to the Drake–Norris Expedition of 1589, also known as the English Armada against Spanish possessions in the New World and against the Atlantic treasure fleets in 1588, the threat of Spanish attacks remained and the outer fortifications of Carisbrooke Castle were built between 1597 and 1602.

Civil war

During the English Civil War The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. The first (1642–46) and second (1648–49) civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war (1649–51) saw fighting between supporters of King Charles II King Charles Charles I, , the second son of James VI and I, was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March, 1625 until his execution on 30 January, 1649. Charles famously engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England. He was an advocate of the Divine Right of Kings, which was the belief that kings received their power from God and fled to the Isle of Wight, believing he would receive sympathy from the governor, Robert Hammond. Hammond was appalled, and imprisoned the King in Carisbrooke Castle.

Osborne House Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat and its grounds are now open to the public

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria Victoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India of the British Raj from 1 May 1876, until her death. Her reign as the Queen lasted 63 years and 7 months, longer than that of any other British monarch before or since. The period centered on her reign is known as the made Osborne House Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat on the Isle of Wight her summer home for many years and, as a result, it became a major holiday resort for fashionable Victorians including Alfred Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language, Julia Margaret Cameron Julia Margaret Cameron was a British photographer. She became known for her portraits of celebrities of the time, and for Arthurian and similar legendary themed pictures, Charles Dickens (who wrote much of David Copperfield there) and members of European royalty.

During her reign, in 1897, the world's first radio station[7] was set up by Marconi, at the Needles battery, at the western tip of the island.

Modern history

During the Second World War the island was frequently bombed. With its proximity to France the island also had a number of observation stations and transmitters, and was the starting-point for one of the earlier Operation Pluto pipelines to feed fuel to the Normandy landings.

The Needles battery was used as the site for testing and development of the Black Arrow and Black Knight space rockets, subsequently launched from Woomera, Australia.

The Isle of Wight Festival was a very large rock festival that took place near Afton Down, West Wight in 1970, following two smaller concerts in 1968 and 1969. The 1970 show was notable both for being one of the last public performances by Jimi Hendrix and for the number of attendees reaching, by many estimates, 600,000.[8] The Festival was revived in 2002 and is now an annual event.

Physical geography and wildlife

Isle of Wight Map.

Isle of Wight is approximately diamond-shaped and covers an area of 380 km2. Slightly more than half of the island, mainly in the west of the island, is designated as the Isle of Wight Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The island has 258 km2 of farmland, 52 km2 of developed areas, and 92 km of coastline. The landscape of the island is remarkably diverse, leading to its oft-quoted description of "England in Miniature". West Wight is predominantly rural, with dramatic coastlines dominated by the famous chalk downland ridge, running across the whole island and ending in The Needles stacks — perhaps the most photographed aspect of the Isle of Wight. The highest point on the island is St Boniface Down, at 241 m which is a Marilyn.

The famous view at The Needles and Alum Bay.

The rest of the island landscape also has great diversity, with perhaps the most notable habitats being the soft cliffs and sea ledges, which are spectacular features as well as being very important for wildlife, and are internationally protected. The River Medina flows north into the Solent, whilst the other main river, the River Yar flows roughly north-east, emerging at Bembridge Harbour at the eastern end of the island. Confusingly, there is another entirely separate river at the western end also called the River Yar flowing the short distance from Freshwater Bay to a relatively large estuary at Yarmouth. To distinguish them, they may be referred to as the Eastern and Western Yar.

The south coast of the island borders the English Channel. Without man's intervention the island might well have been split into three, with the sea breaking through

Island wildlife is remarkable, and it is one of the few places in England where the red squirrel is flourishing, with a stable population (Brownsea Island is another). Unlike most of England, no grey squirrels are to be found on the island[9], nor are there any wild deer. Instead, rare and protected species such as the dormouse and many rare bats can be found. The Glanville Fritillary butterfly's distribution in the United Kingdom is largely restricted to the edges of the crumbling cliffs of the Isle of Wight.

A competition in 2002 named the Pyramidal Orchid as the Isle of Wight's county flower.[10]

The island is known as one of the most important areas in Europe for dinosaur fossils. The eroding cliffs often reveal previously hidden remains.

