164-453: The Isle of Wight Railway was a railway company on the Isle of Wight , United Kingdom; it operated 14 miles (23 kilometres) of railway line between Ryde and Ventnor . It opened the first section of line from Ryde to Sandown in 1864, later extending to Ventnor in 1866. The Ryde station was at St Johns Road, some distance from the pier where the majority of travellers arrived. A tramway operated on
328-471: A changing room and a WC with plumbing. The refurbished machine is now displayed at the beach. On 14 January 1878, Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated an early version of the telephone to the queen, placing calls to Cowes, Southampton, and London. These were the first publicly-witnessed long-distance telephone calls in the UK . The queen tried the device and considered the process to be "quite extraordinary" although
492-474: A connection had long been proposed. A major difficulty was that local residents objected to the degradation of the view at the sea front by any tramway construction, as the gradients into the town would require substantial engineering works; moreover the foreseen smoke nuisance from locomotives was objected to. However on 7 August 1871, a street-running horse tramway was opened by the Ryde Pier Company between
656-478: A first (later converted to a composite), a composite and four seconds. Of the NLR carriages bought as seconds three became thirds while the fourth and two Oldbury carriages were rebuilt at Ryde to passenger luggage vans. In 1914 eighteen former Metropolitan Railway carriages were acquired, enabling scrapping of many of the earliest vehicles. Two more were withdrawn in 1920 with the remaining 49 lasting to grouping in 1923. At
820-595: A fleet of standardized tank engines from Beyer Peacock , as well as 24 passenger carriages, four of which had brake compartments, and 30 open wagons from the Oldbury Carriage and Wagon Company. In 1865, the railway ordered 10 more wagons and bought two carriages from the Ryde Pier Company. In 1872, a luggage van was also added to the stock. In 1873 five third class coaches were ordered. Three second class coaches were purchased in 1875 and another luggage van in 1876. In 1882, two composite coaches and four seconds were ordered,
984-657: A line between West Horsham and the L&;SWR near Guildford. It constructed a line from Leatherhead to Dorking in March 1867, continued to Horsham two months later. This enabled alternative LB&SCR routes from London to Brighton and the West Sussex coast and further reduced the distance of its route from London to Portsmouth. The LB&SCR supported the independent Surrey and Sussex Junction Railway , which obtained powers in July 1865 to build
1148-518: A line from Croydon to Tunbridge Wells via Oxted , to be worked by the LB&;SCR. The involvement of LB&SCR directors in this scheme was interpreted by the SER as a breach of the 1849 agreement, and in retaliation the SER and LC&DR obtained an act of Parliament approval to build a rival 'London, Lewes and Brighton Railway', which would undermine the profitable LB&SCR monopoly to that town. Neither scheme
1312-399: A major incursion into its territory. However, the LB&SCR had one important playing card not available to the L&BR—control of the SER main line between New Cross and Croydon. In 1849 the LB&SCR appointed a new and capable chairman, Samuel Laing , who negotiated a formal agreement with the SER that would resolve their difficulties for the time being and would define the territories of
1476-436: A maritime and industrial tradition of boat-building , sail-making, the manufacture of flying boats , hovercraft , and Britain's space rockets . The island hosts annual music festivals, including the Isle of Wight Festival , which in 1970 was the largest rock music event ever held. It has well-conserved wildlife and some of Europe's richest cliffs and quarries of dinosaur fossils . The island has played an essential part in
1640-399: A match truck (SR no. 426SM). The open goods wagons were also used for coal, and had carrying capacities ranging from 5 to 15 long tons (5.1 to 15.2 t). The flat trucks included five designated as timber trucks – these had a transverse bolster to support the load. The two cranes were both hand-operated, and could lift 2 and 10 long tons (2.0 and 10.2 t) respectively; and the match truck
1804-445: A means for preventing competition from neighbouring railways. The committee recommended the abandonment of several projects, and that the LB&SCR should enter into a working agreement with the SER. The new board of directors accepted many of these recommendations, and they managed to persuade Samuel Laing to return as chairman. It was through his business acumen and that of the new secretary and general manager J. P. Knight that
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#17330846860741968-624: A merger of five companies in 1846, and merged with the L&SWR, the SE&;CR and several minor railway companies in southern England under the Railways Act 1921 to form the Southern Railway from 1 January 1923. The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) was formed by an act of Parliament , the London and Brighton Railway Act 1846 ( 9 & 10 Vict. c. cclxxxii), on 27 July, through
2132-475: A modest degree of expansion elsewhere, most notably the acquisition of a branch line from the main line at Three Bridges to the market town of East Grinstead in July 1855. Some of the directors of the LB&SCR were closely involved with the company that purchased The Crystal Palace after the completion of The Great Exhibition in October 1851 and arranged for its removal to a site on Sydenham Hill , close to
2296-605: A new wave of migrations from continental Europe, linked to the Bell Beaker Culture . Bell beaker migrants are typically thought to have introduced metal-working to Britain marking the beginning of the Bronze Age . Evidence of early Bronze Age occupation on the Isle of Wight include distinctive bell beaker pots, flint tools, occupation sites and finds of bronze weapons and tools, occurring either individually or in hoard deposits such as
2460-498: A number of technical problems, the LB&SCR abandoned atmospheric operation in May 1847. This enabled it to build its own lines into London Bridge, and have its own independent station there, by 1849. The history of the LB&SCR can be studied in five distinct periods. The LB&SCR was formed at the same time as the bursting of the railway mania investment bubble, and so it found raising capital for expansion extremely difficult during
2624-484: A quotation from Henry Bond was put to the board with Fowler's support. For £126,000 he would build the line from Ryde to Ventnor with a Brading branch. In the first days of 1863 this, the largest construction project on the island, started work. A further contract for £17,500 with Bond was later concluded for stations and signalling. The Isle of Wight Eastern Section Railway Act 1860 had authorised an extension northwards from St Johns Road to Melville Street, in order to make
2788-515: A railway along the north edge of the harbour to join the short IoWR Brading wharf goods branch. The authorised capital was £40,000. The company evidently found it difficult to raise the cash as the company was soon mortgaged to the House and Land Investment Trust Company Limited. The line appears to have opened for goods traffic on 29 August 1878, probably only between Brading IoWR and St Helens. Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( /waɪt/ WYTE )
2952-579: A regular dividend as high as any paid by a railway company in Great Britain, but the differing classes of stock, with preference and debenture issues, which had differing levels of dividend distribution, continued to generate dissatisfaction. In 1889 the company placed a bill before Parliament to consolidate and rearrange the capital: it received royal assent as the Isle of Wight Railway Act 1890 ( 53 & 54 Vict. c. cxxxvii) on 25 July 1890. The authorised capital
3116-456: A report for its shareholders outlining a long list of the difficulties between the two companies, and the reasons why they considered that the LB&SCR had broken the 1848 agreement. The main areas of disagreement listed were at Hastings , allowing the LC&;DR to use its lines to Victoria , a proposed LB&SCR branch to Bromley , the new LB&SCR line to Dorking , LB&SCR opposition to
3280-477: A result of the crisis. Several country lines were losing money – most notably between Horsham and Guildford, East Grinstead and Tunbridge Wells, and Banstead and Epsom – and the LB&SCR was committed to building or acquiring others with equally poor prospects. The report was extremely critical of the policies of Schuster and the company secretary, Frederick Slight, both of whom resigned. It did however point out that these lines had been built or acquired as
