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
Back to Home page.
Thanks to steve7183 for use of the image shown at the top of this page.