List of museums on the Isle of Wight

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This list of museums on the Isle of Wight, England contains museums which are defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Also included are non-profit art galleries and university art galleries. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (i.e., virtual museums) are not included.

Contents

To use the sortable table, click on the icons at the top of each column to sort that column in alphabetical order; click again for reverse alphabetical order.

NameImageTown/CityRegionTypeSummary
Bembridge Heritage Centre Bembridge EastLocal website, local history, culture, model railway, restored Operation Pluto pump
Bembridge Windmill Bembridge Windmill - Isle of Wight.jpg BembridgeEastMillOperated by the National Trust, 18th century tower windmill
Blackgang Chine Blackgang Sawmill.jpg Blackgang SouthMultipleAmusement park with an exhibit based on the BBC 2 television series Coast about coastal erosion, and a reconstruction of a Victorian water-powered sawmill with displays of country trades and early working engines
Brading Roman Villa Brading Roman Villa - geograph.org.uk - 72153.jpg Brading EastArchaeologyExcavated Roman villa, preserved mosaic floors, coins, pottery, tools
Brighstone Village Museum Brighstone SouthLocal information, local 19th century village life
Calbourne Water Mill Calbourne WestMill website, 17th century working water mill, small period rural activity displays including a kitchen, shed, dairy, laundry, fire station and bakery
Carisbrooke Castle Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight, UK-20Feb2010 (6).jpg Carisbrooke CentralHistoryOperated by English Heritage, historic motte-and-bailey castle where Charles I was imprisoned, exhibits about the castle, Charles I and local history
Classic Boat Museum Museumentrancealbanyrd.jpg East Cowes CentralMaritimeHistory of boat building, sailing, yachting, cruising and racing
Conflict, History and Remembrance Museum Cowes CentralMilitary website, also called C.H.A.R.M, military vehicles, hardware, uniforms, weapons
Cowes Maritime Museum Cowes Library and Maritime Museum.JPG CowesCentralMaritimeModel boats, located within Cowes Library
Dimbola Lodge Dimbola Lodge.JPG Freshwater WestArtPhotography exhibits, home and works of celebrated Victorian photographer Julia Margaret Cameron
Dinosaur Expeditions, Conservation and Palaeoart CentreBrighstoneSouthNatural history website, fossils, palaeoart, children's activities
Dinosaur Isle Dinosaur Isle.JPG Sandown EastNatural historyFossils and life-sized models of the island's dinosaurs
East Cowes Heritage CentreEast CowesCentralLocal website, local history, operated by the Isle of Wight Society
Ferguson Family MuseumFreshwaterWestBiographical website, inventor and engineer Harry Ferguson whose works are found in agriculture, aviation and motor racing, open by appointment
Fort Victoria Model RailwayYarmouthWestRailroad website, located in Fort Victoria, model railroad layout
Isle of Wight Bus & Coach Museum Isle of Wight bus museum interior 3.JPG Newport CentralTransportationBuses and memorabilia
Isle of Wight Natural History Centre Godshill CentralNatural historyMay not be open, includes shells, minerals, local fossils and dinosaur bones, stuffed birds and animals from Australia, butterflies and other insects, small British mammals, aquarium, crystal replica of Queen Elizabeth II's crown jewels [1] [2] [3]
Isle of Wight Postal MuseumNewportCentralPhilatelic website, post boxes and postal equipment
Isle of Wight Steam Railway Havenstreet railway station shop.JPG Havenstreet CentralTransportationHeritage railroad and railway museum
Lilliput Antique Doll and Toy Museum Brading EastToy website, dolls, toys, dolls houses, rocking horses, tin plate toys, trains, teddy bears
Museum of Island HistoryNewportCentralLocal website, island history, culture, fossils
Needles Battery The Needles Battery.JPG Totland WestMilitaryOperated by the National Trust, mid 19th century military battery
National Poo Museum MobileZoologyDedicated to the preservation and display of faeces
Newport Roman Villa Newport Roman Villa.JPG NewportCentralArchaeologyReconstructed Roman villa with kitchen, garden, preserved bath suite with hypocaust underfloor heating
Newtown Old Town Hall Town Hall, Newtown, Isle of Wight, England, 1967.jpg NewportCentralMultipleOperated by the National Trust, 17th century former town hall, exhibits of local and island political history, changing art and photography exhibits
Nunwell House Nunwell EastHistoric houseJacobean house where Charles I spent his last free night, military collections, gardens
Osborne House Osborne House, Isle of Wight, UK-20Feb2010.jpg East CowesCentralHistoric houseOperated by English Heritage, former royal residence built for Queen Victoria and designed by Prince Albert, extravagant interiors, gardens, hothouses, Swiss cottage
Quay Arts Centre Quay Arts Centre.JPG NewportSouthArtArts centre with exhibit galleries
Shipwreck Centre and Maritime Museum Arreton CentralMaritime website, diving equipment, artifacts recovered from shipwrecks, lifeboat, smuggling and fishing displays
Sir Max Aitken Museum CowesCentralMaritime website, located in an 18th-century sail maker's loft, houses nautical artifacts, marine paintings, models
St. Catherine's Lighthouse St catherines lighthouse 2010.jpg Niton SouthMaritime19th century lighthouse open for tours
Ventnor Heritage Museum Ventnor SouthLocal website, information, local history, culture, antiques
Wight Military and Heritage Museum Northwood CentralMilitary website, tanks, artefacts, other vehicles, small arms and uniforms from the 1940s to the present day
Yarmouth Castle Yarmouth Castle.JPG YarmouthWestMilitaryOperated by English Heritage, one of Henry VIII's Device Forts, exhibits depicting its use in the 16th century and shipwrecks