3444-440: A result of the railway, the rural area between New Cross and Croydon rapidly became built up, and the population of Croydon increased 14-fold, from 16,700 to 233,000, during the LB&SCR's existence. During the 1860s the LB&SCR began to develop new traffic from the growing number of middle-class commuters who were beginning to live in the south London suburbs and working in central London. As part of its suburban expansion,
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#17330846860743608-645: A single Member of Parliament until 2024. The Isle of Wight constituency covered the entire island, with 138,300 permanent residents in 2011 , being one of the most populated constituencies in the United Kingdom (more than 50% above the English average). In 2011 following passage of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act , the Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies
3772-447: A terminal there for a street-running tramway to the pier. Much controversy had been generated in Ryde over the adverse effect on amenity in the area, and the company decided on 12 March 1863 to abandon the attempt to extend to Melville Street. Discussions took place with the Ryde Pier Company with a view to joint construction of a railway to the pier, but the talks broke down and in 1864 the idea
3936-516: A through (albeit roundabout) route from its main line near Croydon to a terminus in the West End of London. Following the acquisition of the WEL&;CPR, a new 'cut-off' line between Windmill Bridge Junction (Norwood) and Balham was constructed during 1861 and 1862, which had the effect of reducing the distance from East Croydon to Victoria. The VS&PR line was also connected with another joint venture
4100-408: A turntable used for engine release purposes, but this too was removed when the line was extended to Ventnor. The line was operated in two signal sections, from Ryde to Sandown and from Sandown to Ventnor, and the train staff and ticket system was used. Sandown was the only intermediate station at which passenger trains could cross, but the loop was on the north side of the station and only one platform
4264-400: A unique character. The highest point on the island is St Boniface Down in the south east, which at 241 m (791 ft) is a marilyn . The most notable habitats on the rest of the island are probably the soft cliffs and sea ledges, which are scenic features, important for wildlife, and internationally protected. The island has three principal rivers. The River Medina flows north into
4428-403: Is historically part of Hampshire . The island is designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve . With a land area of 380 km (150 sq mi), it is about half the size of Singapore . The island has been home to the poets Algernon Charles Swinburne and Alfred, Lord Tennyson . Queen Victoria built her summer residence and final home, Osborne House , at East Cowes on the Isle. It has
4592-513: Is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county. Since the abolition of its two borough councils and restructuring of the Isle of Wight County Council into the new Isle of Wight Council in 1995, it has been administered by a single tier Island Council which has the same powers as a unitary authority in England. There have been small regionalist movements: the Vectis National Party and
4756-596: Is an island, English county and unitary authority in the English Channel , 2 to 5 miles (3 to 8 kilometres) 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
4920-433: Is now the Isle of Wight is found close to Priory Bay . More than 300 acheulean handaxes have been recovered from the beach and cliff slopes, originating from a sequence of Pleistocene gravels dating approximately to MIS 11 - MIS 9 (424,000–374,000 years ago). Reworked and abraded artefacts found at the site may be considerably older however, closer to 500,000 years old. The identity of the hominids who produced these tools
5084-584: Is now the site of the Marconi Monument. In 1898 the first paid wireless telegram (called a "Marconigram") was sent from this station, and the island was for some time the home of the National Wireless Museum near Ryde. Queen Victoria died at Osborne House on 22 January 1901 at 81. During the Second World War , the island was frequently bombed. With its proximity to German-occupied France,
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5248-582: Is reflected in the current residents' genetic makeup. As the Iron Age began, tin value likely dropped sharply, greatly changing the Isle of Wight's economy. Trade, however, continued, as evidenced by the local abundance of European Iron Age coins. Julius Caesar reported that the Belgae took the Isle of Wight in about 85 BC and recognised the culture of this general region as "Belgic" but made no reference to Vectis. The Roman historian Suetonius mentions that
5412-508: Is the Longstone at Mottistone , the remains of an early Neolithic long barrow . Initially constructed with two standing stones at the entrance, only one remains upright today. The site would have likely served as a communal tomb and ritual site for nearby farming communities. A Neolithic mortuary enclosure has also been identified on Tennyson Down near Freshwater . From c. 4,400 – c. 4,200 years ago Britain experienced
5576-560: Is unknown. However, sites and fossils of the same age range in Europe are often attributed to Homo heidelbergensis or early populations of Neanderthals . A Middle Palaeolithic Mousterian flint assemblage, consisting of 50 handaxes and debitage, has been recovered from Great Pan Farm in the Medina Valley near Newport. Gravel sequences at the site have been dated to the MIS 3 interstadial during
5740-500: The Diocese of Portsmouth (originally Winchester ). A combined local authority with Portsmouth and Southampton was considered as part of a regional devolution package but was subsequently rejected by the UK government in 2018. The quickest public transport link to the mainland is the hovercraft ( Hovertravel ) from Ryde to Southsea . Three vehicle ferries and two catamaran services cross
5904-673: The Hayling Railway , but it was leased to the LB&SCR in 1874. Following the 1862 agreement with the L&SWR, a line was built from near Pulborough to a junction with the West Sussex coast line near Ford in 1863. This provided a shorter LB&SCR route from London to Portsmouth via Three Bridges and Horsham. The Epsom and Leatherhead Railway was an independent line from the L&SW main line at Wimbledon through Epsom and Leatherhead towards Guildford . The LB&SCR entered into an agreement to share its station at Epsom and to use
6068-548: The Palmerston Forts , The Needles Batteries , and Fort Victoria , because of fears about possible French invasion. The future Queen Victoria spent childhood holidays on the island and became fond of it. When she became queen, she made Osborne House her winter home. Subsequently, the island became a fashionable holiday resort for many, including Alfred, Lord Tennyson , Julia Margaret Cameron , and Charles Dickens (who wrote much of David Copperfield there), as well as
6232-719: The Seven Years' War , the island was a staging post for British troops departing on expeditions against the French coast, such as the Raid on Rochefort . During 1759, with a planned French invasion imminent , a large force of soldiers was stationed there. The French called off their invasion following the Battle of Quiberon Bay . In the spring of 1817, the twenty-one year old John Keats spent time in Carisbrooke and Shanklin, where he found inspiration in
6396-574: The Solent , the Eastern Yar flows roughly northeast to Bembridge Harbour, and the Western Yar flows the short distance from Freshwater Bay to a relatively large estuary at Yarmouth . Without human intervention the sea might well have split the island into three: at the west end where a bank of pebbles separates Freshwater Bay from the marshy backwaters of the Western Yar east of Freshwater, and at
6560-466: The South Eastern Main Line to Dover following the opening of the 'Sevenoaks cut off' line between St Johns and Tonbridge railway station . A ten-year agreement between the SER and the LB&SCR over the use of the station and lines to Coulsdon was signed 1 February 1869 and renewed ten years later. The collapse of the bankers Overend, Gurney and Company in 1866 and the financial crisis
6724-606: The South Eastern Railway (SER). There were two branch lines under construction at the time of the amalgamation: the Sutton & Mole Valley Lines from Croydon to Epsom (opened 10 May 1847), and the Arun Valley Line from Three Bridges to Horsham (opened 14 February 1848). The West Sussex coast line originated with a branch line from Brighton to Shoreham , opened 12 May 1840. This had been extended to Chichester by
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6888-467: The West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway (WEL&CPR), to construct a new line extending in a wide arc round south London from the LB&SCR Crystal Palace branch to Wandsworth in 1856 and to Battersea in 1858 with a temporary terminus at Battersea Pier. Shortly after this line was completed, the LB&SCR leased it from the WEL&CPR and incorporated it into its system. Between 1858 and 1860