Climate

Being one of the most southerly parts of the UK, the Isle of Wight has a milder sub-climate than most other areas, which results in high numbers of holiday-makers, particularly in the resorts in the SE of the island. It also has a longer growing season than most other areas in the UK.[11]

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Avg High (°C) 8 8 10 13 16 19 22 21 19 15 11 9
Avg Min (°C) 1 1 2 3 7 9 11 11 9 7 3 2
Mean (°C) 4 4 6 8 11 14 16 16 14 11 7 5
Avg Precip (mm) 89 61 66 48 56 53 41 56 66 79 84 89

Geology

Blackgang Chine circa 1910

The Isle of Wight is made up of a wide variety of different rock types ranging from Early Cretaceous times (around 127 million years ago) to the middle of the Palaeogene (around 30 million years ago). All the rocks found on the island are sedimentary, made up of mineral grains from previously existing rocks. These are all consolidated to form the rocks that can be seen on the island today, such as limestone, mudstone and sandstone. Rocks on the island are very rich in fossils and many of these can be seen exposed on the beaches as the cliffs erode.

Cretaceous rocks on the island, usually red, show that the climate was previously hot and dry. This provided suitable living conditions for dinosaurs. Dinosaur bones and footprints can be seen in and on the rocks exposed around the island's beaches, especially at Yaverland and Compton Bay.

Along the northern coast of the island there is a rich source of fossilised shellfish, crocodiles, turtles and mammal bones. The youngest of these dates back to around 30 million years ago.

The island is mainly made up of Tertiary clays, in most of the northern parts of the island, limestone, upper and lower greensands, wealden and chalk.

View west from Shanklin Chine

Politics

Main article: Politics of the Isle of Wight The Clipper Ship "Flying Cloud" off the Needles, Isle of Wight, by James E. Buttersworth, 1859–60.

The Isle of Wight is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county. Since the abolition of its two borough councils in 1995 and the restructuring of the county council as the Isle of Wight Council, it has been a unitary county. It is unique in England in this way — all other unitary areas are single districts with no county council, while the Isle of Wight is the other way round. It also has a single Member of Parliament, and is by far the most populous constituency in the United Kingdom (more than 50% above the average of English constituencies).

As a constituency of the House of Commons, it is traditionally a battleground between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. The current MP Andrew Turner is a Conservative, and his predecessor Dr Peter Brand was a Liberal Democrat.

The Isle of Wight Council election of 2009 was a victory for the Conservative Party, which took 24 of the council's 40 seats.[12]

There has been a minor regionalist movement, in the form of the Vectis National Party and Isle of Wight Party, but this has generally performed badly in elections.

Main towns

Main article: List of places on the Isle of Wight Graveyard on the grounds of the church in the town of Brading, Isle of Wight

In addition there are smaller towns along the coasts, particularly on the eastern side of the island. There are also a number of smaller villages. Some of these (for example, Godshill) also attract many tourists.

Culture

Main article: Culture of the Isle of Wight

Language and dialect

The Isle of Wight accent is a somewhat stronger than but similar to the traditional dialect of Hampshire, featuring the dropping of some consonants and an emphasis on longer vowels. It is similar to the West Country dialects heard in SW England, but less removed in sound from the Estuary English of the SE. As with many other traditional southern British regional dialects and accents, a strong island accent is not now commonly heard, and, as speakers tend to be older, this decline is likely to continue.

The island also has its own local and regional words. Some words, including grockle (visitor, tourist - hence grockle-can, tour coach) and nipper/nips (a younger male person), are still commonly used and are shared with neighbouring areas of the mainland. A few are unique to the island, for example overner (a mainlander who has settled on the island), caulkhead (someone born on the island and born from long-established island stock) and 'somewhen' (a derivative of sometime, with similar meaning). Other words are more obscure and now used mainly for comic emphasis, such as mallishag (meaning "caterpillar") and nammit ("noon-meat", meaning food). Some other words are gurt meaning "great", and gallybagger ("scarecrow").[13]

