Hamstead is a small rural settlement in the civil parish of Shalfleet, on the Isle of Wight. It is located about three miles east of Yarmouth, in the northwest of the island, between the settlements of Cranmore in the east, Ningwood to the south, and the Newtown River to the east. The northern edge of Hamstead on the Solent forms the centre of the Hamstead Heritage Coast.
The celebrated architect John Nash (1752-1835), designer of London’s Regent Street, was a landowner in Hamstead and neighbouring areas in the early 19th century. Nash redesigned Hamstead Farm, part of the Hamstead Estate, in 1806 for his own use.
In 1832, Nash built the Hamstead Tramway, which was the first railway on the Isle of Wight. This horse-drawn tramway connected Hamstead Quay on Newtown River with Nash’s property Hamstead House. The tramway supplied goods to the estate. It had ceased operations by 1860. [1]
During World War II, Hamstead was the site of support infrastructure for the Western Solent anti-submarine boom. The barrier ran from Hamstead Point to Sowley on the mainland, and supported nets to create a physical barrier to submarines attempting to enter Southampton Water from the west. A concrete ramp used for the boom is still visible next to Hamstead Ledge. [2]
In 1959, the Central Electricity Generating Board proposed the construction of a nuclear power station at Hamstead Farm. The proposal was opposed and blocked by the Solent Protection Society. [3]
The Hamstead Trail starts in the settlement, connecting Hamstead Point on the Solent in the northern coast of the island to Brook Down and Brook Bay on the southern coast.
The Isle of Wight Coastal Path passes through Hamstead between Newtown and Yarmouth.
The Isle of Wight is an island, English county and unitary authority in the English Channel, 2 to 5 miles off the coast of Hampshire, across the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island in England. Referred to as "The Island" by residents, the Isle of Wight has resorts that have been popular holiday destinations since Victorian times. It is known for its mild climate, coastal scenery, and verdant landscape of fields, downland, and chines. The island is historically part of Hampshire. The island is designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Newport is the county town of the Isle of Wight, an island county off the south coast of England. The town is slightly north of the centre of the island, and is in the civil parish of Newport and Carisbrooke. It has a quay at the head of the navigable section of the River Medina, which flows northwards to Cowes and the Solent. In 2020 it had an estimated population of 26,109.
Yarmouth is a town, port and civil parish in the west of the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. The town is named for its location at the mouth of the small Western Yar river. The town grew near the river crossing, originally a ferry, which was replaced with a road bridge in 1863.
The Isle of Wight is rich in historical and archaeological sites, from prehistoric fossil beds with dinosaur remains, to dwellings and artefacts dating back to the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman periods.
Newtown is a small village in the civil parish of Calbourne, Newtown and Porchfield, on the Isle of Wight, England. In medieval times it was a thriving borough.
Isle of Wight is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Bob Seely, a Conservative.
Stokes BaySZ 590 980) is an area of the Solent that lies just south of Gosport, between Portsmouth and Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire. There is a shingle beach with views of Ryde and East Cowes on the Isle of Wight to the south and Fawley to the south west. The settlement of Alverstoke is close by.
Newtown was a parliamentary borough located in Newtown on the Isle of Wight, which was represented in the House of Commons of England until 1707, then in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two members of parliament (MPs), elected by the bloc vote system.
Ningwood is a village on the Isle of Wight. It is on several lanes about three miles east of Yarmouth in the northwest of the island. In the 2011 Census the population of the village was included in the civil parish of Shalfleet.
Wellow is a village on the Isle of Wight. It is located about two miles east of Yarmouth in the northwest of the island. The name is believed to be of Jutish origin. Recently a proposal to erect a wind farm was rejected after a high-profile protest campaign. Located within Wellow are a small chapel, post office, vineyard and several farms including Mattingley and Manor Farm. The Hamstead trail runs through Wellow.
Newtown Bay is a bay on the northwestern coast of the Isle of Wight, England in the western arm of the Solent. It is a subtle bay located around the exit of the Newtown River. It stretches about 4 km from Hamstead Point in the west to Salt Mead Ledge to the east. It is a remote place as there are few properties along this part of the coast, it being low-lying marshland and home to countless sea birds, and is often visited by walkers, boaters, birdwatchers and beachcombers. The shore is a narrow band of gravel, while the sea bottom is mostly mud or sand.
Newtown River is a large natural inland harbour located on the Isle of Wight's northwestern coast, named after the nearby village of Newtown. It is sometimes also referred to as Newtown Creek.
Luccombe is a hamlet a short distance south of Shanklin, on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England.
The Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway was a railway line on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom, connecting Freshwater and Yarmouth to Newport. It was intended to connect the thinly populated west of the island, and it opened in 1889. At Newport it relied on the existing Isle of Wight Central Railway's station, but trains entering it had to shunt back from the junction. The IoWCR worked the line until 1913.
There are several modes of Transport on the Isle of Wight, an island in the English Channel.
The Isle of Wight Coastal Path is a circular long-distance footpath of 70 miles (113 km) around the Isle of Wight, UK. It follows public footpaths and minor lanes, with some sections along roads.
There once existed a 55+1⁄2-mile (89.3 km) network of railway lines on the Isle of Wight, which operated both as a self-contained railway network, and as links to ferry services between the island and the South coast of Great Britain. The routes were opened by several companies between 1862 and 1901 and modernised after The Grouping in the 1920s. Most of them were permanently closed between 1952 and 1966, whilst the 8+1⁄2-mile-long (13.7 km) Island Line was temporarily closed in 1966 and rebuilt for electric train services, introduced in 1967. Replacement trains were introduced in 1990, and again in 2021 along with a major renewal of the line. A further 5+1⁄2 miles (8.9 km) have reopened as a heritage line known as the Isle of Wight Steam Railway and there have been several proposals to expand the network further since the 1960s, either with conventional heavy rail or by conversion to light rail.
MV Lymington is a former ro-ro ferry, built in 1938 to serve the Isle of Wight. She is Britain's earliest example of a Voith Schneider driven ferry. Renamed MV Sound of Sanda in 1974, she served Western Ferries on the Upper Clyde until 1993.
Many forts and fortifications have been built to protect the Isle of Wight from foreign invasion. Throughout history the island has been a site of key military importance. Controlling both entrances to the Solent and the home of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth. This is a list of most of the fortifications on the island.
50°42′30″N1°26′16″W / 50.70833°N 1.43778°W
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