7052-550: The West London Extension Joint Railway , jointly financed by the LB&SCR, L&SWR, GWR and the L&NWR, to permit goods transfers between the companies and cross-London passenger trains. This line was opened in 1863, and in the same year the LB&SCR and L&SWR jointly opened a large interchange station named Clapham Junction . The LB&SCR also operated passenger trains between Clapham Junction and Addison Road . The West Croydon to Wimbledon Line
7216-559: The last glacial period ( c. 50,000 years ago). These tools are associated with the late Neanderthal occupation, and evidence of late Neanderthal presence is seen across Britain at this time. No significant evidence of Upper Palaeolithic activity exists on the Isle of Wight. This period is associated with the expansion and establishment of populations of modern human ( Homo sapiens ) hunter-gatherers in Europe, beginning around 45,000 years ago. However, evidence of late Upper Palaeolithic activity has been found at nearby sites on
7380-514: The 19th century, the Isle of Wight was established as a successful agricultural base, and there was some fishing. Cowes , on the River Medina , was the principal port, and Newport was the main industrial town. Ryde was an established town, but Shanklin had a population of 355 (in 1851) and Sandown was only a village. The idea of visiting the Isle of Wight for reasons now described as tourism began to take hold, but these activities were limited by
7544-756: The 5th and 6th centuries saw groups of Germanic -speaking peoples from Northern Europe crossing the English Channel and gradually set about conquering the region. During the Early Middle Ages , the island was settled by Jutes as the heathen kingdom of the Wihtwara . In Asser ’s Life of Alfred , he states that the West Saxon kings Cerdic and Cynric granted lordship of Wight to two brothers, Stuf and Wihtgar, said to be of Jutish and Gothic origin and cousins of Cynric. The brothers then set about exterminating
7708-740: The 7th century BC, during the Late Iron Age , the Isle of Wight, like the rest of Great Britain, was occupied by the Celtic Britons , in the form of the Durotriges tribe, as attested by finds of their coins, for example, the South Wight Hoard, and the Shalfleet Hoard. The island was known as Ynys Weith in Brittonic Celtic . Southeastern Britain experienced significant immigration, which
7872-468: The Anglo-Saxon period. The Domesday Book called the island Wit. The modern Welsh name is Ynys Wyth ( ynys meaning island). These are all variants of the same name, possibly sharing a Celtic origin with Welsh gwaith 'work', a cognate of both Latin vectis ("lever," or literally "the act of lifting") and Old English wiht ("weight"). It may mean 'place of the division,' since the island divides
8036-477: The Board declared a dividend on its preference stock, although payment had to be made by the issue of additional preference stock. An accident took place on 15 April 1871 when two trains collided head on in the single line section near Sandown. It emerged that the train staff and ticket regulations for operating single lines safely were frequently ignored by the signalmen. At the outset, the Isle of Wight Railway ordered
8200-499: The Board of Trade declined to approve the opening. Although the company was desperately short of money, it appears that some directors personally funded direct action by the contractor to rectify the problems, and Yolland reported again on 8 September 1866, this time recommending approval for the opening. On Monday 10 September 1866 the extension to Ventnor opened for passenger traffic; goods traffic did not require Board of Trade approval and had already been started. The station at Ventnor
8364-511: The Brighton )) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its apex, practically the whole coastline of Sussex as its base, covering a large part of Surrey . It was bounded on its western side by the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR), which provided an alternative route to Portsmouth . On its eastern side the LB&SCR
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#17330846860748528-456: The Brighton main line at Keymer Junction near Haywards Heath to the Brighton–Lewes line was under construction at the time of amalgamation, opening in October 1847. A short line from New Cross to Deptford Wharf , proposed by the L&CR, was approved in July 1846, shortly before amalgamation, but was not opened until 2 July 1849. The use of this line for passengers would have contravened
8692-425: The Brighton mainline at the LB&SCR Godstone Road station (later renamed Caterham Junction). Both companies objected to the other operating the branch line, which resulted in a delay of a year between the completion of the work and the opening of the line in 1856. Their failure to agree on such matters as through ticketing quickly drove the independent company into bankruptcy. Even after the SER took over running of
8856-522: The Eastern Section railway reconsidered the route they had proposed, and determined to improve on it by taking the line through Wroxall and ending it in Ventnor. They submitted a fresh bill for the 1860 session; the line was now to be named the Isle of Wight (Eastern Section) Railway. The Cowes and Newport Railway also submitted a bill, seeking to extend their railway and rename it The Isle of Wight Railway ;
9020-465: The French painter Berthe Morisot and members of European royalty. Until the queen's example, the island had been rural, with most people employed in farming, fishing, or boat-building. The boom in tourism, spurred by growing wealth and leisure time and by Victoria's presence, led to the significant urban development of the island's coastal resorts. As one report summarises, "The Queen's regular presence on
9184-604: The IoWR Ryde station, paying a rental for the purpose. The R&NR opened to traffic from a station near Newport on 20 December 1875. The RNR asked the IoWR to work their line and that belonging to the Cowes & Newport Railway, but the IoWR shareholders voted the proposal down. The RNR was worked by locomotives loaned by Henry Martin, the contractor working the CNR; six months later a Joint Committee of
9348-519: The IoWR shareholders who knew their company already cost less than 50 per cent to operate and, being the most profitable of the Island railways, an agreement of this nature would benefit other companies at their expense." They quote 47% (on page 86) but 73% in 1871 and 50% in 1880. The 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 -mile (2-kilometre) horse tramway from Ryde Pier to the IoWR St John's Road station was overwhelmed by
9512-448: The Island railways should be worked as one entity by a joint committee of the LSWR and LBSCR was gaining support. In December 1875 Herapath's Railway Journal reported a story that the mainland companies had offered to work the Isle of Wight railways for 50 per cent of gross receipts and claimed that such a course would be profitable to all concerned. Maycock and Silbury say, "They reckoned without
9676-677: The Isle of Wight Party; but they have attracted little support at elections. The Isle of Wight is situated between the Solent and the English Channel , is roughly rhomboid in shape, and covers an area of 150 sq mi (380 km ). Slightly more than half, mainly in the west, is designated as the Isle of Wight Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . The island has 100 sq mi (258 km ) of farmland, 20 sq mi (52 km ) of developed areas, and 57 miles (92 km) of coastline. Its landscapes are diverse, leading to its oft-quoted description as "England in miniature". In June 2019
9840-452: The Isle of Wight was limited by the poor connection at Ryde, so they acceded to the idea, and agreed to construct the link themselves. A bill was submitted to the 1877 session of Parliament for powers to build a widened pier and a railway to St John's Road, in tunnel for much of the way from the Esplanade. The mainland companies intended to operate the trains themselves as far as St Johns Road;
10004-457: The L&CR and L&BR who were dissatisfied with the early returns from their investments. The LB&SCR existed for 76 years until 31 December 1922, when it was wound up as a result of the Railways Act 1921 and merged with the London and South Western Railway and the South Eastern and Chatham Railway to form the Southern Railway . (Dates of opening from F. Burtt The Locomotives of
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#173308468607410168-475: The L&SWR from Fareham in October 1848. In 1853 the Direct Portsmouth Railway gained parliamentary authority to build a line from Godalming to Havant with the intention of the company selling itself either to the L&SWR or the LB&SCR. This scheme would provide a far more direct route to Portsmouth but involved sharing the LB&SCR tracks for the five miles (8 km) between Havant and