Identity

There has been and still is some confusion between the identities of the Isle of Wight as a separate county and, as it once was, a part of the nearby county of Hampshire[14]. Prior to 1890 the Isle of Wight was normally regarded and was administered as a part of Hampshire. With the formation of the Isle of Wight County Council in 1890 the distinct identity became officially established - see also Politics of the Isle of Wight. In January 2009 the new Flag of the Isle of Wight, the first general flag for the county, was accepted by the Flag Institute.[15]

Sport

Cowes is a world-famous centre for sailing, playing host to several racing regattas. Cowes Week is the longest-running regular regatta in the world, with over 1,000 yachts and 8,500 competitors taking part in over 50 classes of yacht racing.[16] In 1851 the first America's Cup race took place around the island. Other major sailing events hosted in Cowes include the Fastnet race, the Round the Island Race[17], the Admiral's Cup, and the Commodore's Cup.[18]

The Isle of Wight Marathon is the United Kingdom's oldest continuously held marathon, having been run every year since 1957.[19] The course starts in Ryde, passing through Newport, Shanklin and Sandown, before finishing back in Ryde. It is an undulating course with a total climb of 459 metres.

The island is home to the Isle of Wight Islanders speedway team, who compete in the sport's third division, the National League. The club was founded in 1996, with a first-night attendance of 1,740. The island is also home to the Wightlink Raiders, an ice hockey team based at Ryde Arena. They compete in the English Premier Ice Hockey League, the 2nd Division in the country. There is also an amateur team the Vectis Tigers of the English National Ice Hockey League, also based at Ryde Arena.

The Isle of Wight Hockey Club run three senior teams and a junior side, with the 1st XI competing in Hampshire's top division, just one below the regional leagues. The island also has a ladies team - the Vectis Ladies - which is a separate organisation to the IW Hockey Club. Ventnor Middle School on the Isle of Wight runs a successful hockey set-up, producing a number of players who have since gone on to play at high standards.

The now-disbanded Ryde Sports F.C. was founded in 1888 and became one of the eight founder members of the Hampshire League in 1896. There are several other non-league clubs such as Newport (IW) F.C. There is an Isle of Wight Saturday Football League with three divisions, and a rugby union club[20], plus various other sporting teams.[21] Beach football is particularly prevalent on the island and has several of the nation's premier clubs with almost all of the England Beach Soccer team made up from players from the island.

The Isle of Wight is the 39th official county in English cricket, and the Isle of Wight Cricket Board organise an internal cricket league between various local clubs, and Ventnor Cricket Club compete in the Southern Premier League, and have won the Second Division in several recent years. There is a new County Ground near Newport[22][23][24] which held its first match on 6 September 2008.[25] The Board's intent is to enter a side in the Minor Counties tournaments in future seasons.

The Isle of Wight competes in the biennial Island Games, which it hosted in 1993. The Isle of Wight will host these games again in 2011.

Music

The Isle of Wight is home to the Isle of Wight International Jazz Festival, the Isle of Wight Festival and the Bestival. The Isle of Wight is also the home of the band "The Bees". Recently they have been having more national success and often perform at smaller concerts on the island. The band "Trixie's Big Red Motorbike" (extant in the early-to-mid 1980s) as well as Mark King of Level 42 also came from the Isle of Wight.

Economy

A satellite photograph of the Isle of Wight and the Solent.

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added by the Isle of Wight economy at current basic prices by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of pounds.[26]

Year Regional Gross Value Added[27] Agriculture[28] Industry[29] Services[30]
1995 831 28 218 585
2000 1,202 27 375 800
2003 1,491 42 288 1,161

Industry and agriculture

The largest industry on the Isle of Wight is tourism, but the island has a strong agricultural heritage, including sheep and dairy farming and the growing of arable crops. Traditional agricultural commodities are more difficult to market off the island because of transport costs, but island farmers have managed successfully to exploit some specialist markets. The high price of these products overcomes the transport costs. One of the most successful agricultural sectors at present is the growing of crops under cover, particularly salad crops, including tomatoes and cucumbers. The Isle of Wight has a longer growing season than much of the United Kingdom and this also favours such crops. Garlic has been successfully grown in Newchurch for many years, and is even exported to France. This has led to the establishment of an annual Garlic Festival at Newchurch, which is one of the largest events of the island's annual calendar. The favourable climate has led to the success of vineyards, including one of the oldest in the British Isles, at Adgestone near Sandown.[31] Lavender is also grown for its oil.[32] The largest sector of agriculture has been dairying, but due to low milk prices, and strict UK legislation for UK milk producers, the dairy industry has declined. There were nearly one-hundred and fifty dairy producers of various sizes in the mid-eighties, but this has now dwindled down to just twenty-four.