Defunct

Albany Steam Museum.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Wight</span> County and island of England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandown</span> Town on the Isle of Wight, England

Sandown is a seaside resort town and civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, England. The resort of Shanklin and the settlement of Lake are sited just to the south of the town. Sandown has a population of 11,654, according to the 2021 Census; together with Shanklin and Lake, it forms a built-up area of around 25,000 inhabitants. It is the northernmost town of Sandown Bay, with an easily accessible, sandy shoreline with beaches that run continuously from the cliffs at Battery Gardens in the south to Yaverland in the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newport, Isle of Wight</span> English county town, Isle of Wight

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, located 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. The 2021 census recorded a population of 25,407.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ventnor</span> Human settlement in England

Ventnor is a seaside resort town and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, eleven miles (18 km) from Newport. It is situated south of St Boniface Down, and built on steep slopes leading down to the sea. The higher part is referred to as Upper Ventnor ; the lower part, where most amenities are located, is known as Ventnor. Ventnor is sometimes taken to include the nearby and older settlements of St Lawrence and Bonchurch, which are covered by its town council. The population is 5,567 according to the 2021 Census

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackgang Chine</span> Amusement park on the Isle of Wight

Blackgang Chine is the oldest amusement park in the United Kingdom, having opened in 1843. Named after a now-destroyed chine in the soft Cretaceous cliffs, it is about 6 miles from Ventnor at the southern tip of the Isle of Wight just below St Catherine's Down. Blackgang Chine and its sister park Robin Hill are owned by the Dabell family. Blackgang Chine is home to many lands of imagination, including Pirate Cove, Restricted Area 5, Fairy Land and Village, and Cowboy Town. Owing to the unstable land on which the park is situated, landslides occur frequently, meaning that attractions have been moved further inland to safer ground on several occasions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brading</span> Town on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom

The ancient 'Kynges Towne' of Brading is the main town of the civil parish of the same name. The ecclesiastical parish of Brading used to cover about a tenth of the Isle of Wight. The civil parish now includes the town itself and Adgestone, Morton, Nunwell and other outlying areas between Ryde, St Helens, Bembridge, Sandown and Arreton. Alverstone was transferred to the Newchurch parish some thirty years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freshwater, Isle of Wight</span> Human settlement in England

Freshwater is a large village and civil parish at the western end of the Isle of Wight, England. The southern, coastal part of the village is Freshwater Bay, named for the adjacent small cove. Freshwater sits at the western end of the region known as the Back of the Wight or the West Wight, a popular tourist area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niton</span> Human settlement in England

Niton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Niton and Whitwell, on the Isle of Wight, England. It is west of Ventnor, with a population of 2,082. It has two pubs, several churches, a pottery workshop/shop, a pharmacy, a busy volunteer-run library, a medical centre and two local shops including a post office. The post office includes a pub and café that serves as a local meeting place. The village also offers a primary school with a co-located pre-school and nursery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arreton</span> Human settlement in England

Arreton is a village and civil parish in the central eastern part of the Isle of Wight, England. It is about 3 miles south east of Newport.