10332-413: The LB&SCR built a line from Peckham Rye roughly parallel to the main line, through East Dulwich , Tulse Hill , Streatham and Mitcham to Sutton and Epsom Downs , which opened in October 1868. Relations between the LB&SCR and the SER and the interpretation of the 1848 agreement continued to be difficult throughout the 1850s and 1860s. They reached a low point in 1863 when the SER produced
10496-520: The LB&SCR gradually recovered its financial health during the early 1870s. As a result, all construction of lines was suspended. Three important projects then under construction were abandoned: the Ouse Valley Railway , its extension to St Leonards, and the Surrey and Sussex Junction Railway . The line between Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne was shelved until the financial situation improved. For
10660-775: The LB&SCR was a major shareholder in the Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway (VS&PR), together with the East Kent Railway (later the London Chatham and Dover Railway (LC&DR)), the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the London & North Western Railway (LNWR). This enterprise constructed the Grosvenor Bridge over the River Thames at Battersea and the line to the Victoria Station , thereby creating
10824-427: The LB&SCR was anxious in case the SER should venture into this territory. As a result, in 1864 it sought powers to build a line between these two towns. It also obtained powers for the Ouse Valley Railway , from the south of Balcombe and north of Haywards Heath on the Brighton main line to Uckfield and Hailsham ; an extension to St Leonards was also approved in May 1865. However, some work had been carried out by
10988-446: The LB&SCR, others by independent local companies set up with the intention of connecting a town to the railway network with the intention of sale or lease to the LB&SCR. Schuster accelerated the rate of mileage increase after appointing Frederick Banister as Chief Engineer in 1860. As a result, a further 177 miles (285 km) were constructed or authorised between 1857 and 1865. Schuster also encouraged an independent concern,
11152-429: The LSWR/LBSCR joint railway in 1880 at least meant that passengers could board a through carriage there for Ventnor or Newport. The IoWR claimed compensation for the 'injurious' effects of the railway on its property at St John's Road. A refreshment room at St Johns Road would suffer loss of business, they claimed, The issue went to arbitration and the IoWR was awarded £1,033. The change revolutionised passenger transport to
11316-423: The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 1839–1903 . ) At the time of its creation the LB&SCR had around 170 route miles (274 km) in existence or under construction, consisting of three main routes and a number of branches. The main line to Brighton from London Bridge opened in 1841. The sections between Corbett's Lane ( New Cross ) and London Bridge and between Croydon and Redhill were shared with
11480-566: The London to Brighton main line, which they purchased from Leo Schuster . The Crystal Palace became a major tourist attraction and the LB&SCR built a branch line from Sydenham to the new site, which was opened in June 1854, and enlarged London Bridge station to handle the additional traffic. The attraction proved to be an enormous success with 10,000 passengers conveyed daily to and from the new branch. On one day in 1859, 112,000 people were conveyed to Crystal Place by train, 70,000 of which from London Bridge. Samuel Laing retired as chairman at
11644-427: The SER attempts at building a line to the west end , the LB&SCR agreement to let the LC&DR use its goods facilities at Bricklayers Arms , and the perennial problem of the shared main line between Redhill and Croydon . The most flagrant example of the lack of cooperation between the two companies, however, was with respect to the independent Caterham Railway , which ran in South Eastern territory, but joined
11808-401: The SER never took effect but remained under active consideration by both parties, and later involved the LC&DR. It was not until 1875 that the idea was dropped, after the SER pulled out of negotiations due to the conditions imposed by Parliament on the proposed merger. The LB&SCR continued as an independent railway but the SER and LCDR eventually formed a working relationship in 1899 with
11972-671: The Solent to Southampton , Lymington , and Portsmouth via the island's largest ferry operator, Wightlink , and the island's second-largest ferry company, Red Funnel . Tourism is the largest industry on the island. The oldest records that give a name for the Isle of Wight are from the Roman Empire. It was called Vectis or Vecta in Latin and Iktis or Ouiktis in Greek. Latin Vecta, Old English Wiht, and Old Welsh Gueid and Guith were recorded from
12136-471: The St Johns Road level crossing was replaced by a bridge. The difficulty of passing the new line under the Esplanade, considered an important beauty spot in Ryde, led to the line being built with a low headroom (at 12 ft 3in); this was to limit the introduction of some traction designs in later years. IoWR trains began working to Ryde Esplanade station on 5 April 1880 and to Ryde Pier Head on 12 July 1880;
12300-451: The amalgamation of a number of railway companies: Only the first two were independent operating railways: the Brighton and Chichester and the Brighton, Lewes and Hastings had been purchased by the L&BR in 1845, and the Croydon and Epsom was largely owned by the L&CR.) The amalgamation was brought about, against the wishes of the boards of directors of the companies, by shareholders in
12464-454: The archway has now been closed and a bay window installed. Although business was brisk, the Company was perpetually short of capital, and some dubious measures were adopted; income rose during 1872 but it was swallowed up by pre-existing cash liabilities. The Board negotiated a bank loan of £1,500 to pay interest on other loans, and this loan had to be guaranteed by a director personally. That year
12628-472: The arrangements proved impossible, so that although the proposal had appeared in the bill, it was deleted before it was enacted. Optimistic statements were made about early completion and opening of the line, but on 18 February 1864 a shareholders' meeting was informed that some land remained to be acquired for the line. Nevertheless, on 1 June 1864 the company secretary wrote to the Board of Trade giving notice that
12792-405: The available assets at the disposal of the company are practically nil." There were eleven journeys each way on weekdays and two on Sundays when the line opened as far as Shanklin. The journey time was typically 25 minutes. By November 1864, the weekday service was reduced to seven trains each way. Passenger business was better than expected, although that at Brading was disappointing. When the line
12956-400: The branch in 1859, the squabbling and bloody mindedness continued to the great detriment of the passengers. Eventually the matters reached the leader columns of The Times newspaper in 1862 before the companies would negotiate with one another. The chronic congestion over the shared line between East Croydon railway station and Redhill eased after 1 May 1868 when the route ceased to be on
13120-418: The countryside and coast, and worked on his long poem Endymion . In the mid-1840s, potato blight was first found in the UK on the island, having arrived from Belgium. It was later transmitted to Ireland. In the 1860s, what remains in real terms the most expensive ever government spending project saw fortifications built on the island and in the Solent, as well as elsewhere along the south coast, including
13284-456: The defence of the ports of Southampton and Portsmouth and has been near the front line of conflicts through the ages, having faced the Spanish Armada and weathered the Battle of Britain . Being rural for most of its history, its Victorian fashionability and the growing affordability of holidays led to significant urban development during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The island
13448-470: The directors in planning their railway construction. Huish suggested that the railway contractor Thomas Brassey could be persuaded to build the line if the LBSCR and LSWR would subscribe their £20,000 and one of them would agree to work the line. The Directors were relieved to have Huish's experience on board—none of them had experience of railway construction. On 5 February 1861 Brassey's company undertook to build
13612-584: The dredging of the channel and other improvements to the harbour between 1850 and 1878, to enable it to be used by larger cross-channel ferries, and in 1863 the LB&SCR and the Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest introduced the Newhaven–Dieppe passenger service. In 1878 the railway formed and underwrote the Newhaven Harbour Company and thereafter delegated responsibility for its operation to it. Largely as