The making of sailcloth, boats and other connected maritime industry has long been associated with the island, although this has somewhat diminished in recent years. Cowes is still home to various small marine-related companies such as boat-builders.

Although they have reduced the extent of the plants and workforce, including the sale of the main site, GKN operates what was once the British Hovercraft Corporation a subsidiary of, and known latterly, when manufacturing focus changed, as Westland Aircraft. Prior to its purchase by Westland, it was the independent company known as Saunders-Roe. It remains one of the most notable historic firms, having produced many of the flying boats, and the world's first hovercraft.

The island's major manufacturing activity today is in composite materials, used by boat-builders and the wind turbine manufacturer Vestas, which has a wind turbine blade factory and testing facilities in Newport and East Cowes.

Bembridge Airfield is the home of Britten-Norman, manufacturers of the world-famous Islander and Trislander aircraft. This is shortly to become the site of the European assembly line for Cirrus light aircraft. The Norman Aeroplane Company is a smaller aircraft manufacturing company operating in Sandown. There are have been 3 other aircraft manufacturers that built planes on the island.[33]

In 2005, Northern Petroleum began exploratory drilling for oil, with its Sandhills-2 borehole at Porchfield but ceased operations in October that year, after failing to find significant reserves.

Breweries

There are three breweries on the island. Goddards Brewery in Ryde opened in 1993.[34] David Yates, who was head brewer of Burts and Island Brewery, started brewing as Yates Brewery at the Inn at St Lawrence in 2000.[35] Ventnor Brewery, under new management, is the latest incarnation of Burt's Brewery, which has been brewing on the island since the 1840s in Ventnor. [36]. Until the 1960s most pubs were owned by Mews Brewery sited in Newport near the old railway station, but it closed and the pubs taken over by Strongs and then by Whitbread. By some accounts Mews beer was apt to be rather cloudy and dark. They pioneered the use of cans in the 19th century for export to British India. The old brewery was derelict for many years but was then severely damaged in a spectacular fire

Services

Tourism and heritage

Compton Chine, looking east towards Blackgang

The heritage of the island is a major asset, which has for many years kept its economy going. Holidays focused on natural heritage, including both wildlife and geology, are becoming a growing alternative to the traditional British seaside holiday, which went into decline in the second half of the 20th century, due to the increased affordability of air travel to alternative destinations.

Tourism is still the largest industry on the island. In 1999, the 130,000 island residents were host to 2.7 million visitors. Of these, 1.5 million stayed overnight, and 1.2 million visits were day visits. Only 150,000 of these visitors were international visitors. Between 1993 and 2000, visits increased at a rate of 3% per year, on average.[37]

At the turn of the nineteenth century the island had ten pleasure piers including two at Ryde and a "chain pier" at Seaview. The Victoria Pier in Cowes succeeded the earlier Royal Pier but was itself removed in 1960. The piers at Ryde, Seaview, Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor originally served a coastal steamer service that operated from Southsea on the mainland. The piers at Seaview, Shanklin, Ventnor and Alum Bay were all destroyed by storms during the last century. Today only the railway pier at Ryde and the piers at Sandown, Totland Bay (currently closed to the public) and Yarmouth survive. Blackgang Chine is arguably the oldest theme park in the UK, and one of the oldest in the world.

As well as more traditional tourist attractions, the island is often host to walking holidays[38] or cycling holidays through the attractive scenery. Almost every town and village on the island plays host to hotels, hostels and camping sites. Out of the peak summer season, the island is still an important destination for coach tours from other parts of the United Kingdom and an annual walking festival has attracted considerable interest. The 108 km Isle of Wight Coastal Path follows the coastline as far as possible, deviating onto roads where the route is impassable closer to the sea.

