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Isle Of Wight: Local History Resources

 The Isle of Wight is England’s biggest island and can be found in The Solent, a straight in the English Channel. It’s just off the coast of Hampshire in the region called South East England, but is a separate English county with its own local authority services.

With almost 133,000 residents living on the Isle of Wight, only Portsea, which is home to much of the city of Portsmouth, has a larger English island population. 

The Island’s Towns And Villages

The Isle of Wight does not have a city. It has nine towns:

  • Newport
  • Brading
  • Cowes
  • East Cowes
  • Ryde
  • Sandown
  • Shanklin
  • Ventnor
  • Yarmouth

In addition, the following smaller communities can be found on the island:

Alverstone  Arreton Bembridge  Binstead Blackgang Blackwater  Bonchurch Brighstone Brook Calbourne  Carisbrooke Chale Chillerton Cranmore Fishbourne  Freshwater Gatcombe Godshill Gurnard Havenstreet Lake  Luccombe Merstone Nettlestone Newbridge Newchurch Newtown  Ningwood Niton Northwood Porchfield Rookley Seaview Shalfleet  Shorwell St Helens St Lawrence Totland Whippingham Whitwell Winford  Wootton and Wootton Bridge Wroxall Yaverland

Local History Videos

Where you see a place name highlighted above, you can click through to a page dedicated to that settlement’s videos of the past.

Isle Of Wight Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups are great places to find communities who share photos, videos and memories.  Groups relating to the island’s history include:

  • The Isle of Wight Heritage Group Public Group

Isle of Wight local History Resources

We have listed an extensive array of UK national resources which are available to anyone researching local and family history. In addition, the following resources are groups exist solely to focus on the Isle of Wight and its immediate area:

  • Annbarrett.co.uk
  • Bartiesworld.co.uk 
  • Carisbrooke Castle Museum
  • East Cowes Heritage Centre
  • Friends Of Northwood Cemetery
  • Historical Association - Isle of Wight
  • Island Eye
  • Isle of Wight County Record Office
  • Isle of Wight Family History Society
  • Isle of Wight History Centre
  • iwhistory.org.uk
  • Hampshire Record Office
  • Local Studies Collection
  • The Isle of Wight in the English Landscape: Medieval and Post-Medieval Rural Settlement and Land Use on the Isle Of Wight, PhD thesis by Helen Victoria Basford
  • VisitIsleOfWight.co.uk
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Location: Isle of Wight, United Kingdom

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