13776-585: The early Holocene the Solent flooded, submerging the site. From c. 6,000 years ago migrations of farming populations to Britain from northwest Europe brought the onset of the Neolithic , largely replacing and assimilating previous mesolithic hunter-gatherer populations. On the Isle of Wight neolithic occupation is attested to by flint tool finds, pottery and monuments. The Isle of Wight's neolithic communities were agriculturalists, farming livestock and crops. The Isle of Wight's most recognisable neolithic site
13940-460: The east end where a thin strip of land separates Sandown Bay from the marshy Eastern Yar basin. The Undercliff between St Catherine's Point and Bonchurch is the largest area of landslip morphology in western Europe. London, Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway ( LB&SCR (known also as the Brighton line , the Brighton Railway or
14104-404: The end of 1855 to pursue a political career, and was replaced by the merchant banker Leo Schuster , who had previously sold his 300-acre (120 ha) estate on Sydenham Hill to the new Crystal Palace Company. Schuster instituted a policy of rapidly expanding the route mileage of the railway with new routes throughout south London, Sussex, and east Surrey. Some of these were financed and built by
14268-512: The end of 1866, but not completed. In West Sussex the Horsham branch was extended to Pulborough and Petworth in 1859. In 1861 a line was built from near Horsham to Shoreham , providing a direct link to Brighton. Branches were built from the West Sussex coast line to Littlehampton in 1863, to connect with a new cross-channel ferry service, to Bognor Regis in 1864, and to Hayling Island in 1867. The line from Havant to Hayling had been built by
14432-521: The extensions were to be to Ryde and Ventnor, with a long line connecting the other two and forming a triangle. However this bill failed standing orders and was rejected. A number of objections to the IoW(ES)R Bill were heard, but none was effective and the bill secured the royal assent on 23 July 1860 as the Isle of Wight Eastern Section Railway Act 1860 ( 23 & 24 Vict. c. clxii). The railway authorised
14596-464: The famous Arreton hoard. Highly visible evidence of early Bronze Age activity on the Isle of Wight comes in the form of the barrow monuments present across the island's chalk downland. It is likely these barrows were high-status burial sites, and often occur in 'cemeteries' a notable example being Five Barrows near Brook. Bronze Age Britain had large tin reserves in Cornwall and Devon areas, which
14760-532: The ferry between Portsmouth and Ryde, but in 1879 the LSWR and LBSCR secured an act of Parliament, the South Western and the Brighton Railway Companies (Steam Vessels) Act 1879 ( 42 & 43 Vict. c. xxx) authorising the raising of £50,000 each to begin a competing service. In fact the ferry company decided to sell its business to the railway companies, and it did so in 1880. At Ryde, the opening of
14924-521: The financial recovery lay in the exploitation of London suburban traffic. By the late 1880s the LB&SCR had developed the largest suburban network of any British railway, with 68 route miles (109 km) in the suburbs in addition to its main lines, in three routes between London Bridge and Victoria: the South London line , the outer South London Line and the Crystal Palace lines , and the LB&SCR
15088-515: The first section were encouraging, but constructing the tunnel at Ventnor was proving difficult. In fact the contractor was unable to complete it and went into administration, under its creditor, the finance company Warrant Finance. Eventually the work was substantially ready, although much cost-cutting had taken place. Colonel Yolland made an inspection in August 1866, but this time there were many deficiencies, including defective track. Receiving his report,
15252-411: The first years of its operation, other than to complete those projects that were already in hand. The L&BR had experienced difficult relations with the SER where the companies shared facilities, notably at Redhill and Hastings and on the approaches to London Bridge ). In October 1849 the SER acquired the new Reading, Guildford and Reigate Railway (RG&RR) line , which the LB&SCR regarded as
15416-424: The following year brought the LB&SCR to the brink of bankruptcy. A special meeting of shareholders was adjourned, and the powers of the board of directors were suspended pending receipt of a report into the financial affairs of the company and its prospects. The report made clear that the LB&SCR had overextended itself with large capital projects sustained by profits from passengers, which suddenly declined as
15580-723: The formation of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway . One new line to which the LB&SCR was committed was the East London Railway , a consortium of six railway companies: the Great Eastern Railway (GER); the LB&SCR; the LC&DR; the SER; the Metropolitan Railway; and the District Railway. It sought to reuse the Thames Tunnel , built by Marc and Isambard Kingdom Brunel between 1825 and 1843. A line
15744-421: The gap from the pier to the station at St Johns Road had no railway connection, and for some time was a source of inconvenience. Much of the seasonal traffic came from the mainland, and despite the inconvenience of the gap from the pier to the station, the traffic was buoyant. In 1867 it was decided to run 14 trains each way on weekdays, and this put a strain on the engine power available to the line. Goods traffic
15908-491: The gross income. In subsequent years working expenses settled down to 65% (1869) and 63% (1870) of gross receipts. Maycock states that during the summer of 1867 there were extensive military manoeuvres in Sandown Bay and a temporary halt was opened, named either Yarbridge or Morton Common, but this is not confirmed by other sources. The nuisance of the long gap between the pier and the IoWR station continued to be objectionable;
16072-846: The grouping, the IWR had 38 passenger coaches and 19 non-passenger coaching stock vehicles. The passenger coaches comprised twenty third-class (allotted SR numbers 2421–40) and eighteen composites (SR nos. 6329–46). The non-passenger coaching stock comprised ten passenger guard's vans (SR 980–9), seven open carriage trucks (4378–84). one luggage van (2231) and one horse box (3368). There were 221 goods vehicles lasting to grouping in 1923. These comprised 189 open goods wagons (allotted SR numbers 27787–27975), thirteen flat trucks (SR nos. 59011–23), twelve covered goods wagons (SR 46975–86), three cattle wagons (53377–9), two tar tanks (61381–2) and two brake vans (56033–4). In addition to these, there were three in departmental stock: two travelling cranes (SR nos. 425S and 426S) and
16236-436: The horse tramway was shortened to serve the length of the pier only. The new railway did not carry goods traffic. The pier was unique in the United Kingdom in having a complete railway station at its seaward end; the railway on the pier formed a single signalling section, from Pier Head to Esplanade. Five or six steamers could berth at the pier simultaneously. The Port of Portsmouth and Ryde United Steam Packet Company operated
16400-517: The inland towns and cities of Chichester , Horsham , East Grinstead and Lewes , and jointly served Croydon , Tunbridge Wells (preserved as the Spa Valley Railway ), Dorking and Guildford . At the London end was a complicated suburban and outer-suburban network of lines emanating from London Bridge and Victoria , and shared interests in two cross-London lines. The LB&SCR was formed by
16564-434: The island and Portsmouth became the principal mainland access point. The pier tramway was converted to electric traction in 1886; the electricity was generated by an Otto gas engine and a Siemens dynamo, an arrangement that continued until 1927. The IWR's financial performance improved in the 1880s. The company acquired additional locomotives and rolling stock; stations were enhanced and track renewals were carried out. There
16728-552: The island companies would take them on from there. The South-western and Brighton Railway Companies (Isle of Wight and Ryde Pier Railway) Act 1877 ( 40 & 41 Vict. c. cvii) passed on 23 July. On further consideration it was agreed that the IWR and R&NR would have running powers to the Pier Head and work their own trains through; they would pay a toll of 3d per passenger booked to or from Ryde, including St Johns Road. Construction began during 1878 and took two years to complete;
16892-427: The island helped put the Isle of Wight 'on the map' as a Victorian holiday and wellness destination ... and her former residence Osborne House is now one of the most visited attractions on the island." While on the island, the queen used a bathing machine that could be wheeled into the water on Osborne Beach; inside the small wooden hut, she could undress and then bathe, without being visible to others. Her machine had
17056-452: The island hosted observation stations, transmitters, and the RAF radar station at Ventnor . Adolf Hitler personally suggested an invasion of the Isle of Wight as a supplementary operation for Operation Sealion , and the possibility of an invasion was incorporated into Fuhrer Directive 16. Field Marshal Alan Brooke , in charge of defending the UK during 1940, was sceptical about being able to hold