A major contribution to the local economy comes from sailing and marine-related tourism.

Transport

Main article: Transport on the Isle of Wight A map of the island from 1945

The Isle of Wight has a total of 787 km of roadway. Major roads run between the main island towns, with smaller roads connecting villages. It is one of the few counties in the UK not to have a motorway, although there is a dual carriageway from Coppins Bridge in Newport towards the north of Newport near the island’s hospital and prison.

A comprehensive bus network operated by Southern Vectis links most island settlements, with Newport as the central hub.

The island's location 8 km off the mainland means that longer-distance transport is by boat. Car ferry and passenger services are run by Wightlink and Red Funnel as well as a hovercraft operated by Hovertravel. Fixed links, in the forms of tunnels or bridges, have been proposed.

The island formerly had its own railway network of over 88 km, but only one line remains in regular use. The Island Line is part of the United Kingdom's National Rail network, running a little under 14 kilometres from Ryde to Shanklin. The line was opened by the Isle of Wight Railway in 1864, and from 1996 to 2007 was run by the smallest train operating company on the network, Island Line Trains.

There are currently two airfields for general aviation, Isle of Wight Airport at Sandown and Bembridge Airport.

The island has over 322 km of cycleways, much of which can be enjoyed by families off road. Major Trails are

Cycles can be brought to the island by foot passengers on any of the car ferries. Hire cycles are also available.[39]

Communications

All the island telephone exchanges are broadband-enabled, although some areas, such as Arreton, have no broadband access. Some urban areas such as Cowes and Newport are also covered by cable lines.

Media

The Isle of Wight's main local newspaper is the Isle of Wight County Press. It discusses local issues and is published each Friday, or on the previous working day if the Friday is a public holiday. In May 2008 the Isle of Wight Gazette was launched as a free newspaper supporting the local Earl Mountbatten Hospice.

The island had a television station called Solent TV from 2002 until its closure on Thursday, 24 May, 2007.

The island has two local commercial radio stations and also falls within the coverage area of a number of local stations on the near mainland. Isle of Wight Radio has broadcast in the medium-wave band since 1990 and on 102 and 107 MHz FM since 1998, as well as streaming on the internet. In 2007, Angel Radio began broadcasting on 91.5 MHz from studios in Cowes.[40] On 1 February 2009, Wight FM began broadcasting as an internet radio station.

An active local websites with coverage of island news is Ventnor Blog.

Prisons

The geography of the island, and its location near the densely populated south of England, led to it hosting three prisons: Albany, Camp Hill and Parkhurst, all located outside Newport near the main road to Cowes. Albany and Parkhurst were among the few Category A prisons in the UK until they were downgraded in the 1990s. The downgrading of Parkhurst was precipitated by a major escape: three prisoners (two murderers and a blackmailer) made their way out of the prison on 3 January 1995 for four days of freedom before being recaptured. Parkhurst especially enjoyed notoriety as one of the toughest jails in the British Isles and "hosted" many notable inmates, including the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, New Zealand Drug Lord Terry Clark and the Kray twins.

Camp Hill is located to the west of, and adjacent to, Albany and Parkhurst, on the very edge of Parkhurst Forest, having been converted first to a borstal and later to a Category C prison. It was built on the site of an army camp (both Albany and Parkhurst were barracks); there is a small estate of tree-lined roads with well-proportioned officers' quarters (of varying grandeur according to rank, but now privately owned) to the south and east.

These 3 prisons were merged into a single HMP Isle of Wight in April 2009.

Education

Main article: Education on the Isle of Wight

There are sixty-nine Local Education Authority-maintained schools on the Isle of Wight, and two independent schools. As a rural community, many of these schools are small, with average numbers of pupils lower than in many urban areas. There are currently 46 primary schools, 14 middle schools and five high schools. However, education reforms have lead to plans for closures. There is also the Isle of Wight College, which is located on the outskirts of Newport.

The island implements a middle school system.

