Shanklin
Shanklin maps (2 available)
Map of Isle Of Wight
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
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Shanklin books (1 available)
Shanklin memories
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You can also read memories of nearby places in Isle Of Wight below.
Isle Of Wight memories
Summer Holidays
Many of my childhood summer holidays were spent at Sandown. We usually stayed at Mrs. Woodnutt's hotel in Carter Street. Mr. Woodnutt hired out the deck chairs on Sandown Beach. He also kept ferrets and I was allowed to go and help him look after them. One of our family's favourite places was the miniature golf course pictured. It was called Brown's as was the canoe lake next door. Browns made the most delicious ice cream, very welcome after following the grown-ups around the pitch and putt course. Oh the joy when I was deemed old enough to have a putter, ball and score card of my own!
A memory of Sandown contributed by Eileen Hammond
Grandmother's abode
At the bottom of the hill on the right I believe that tall building belonged to the local bakers. The low building next to it - this side of the bakers - is a thatched cottage where my grandmother lived. My mother grew up here. The cottage housed around 3/4 families but it has now been made into one home. Over the years the thatched cottage has also been a restaurant. I visited my grandparents many times at this cottage.
A memory of Wroxall contributed by M Allen
Ventnor
I was born in Ventnor and although I have lived in Kent for many years Ventnor will always be "My home".
A memory of Ventnor contributed by valerie hickman
Grandad's war days and our family hols
My grandfather was stationed on the island "During the War"and was very friendly with a family from Arreton called Hendy. The mother's name was Lil and the father was affectionally called"Tit" (because he was quite small). After the war, my gramps and all the family visited Aunt Lil and Uncle Tit quite frequently. Tit grew his own veg in a back garden, I remember picking pea swads for him when I visited. They had a daughter called Ena (can't remember her husband's name) and a grandson called Ralph. Ralph, my mum said, worked for a garage somewhere in Sandown when he got older. The last address I have for Ena is at Arreton, near Newport, I.O.W. They were always very friendly ...read more here
A memory of Arreton contributed by joanne fisk
Extracts From Shanklin & Isle Of Wight books
The yacht is passing by the north side of the Broad, with 1930s bungalows along the frontage. The yacht is typical of those developed since the 1930s for use on the Broads. The three men are tightening up the burgee. The two girls are wearing knitted hats, an essential part of post-war dress. Oulton was another of the series of medieval broads stretching northward into Norfolk. Here are three yachts typical of the period, as there was then little difference between those used on the sea or the Broads. However, it seems that one is stuck with its keel in the mud. The man in the rowing boat appears to be getting ready to pull the yacht off.
An extract from from"East Anglia".
Safe bathing brought thousands of early
visitors to Shanklin, as we can see from
the profusion of bathing huts and tents.
Many of the boats in the foreground
would have been for hire. Victorian
holidaymakers of some competence were
encouraged to explore the coastline of
Shanklin Bay by boat.
An extract from from"Isle of Wight Photographic Memories Pocket Album".
At the inland end of
Shanklin Chine is the old
village, a delightful array
of thatched cottages, with
honeysuckle and roses
around the door. The place is
as attractive today as it was
in this old photograph.
A newer Shanklin grew up along the seashore to cater for the demands of
both visitors and those who came to settle. The pier, seen here on the left, was
described by one Victorian tourist as ‘a pretentious structure, a little out of
keeping with the tone of the place’.
An extract from from"Isle of Wight Photographic Memories Pocket Album".
Two poets who admired Shanklin
were Longfellow and Keats. The
latter write his poem ‘Lamia’ here,
while Longfellow wrote a verse in
praise of the ferruginous spring
which issues out of the Chine,
whose waters health-conscious
visitors came to sample.
Stagecoaches, remnants of a bygone age even in 1913, take tourists on local
excursions. Notice the man with the stepladder, evidently used to enable
passengers to ascend to the top of the coach. Nearby a photographer struggles
with his camera.
An extract from from"Isle of Wight Photographic Memories Pocket Album".
A good bathing day beneath
Appley Cliffs, which give shelter
to Shanklin’s southern beaches.
A very steep climb leads up the
cliffs above the line of bathing
tents. When the tide is out it is
possible to walk a long way along
the shoreline.
An extract from from"Isle of Wight Photographic Memories Pocket Album".