17220-400: The island in the face of an invasion, instead considering that British forces would retreat to the western side of the island rather than commit forces against what might be a diversionary landing. In the end no invasion of the island was carried out as German naval commanders feared any invasion force might be cut off by British naval forces, particularly Royal Navy submarines. The island was
17384-559: The island was captured by the commander Vespasian . The Romans built no towns on the island, but the remains of at least seven Roman villas have been found, indicating the prosperity of local agriculture. First-century exports were principally hides, enslaved people, hunting dogs, grain, cattle, silver, gold, and iron. There are indications that the island had vast trading links, with a port at Bouldnor , evidence of Bronze Age tin trading, and finds of Late Iron Age coins. Starting in AD 449,
17548-591: The island was under the control of the English Crown and its Lordship a royal appointment. The island continued to be attacked from the continent: it was raided in 1374 by the fleet of Castile and in 1377 by French raiders who burned several towns, including Newtown . Under Henry VIII , who developed the Royal Navy and its Portsmouth base, the island was fortified at Yarmouth , Cowes, East Cowes, and Sandown . The French invasion on 21 July 1545 (famous for
17712-478: The island's Solent coastline has yielded an internationally significant mesolithic archaeological site. The Bouldnor Cliff site exhibits evidence of seasonal occupation by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers dating to c. 6050 BC . Finds include flint tools, burnt flint, worked timbers, wooden platforms, and pits. The worked wood shows evidence of splitting large planks from oak trunks, interpreted as being intended for use as dug-out canoes. DNA analysis of sediments at
17876-520: The joint line to Portsea. The LB&SCR objected to the scheme but the L&SWR negotiated with the new company and in December 1858 sought to operate a train over the new route. The LB&SCR attempted to prevent the use of its tracks and the so-called 'battle of Havant' ensued. The matter was eventually resolved in the courts in August 1859, and relations between the railways were formalized in agreements of 1860 and 1862. Samuel Laing had also approved
18040-629: The last new carriages bought for the railway. In 1885, three carriages were bought from the Oldbury Company; they had originally been built for the Golden Valley Railway in 1881 but returned when that company was unable to pay for them. These were two saloons, one first class and one second class; the third vehicle was a brake van. Between 1897 and 1898, the IWR purchased ten second-hand North London Railway carriages. Six were first class and four second. The first class vehicles entered service as
18204-545: The line as far as Leatherhead. The line opened in August 1859 and in 1860 this portion was transferred to the joint ownership of the LB&SCR and the L&SWR. The LB&SCR then bought the Banstead and Epsom Downs Railway, which was building a branch line from Sutton to Epsom Downs for Epsom Downs Racecourse , opened in May 1865. The LB&SCR wished to connect Horsham with significant towns in Surrey, and in 1865 it opened
18368-409: The line, but without the guarantees Brassey feared that the company as his client would become insolvent, and he declined. Early in 1862 tenders were considered by the board; none of them were acceptable or affordable. On 20 March 1862 the engineer John Fowler was appointed as Engineer to the Company. He was asked to review the design and specification for the line's construction, and on 4 November 1862
18532-654: The mainland, notably Hengistbury Head in Dorset, dating to just before the onset of the Holocene and the end of the last glacial period c. 11,700 years ago. Evidence of Mesolithic hunter-gatherer occupation on the island is generally found along the river valleys, particularly along the Solent coastline of the island and in the former catchment of the western Yar. Other key terrestrial sites are found at Newtown Creek, Werrar, and Wootton-Quarr. A submerged escarpment 11 metres (36 feet) below sea level off Bouldnor Cliff on
18696-537: The major Channel River system. At these times, extensive gravel terraces associated with the Solent River and the forerunners of the island's modern rivers were deposited. During warmer interglacial periods, silts, beach gravels, clays, and muds of marine and estuarine origin were deposited due to higher sea levels, suggesting similar marine or estuary conditions to those experienced today. The earliest clear evidence of Lower Palaeolithic archaic human occupation on what
18860-474: The native Britons , either killing them or driving them into exile. According to Bede , in 685, Wight was invaded by King Cædwalla of Wessex , who attempted to violently replace the Jutish inhabitants with his own followers. In 686, the native King Arwald was killed in battle, and the island became the last part of English lands to be converted to Christianity . It suffered especially from Viking raids and
19024-444: The next decade, projects were limited to additional spurs or junctions in London and Brighton to enhance the operation of the network, or small-scale ventures in conjunction with other railway companies. The latter included a short line from Streatham through Tooting to Wimbledon in 1868, and a connection from Portsmouth Town to Portsmouth Harbour in 1876, both jointly with the L&SWR. The proposed 'working cooperation' with
19188-407: The numbers of passengers during the summer months, and many proposals were put forward for the construction of a railway. Delegations of local people in the island attended meetings with a joint committee of the LSWR and LBSCR, and they demanded a proper railway at Ryde. The two mainland companies had collaborated in forming a joint connection to Portsmouth on the mainland and saw that their business to
19352-405: The original L&CR station in 1842. For the first few years of its existence, LB&SCR trains used the L&GR lines from Corbett's Lane into London, but by 1849 the viaducts had been widened sufficiently for its own tracks. The LB&SCR inherited from the L&CR running powers to the smaller SER passenger terminus at Bricklayers Arms . Poorly sited for passengers, it closed in 1852 and
19516-462: The owning company. The IoWR was itself absorbed into the Southern Railway in the "grouping" of 1923. The Bembridge branch closed in 1953, and in 1966 the Ryde Pier Head to Ventnor line was truncated to terminate at Shanklin. This was electrified, and former London Underground tube train stock was brought into use on the line; this arrangement continues to the present day. In the first years of
19680-430: The pier and the station. The tramway terminated on the north side of St Johns Road and the railway was extended across the road to meet it. The station platforms were lengthened, and engine release movements from the platforms now had to cross the road twice to complete the manoeuvre. The tramway passed through an archway on the ground floor of a house (17 The Strand) at the junction of The Strand and Cornwall Street in Ryde;
19844-472: The pier itself, and a street-running tramway later operated from the Pier to St Johns Road. It was not until 1880 that two mainland railways companies jointly extended the railway line to the Pier Head, and IoWR trains ran through, improving the journey arrangements. An independent company built a branch line from Brading to Bembridge , and the IoWR operated passenger trains on the line from 1882, and later absorbed
20008-425: The poor internal transport facilities on the island. The easy money of the middle years of the 1840s encouraged the promotion of railway schemes, and in May 1845 public support was sought for an Isle of Wight Railway , which was proposed to build from West Cowes and Ryde to Newport and Ventnor. Capital of £300,000 was said to be necessary, but notwithstanding local support, the landowners to be affected were hostile and
20172-421: The railway for £123,000, but this was for a single track of railway and exclusive of land acquisition, legal costs, and stations. The sum would exhaust the company's share capital. Worse was to follow: the LBSCR and the LSWR were in a state of competitive hostility, and the idea of collaboration was impossible. Negotiations dragged on for some time; the board earnestly hoped that Brassey could be persuaded to build
20336-399: The railway would open in a month. There was then a delay with the rolling stock but Colonel Yolland made the Board of Trade inspection on 19 August. In fact this was only for the section from Ryde to Shanklin. Yolland found a number of detail points—the track ballast was chalk—but recommended approval for opening the line. The line opened from Ryde to Shanklin on 23 August 1864. Carryings on