Famous residents

Main article: List of Isle of Wight people

Over the years, the island has had many well-known visitors. Many come over for health reasons due to the cool sea breeze and clean air. For example, Winston Churchill and Karl Marx were visitors to the island. Notable residents have included:

Selected places of interest

Key
Abbey/Priory/Cathedral
Accessible open space
Amusement/Theme Park
Castle
Country Park
English Heritage
Forestry Commission
Heritage railway
Historic House
Museum (free/not free)
National Trust
Zoo

Notable media references

This "In popular culture" section may contain too many minor or trivial references. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and remove trivia references. (March 2009)

See also

Isle of Wight portal

References

  1. ^ Resident Population Estimates by Ethnic Group (Percentages)
  2. ^ Isle of Wight Festival history
  3. ^ Saxon Graves at Shalfleet, Isle of Wight History Centre, August, 2005
  4. ^ England, A Narrative History, Peter N. Williams
  5. ^ The English Accept Christianity, The Story of England, Samuel B. Harding
  6. ^ William Camden, Britain, or, a Chorographicall Description of the most flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland (London, 1610)
  7. ^ Connected Earth: The origins of radio
  8. ^ Movies
  9. ^ Operation Squirrel
  10. ^ http://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/plantlife-discovering-plants-county-flowers.html Plantlife: County flowers
  11. ^ http://uk.weather.com/weather/climatology/UKXX1881 Isle of Wight Climate Statistics
  12. ^ Isle of Wight Council, 2009. Local election results.
  13. ^ Lavers, Jack (1988). The Dictionary of the Isle of Wight Dialect. Dovecote Press. ISBN 0-946159-63-7.
  14. ^ Example story in the Telegraph 16 Jan 2008 showing confusion between the Isle of Wight and Hampshire
  15. ^ Flag institute
  16. ^ Skandia Cowes Week 2008 - Welcome
  17. ^ JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race
  18. ^ Rolex Commodores' Cup - Home
  19. ^ Isle Of Wight Marathon Race
  20. ^ The Isle has produced several high profile players including Kevin "The Hitman" Broderick, now playing for a local Sunday side. Isle Of Wight Rugby Football Club
  21. ^ http://www.solent.tv/sports.aspx
  22. ^ Isle of Wight County Cricket Ground | Isle of Wight Cricket Board
  23. ^ Southern Premier Cricket League - Construction work underway on new island county ground
  24. ^ Newclose: Cricket Scoreboard Arrives | Isle of Wight News:Ventnor Blog
  25. ^ "Newclose County Cricket Ground Open Days". http://www.isleofwightcricketboard.co.uk/story-Newclose_County_Cricket_Ground_Open_Days-199.php. Retrieved on 21 November 2008.
  26. ^ published (pp.240–253)
  27. ^ Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
  28. ^ includes hunting and forestry
  29. ^ includes energy and construction
  30. ^ includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
  31. ^ English Wine - Wine for Sale - Vineyard Tours, Isle of Wight
  32. ^ Isle of Wight lavender farm, lavender products, lavender plants, teas
  33. ^ A list of aircraft and airplane manufacturers as well as airfields on the Isle of Wight
  34. ^ about us
  35. ^ Yates' Brewery
  36. ^ Ventnor Brewery:: Since 1840
  37. ^ A website with Isle of Wight statistics for investors
  38. ^ Isle of Wight walking holidays - Wight Walks
  39. ^ http://www.isleofwighthire.co.uk
  40. ^ ""History of Our Station" and "Gallery"" (Flash). Angel Radio Isle of Wight Website. http://angelradioisleofwight.moonfruit.com/. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
  41. ^ High Sheriff's new Badge of Office - July 2007, High Sheriff of the Isle of Wight website.
  42. ^ arrival of Christianity
  43. ^ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club band
  44. ^ "Holofile 001: Genesis of the Aftermath". Nebulous. 2008-05-15. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List+of+Nebulous+episodes%23Third+series. No. 1, season 3.
  45. ^ The Lost Talismans of Spirit of the Stones
  46. ^ "Matthew Wright". Genius. 2007-10-29. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genius+%28radio+series%29%23Series+3. No. 5, season 3.
  47. ^ http://www.iwcp.co.uk/

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Isle of Wight
Look up Isle of Wight in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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Coordinates: 50°40′51″N 1°16′51″W / 50.68083°N 1.28083°W

Categories: Isle of Wight | Unitary authorities of England

 

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