In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Ventnor like this:
VENTNOR, a town and a parish on the S coast of the Isle of Wight. The town stands on the Undercliff, at the terminus of the Isle of Wight railway, near Boniface down, 1¼ mile WSW of Dunnose, and 9 SSE of Newport; was only a small fishing-hamlet so late as 1830; began then to draw attention as a fine sanitary retreat; grew to the bulk of a small town about 1842; underwent material improvements under an act of parliament obtained in 1844; acquired an esplanade in 1848, and water-works in 1857; enjoys a very salubrious climate and highly picturesque environs; presents, in itself, an illarranged and medley appearance; possesses attractions for tourists and invalids so great as entirely to counter-balance the effects of its disadvantages; and has a head post-office,‡ a r. ...
station with telegraph, a banking office, five hotels, many good lodging-houses, excellent bathing appliances, two churches of 1837 and 1863, five dissenting-chapels, fine national schools, a literary and scientific institute, and a weekly market on Saturday. Pop. in 1861, 3,208. Houses, 514.—The parish is conterminous with the town; was separated from Newchurch, by act of parliament, in 1864; and is ecclesiastically divided into St. Catherine and Trinity. The living of St.is a vicarage, and that of T. is a p. curacy, in the diocese of Winchester. Value of St. C., not reported;* of T., £100. Patron of St. C., D. Hambrough, Esq.; of T., Mrs. Tuttieth and Mrs. Thompson.
Ventnor through time
Ventnor is now part of the Isle of Wight district. Click here for graphs and data of how the Isle of Wight has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Ventnor itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Ventnor, in The the Isle of Wight and Hampshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/572
Date accessed: 26th April 2024
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