20500-469: The recently negotiated agreement with the SER that the LB&SCR would not operate lines to the east of its main line, and it was restricted to goods. A short branch from this line to the nearby Surrey Commercial Docks in Rotherhithe opened in July 1855. The main London terminus was the L&CR station at London Bridge , built by the London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) in 1836, and exchanged for
20664-487: The scheme failed to gain approval. Nevertheless, and in October of the same year a Direct Ryde and Ventnor Railway was proposed; requiring only £120,000 in capital it would follow much easier ground and claimed that landowners would not object to it; this scheme fared equally badly and was almost immediately abandoned. The end of the Railway Mania resulted in the cessation of railway scheme promotion for some time, and it
20828-654: The sinking of the Mary Rose on the 19th) was repulsed by local militia . On 1 May 1647, Swedish and English ships clashed in a brief skirmish off the island , ending in the Swedish fleet being able to escape. During the English Civil War , King Charles I fled to the Isle of Wight, believing he would receive sympathy from Governor Robert Hammond . Still, Hammond imprisoned the king in Carisbrooke Castle. During
20992-617: The site yielded wheat DNA, not found in Britain until 2,000 years after the occupation at Bouldnor Cliff. It has been suggested this is evidence of wide-reaching trade in Mesolithic Europe; however, the contemporaneity of the wheat with the Mesolithic occupation has been contested. Owing to lower sea levels during the mesolithic the hunter-gatherer site was located on a river bank surrounded by wetlands and woodland. As sea levels rose throughout
21156-579: The sound was "rather faint". She later asked to buy the equipment that was used, but Bell offered to make "a set of telephones" specifically for her. The world's first radio station was set up by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897, during her reign, at the Needles Battery , at the western tip of the island. A 168-foot (51 m) high mast was erected near the Royal Needles Hotel as part of an experiment on communicating with ships at sea. That location
21320-562: The starting point for one of the earlier Operation Pluto pipelines to feed fuel to Europe after the Normandy landings . The Needles Battery was used to develop and test the Black Arrow and Black Knight space rockets, which were subsequently launched from Woomera , Australia. The Isle of Wight Festival was a large rock festival near Afton Down , West Wight, in August 1970, following two smaller concerts in 1968 and 1969. The 1970 show
21484-484: The time of the amalgamation, and a further extension to Havant was under construction (opened 15 March 1847), with the ultimate aim of extending the line to Portsmouth. The East Sussex coast line from Brighton to Lewes and St Leonards-on-Sea , with running powers over the SER to Hastings , opened 27 June 1846, one month before the amalgamation, with branches to Newhaven (opened 8 December 1847), Eastbourne and Hailsham (opened 14 May 1849). A connecting spur from
21648-446: The two arms of the Solent. In Old English , inhabitants of the Isle were known as Wihtware . During Pleistocene glacial periods sea levels were lower than at present, and the area that today forms the Solent was part of the valley of the now extinct Solent River . The river flowed eastward from Dorset, following the course of the modern Solent strait. The river travelled east of the Isle of Wight before flowing southwest towards
21812-433: The two companies took over the operation of their railways. The Isle of Wight (Newport Junction) Railway constructed a line between Sandown, on the IoWR, and Newport. The company experienced difficulties in finalising the access to Newport, and the line opened between Sandown and Shide on 1 February 1875, later extending to Newport on 1 June 1879. In 1880 the line was purchased by the Cowes and Newport company. The idea that
21976-462: The two railways. Under this agreement the LB&SCR would have free access to London Bridge, Bricklayers Arms station and goods yard, and Hastings. The SER would have free use of the New Cross to Croydon line, and receive revenues from passengers at intermediate stations, but would not make or work competing lines to Brighton, Horsham, Chichester or Portsmouth. In 1847 the naval dockyard of Portsmouth
22140-548: The use of a second passenger platform required a subway. The popularity of Ventnor as a winter resort for invalids led to the introduction of a special train in the Autumn of 1891. The LBSCR operated a fast train that left London Victoria station at noon. After the ferry crossing an IoWR train left Ryde Pier Head at 15:15 and ran non-stop to Ventnor in 21 minutes. In the winter of 1894-1895 there were 12 return workings to Ventnor, increasing to 16 on Saturdays in summer. Brading Harbour
22304-556: The whole island was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve , recognising the sustainable relationships between its residents and the local environment. West Wight is predominantly rural, with dramatic coastlines dominated by the chalk downland ridge, running across the whole island and ending in the Needles stacks. The southwestern quarter is commonly referred to as the Back of the Wight , and has
22468-501: Was a short line to a wharf on the river.) The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the London and South Western Railway were authorised to raise £20,000 each and to subscribe that sum to the IoW(ES)R . Captain Mark Huish , formerly the ruthless and successful General Manager of the London and North Western Railway had retired and lived near Ventnor, and he was invited to assist
22632-453: Was able to embark upon new railway building and improvements to infrastructure. Some new lines passed through sparsely populated areas and merely provided shorter connections to towns that were already on the railway network, and so were unlikely to be profitable, but the LB&SCR found itself under pressure from local communities wanting a rail connection, and was frightened that they would otherwise be developed by rivals. The main reason for
22796-526: Was being approached by two equally indirect routes from London, both under construction: a L&SWR route via Fareham and the former Brighton and Chichester Railway route from Havant . The two companies entered into an agreement in that year to share a line from Cosham on the mainland to Portsea Island , ending at the centre of Portsmouth town . Further progress towards the dockyard was prevented by Admiralty objections. The LB&SCR began its services between Chichester and Portsmouth, on 14 June 1847, and
22960-443: Was bounded by the South Eastern Railway (SER)—later one component of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR)—which provided an alternative route to Bexhill , St Leonards-on-Sea , and Hastings . The LB&SCR had the most direct routes from London to the south coast seaside resorts of Brighton , Eastbourne , Worthing , Littlehampton and Bognor Regis , and to the ports of Newhaven and Shoreham-by-Sea . It served
23124-445: Was built as an independent railway joining the LB&SCR and the L&SWR main lines and opened in October 1855. For a few months it was operated under contract by its engineer George Parker Bidder but in 1856 it was leased to the LB&SCR who purchased it in 1858. At the same time, the LB&SCR was cooperating with the LC&DR to create the South London line between its terminuses at London Bridge and Victoria. The LC&DR
23288-399: Was converted into a goods station. The LB&SCR owned three stations at Croydon, later East Croydon (former L&BR) Central Croydon and West Croydon (former L&CR). The L&CR had been partially operated by the atmospheric principle between Croydon and Forest Hill , as the first phase of a scheme to use this mode of operation between London and Epsom . However, following
23452-466: Was dropped. The Sandown Bay branch, also authorised in 1860, was abandoned. The company name was changed to the Isle of Wight Railway by the Isle of Wight Railway's (Extensions) Act 1863 ( 26 & 27 Vict. c. ccxxxii) of 28 July 1863. The name was considered to be more in keeping with the status of the company, as the bill had proposed a branch to Newport, there to join with the Cowes and Newport Railway. However negotiations with that company over
23616-517: Was earning more from season tickets than any other British railway. Thus an official return showed that the railway had operated more than 100,000 passenger trains from April to June 1889, more than any other company operating only in southern England. The scheme to link Eastbourne with Tunbridge Wells was revived in April 1879 with the opening of a line connecting the Hailsham branch to Heathfield , completed