The Undercliff is the name of several areas of landslip on the south coast of England. They include ones on the Isle of Wight; on the Dorset-Devon border near Lyme Regis; on cliffs near Branscombe in East Devon; and at White Nothe, Dorset. All arose from slump of harder strata over softer clay, giving rise to irregular landscapes of peaks, gullies and slipped blocks, that have become densely vegetated due to their isolation and change of land use. The Kent coast at Folkestone and Sandgate also has similar undercliff areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitwell, Isle of Wight</span> Human settlement in England

Whitwell is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Niton and Whitwell, on the south of the Isle of Wight, England, approximately 5 kilometres north-west of Ventnor, the village's nearest town. In addition to this, it is about five minutes away from its neighbouring small villages of Godshill and Niton. According to 2001 census data, the total population of the village was 578. There is a variety of stone and thatched housing, as well as some more modern housing, the most recent of which was completed in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arreton Down</span>

Arreton Down is a 29.77 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Isle of Wight, originally notified in 1979 for its geological interest and then renotified in 1987, but for its biological interest only. It is public access land and popular with early morning dog walkers, who park near the chalk pit entrance. The land is marked by extensive ancient field features as yet unexcavated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merstone</span> Human settlement in England

Merstone is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight. It is home to Merston Manor, built in 1605 in the Jacobean style by Edward Cheeke, and rebuilt in the Victorian era. Merston Manor was first mentioned in the Domesday Book, and the present structure is arguably the oldest brick house on the Island. Prior to the Norman Conquest, Merston Manor was owned by the Brictuin family. The manor now belongs to the Crofts family. According to the Post Office the population of the hamlet was at the 2011 Census included in the civil parish of Arreton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luccombe, Isle of Wight</span>

Luccombe is a hamlet a short distance south of Shanklin, on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackgang</span> Human settlement in England

Blackgang is a village on the south-western coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It is best known as the location of the Blackgang Chine amusement park which sits to the south of St Catherine's Down.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arreton Manor</span> Building in Isle of Wight, England

Arreton Manor is a manor house in Arreton, Isle of Wight, England. Its history is traced to 872 AD to the time of King Alfred the Great and his parents. It was left by King Alfred by his will to his youngest son Aethelweard. Once owned by William the Conqueror, as mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086, in the 12th century it became part of Quarr Abbey and was used by the monks for over 400 years. In 1525, it was leased to the Leigh family. The manor was rebuilt between 1595 and 1612. Built in Jacobean style, it is in the shape of a "H".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Back of the Wight</span>

Back of the Wight is an area on the Isle of Wight in England. The area has a distinct historical and social background, and is geographically isolated by the chalk hills, immediately to the North, as well as poor public transport infrastructure. Primarily agricultural, the Back of the Wight is made up of small villages spread out along the coast, including Brighstone, Shorwell and Mottistone.

Burt's Brewery, was an independent regional brewery owned by one family for much of its existence. It was founded in 1840 in Ventnor, Isle of Wight, England. Brewing ended at the Ventnor Brewery in 2009, however the Burt's name had not been used since 1998.

References

  1. ↑ "4 bedroom character property for sale". Right Move. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Natural History Centre". Days Out with Kids. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Natural History Centre". Daltons Business. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  4. ↑ http://www.arretonmanor.co.uk/ Arreton Manor, closed to the public, except for our luxury Five Star bed and breakfast accommodation.
  5. ↑ "Official site". Dinosaur Expeditions. Retrieved 16 March 2015. We have established the 'Dinosaur Expeditions, Conservation and Palaeoart Centre', a field centre based at the site of the former Dinosaur Farm Museum
  6. ↑ "Update 2013: The Coastal Visitors Centre in Ventnor is now Closed". Isle of Wight Council, Coastal Managemrnt. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
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