23780-427: Was extended to Ventnor, the same number of trains ran, and the journey time Ryde to Ventnor was 30 minutes. The passenger accommodation at Ryde was extremely limited, and within two years a second platform was provided to handle a more frequent train service than had been envisaged. During this period a turntable was put out of use, as the entire locomotive stock was tank engines. At Shanklin the line originally ended in
23944-481: Was from Melville Street (at the south end of the later tunnel at Ryde) to Ventnor, with branches to Brading and Sandown Bay ; the authorised share capital was £125,000. Melville Street was the nearest the railway could get to the pier without expensive tunnelling and a station was planned there. A street-running tramway was to reach the pier from there. (The Sandown Bay line and the extension north from St Johns Road to Melville Street were not built. The "branch to Brading"
24108-482: Was historically a part of Hampshire, but became a separate administrative county in 1890. It had continued to share the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire until 1974, when it was made a ceremonial county in its own right. The island no longer has administrative links to Hampshire. However, the two counties continue to share their police force and fire and rescue service , and the island's Anglican churches belong to
24272-556: Was located at Bembridge, a few miles from the village of Brading, and the harbour was doing good business. On 7 August 1874, the Brading Harbour Improvement Railway and Works Company obtained an authorising act of Parliament, the Brading Harbour Improvement, Railway and Works Act 1874 ( 37 & 38 Vict. c. cxcv), to build an embankment between St Helens and Bembridge, quays near St Helens Mill and
24436-572: Was necessary to smelt bronze . At that time, the sea level was much lower, and carts of tin were brought across the Solent at low tide for export, possibly on the Ferriby Boats . Anthony Snodgrass suggests that a shortage of tin, as a part of the Bronze Age Collapse and trade disruptions in the Mediterranean around 1300 BC, forced metalworkers to seek an alternative to bronze. From
24600-586: Was not until 1852 that further railways were proposed, but these too failed to gain support. In 1858 three viable schemes were developed and their bills were deposited in Parliament; they were Of these, only the Cowes and Newport Railway was passed, as the Cowes and Newport (Isle of Wight) Railway Act 1859 ( 22 & 23 Vict. c. xciv), on 8 August 1859, the other two being rejected in the Lords' Committee. The promoters of
24764-512: Was often used as a winter base by Viking raiders when they could not reach Normandy. Later, both Earl Tostig and his brother Harold Godwinson (who became King Harold II) held manors on the island. The Norman Conquest of 1066 created the position of Lord of the Isle of Wight ; the island was given by William the Conqueror to his kinsman William FitzOsbern . Carisbrooke Priory and the fort of Carisbrooke Castle were then founded. Allegiance
24928-617: Was one of the last public performances by Jimi Hendrix and attracted somewhere between 600,000 and 700,000 attendees. The festival was revived in 2002 in a different format and is now an annual event. On 26 October 2020, an oil tanker, the Nave Andromeda, suspected to have been hijacked by Nigerian stowaways, was stormed southeast of the island by the Special Boat Service . Seven people believed to be Nigerians seeking UK asylum were handed over to Hampshire Police. The island had
25092-444: Was opposition from some shareholders who saw the expenditure as money that should be distributed to them as dividends. Shareholder dissatisfaction with the management of the IoWR continued to simmer despite the declaration of the highest-ever dividend on the ordinary stock. At a shareholders' meeting on 21 February 1883, a shareholder complained that running costs were too high, at 53% of gross receipts. In fact shareholders could expect
25256-405: Was proceeded with. Following the opening of the branch from Lewes to Newhaven , the LB&SCR sought to develop a shorter Continental route from London to Paris via Dieppe , in competition with the SER routes from Dover to Calais and Folkestone to Boulogne . The LB&SCR built its wharf and warehousing facilities on the east side of the river, with Newhaven Harbour station . It funded
25420-435: Was provided there. Ventnor station opened with a single narrow platform, but by 1872, a second platform face was provided there too. By this time Ryde Pier (the second structure) was 745 yards in length, and travellers using it had a long walk to the shore; this was a serious competitive disadvantage compared to Cowes, where no such difficulty existed. A horse tramway started operation on the pier itself on 27 August 1864, but
25584-534: Was reported to be "far from complete", and it was 294 feet (90 metres) above sea level. Ventnor tunnel was 1,312 yards in length. During the 1860s the IWES built a short spur railway at Brading to a wooden wharf on the River Yar ; the river was badly silted but small vessels could work on it. The finances of the company had been severely strained; a shareholders' committee reported, "Your committee regret to have to state that
25748-536: Was run at night to free up the resources for passenger trains, but the goods traffic was important to the island economy; much of it came in through Brading Harbour. This included considerable volumes of building materials, feeding the development of residential and boarding house building. In 1867, 384,000 passenger journeys were made, with goods traffic receipts amounting to about 10% of the passenger income. However, in that year working expenses had ballooned due to unspecified exceptional expenditure, and slightly exceeded
25912-603: Was still in use, but in April 1891 trials began with the Webb and Thompson Electric Train Staff; by September 1891 the whole line from Ryde to Ventnor was equipped. Continuous brakes too were now a necessity and in January 1892 the board decided to fit the Westinghouse air brake at an estimated cost of £1,740. The layout at Shanklin was considerably altered to allow trains to cross at the station;
26076-536: Was sworn to FitzOsbern rather than the king; the Lordship was subsequently granted to the de Redvers family by Henry I after his succession in 1100. For nearly 200 years the island was a semi-independent feudal fiefdom, with the de Redvers family ruling from Carisbrooke. The final private owner was the Countess Isabella de Fortibus , who, on her deathbed in 1293, was persuaded to sell it to Edward I . Subsequently,
26240-678: Was therefore built between the LB&SCR at New Cross and Wapping with a link to the GER main line, in March 1869. It was primarily intended for goods transfer between these railways, but the LB&SCR introduced a passenger service between Liverpool Street Station and Croydon. By the mid-1870s the LB&SCR had recovered its financial stability through a policy of encouraging the more intensive use of lines and reducing operating costs. Between 1870 and 1889 annual revenue rose from £1.3 million to £2.4 million, whilst its operating costs rose from £650,000 to just over £1 million. The LB&SCR
26404-509: Was to have changed this, but this was deferred to no earlier than October 2022 by the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 . Thus the single constituency remained for the 2015 , 2017 and 2019 general elections. However, two separate constituencies, Isle of Wight East and Isle of Wight West were created for the island under the 2022 review, and were first contested in the 2024 general election . The Isle of Wight
26568-642: Was used from Victoria to Brixton , followed by new construction by the LB&SCR through Denmark Hill , and Peckham to the main line to London Bridge at South Bermondsey . During 1858, a branch line was built from Lewes to Uckfield , extended to Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells in 1868. In 1864 the Newhaven branch was extended to Seaford . The East Grinstead line was extended in 1866 to Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells . A large area in East Sussex between Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne remained without railways, and
26732-468: Was used to support the jib of crane no. 426S when travelling. The Cowes and Newport Railway had been the first line to be opened on the Isle of Wight, in 1862. A connection to Ryde was made by the Ryde and Newport Railway, which met the IoWR at Smallbrook, two miles (three kilometres) south of Ryde. The IoWR constructed a second track alongside its own from Smallbrook to Ryde and the R&;NR used that track and
26896-423: Was £402,312 and borrowings amounted to £196,911. The absence of modern safety devices became an issue for practically all the railways of Great Britain in the 1870s, and in October 1875 a proposal had been put forward for the introduction of block signalling. Preece's Block Instruments were installed between Ryde and Sandown, and a new signal box was commissioned at Brading in 1882. The trains staff and ticket system
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