Place: Compton beach, stone sculpture, artist unknown. (2021)
Place: The West Wight people and Place was held at the Dimbola Museum and Galleries (2018).
Joanna English, Illustrator and artist. Headon Warren.
West Wight offers Joanna an inspiring rural location in which to paint. The area has a unique combination of habitats of downland, heath, estuary, woodland and coast all in close proximity and all rich in wildlife. Joanna, a natural history illustrator and artist lives in Freshwater (2017).
West Wight offers Joanna an inspiring rural location in which to paint. The area has a unique combination of habitats of downland, heath, estuary, woodland and coast all in close proximity and all rich in wildlife. Joanna, a natural history illustrator and artist lives in Freshwater (2017).
Joanna English. Headon Warren is also known as Headon Hill. Headon means the 'heath hill' or 'hill where heather grows'.
A small cemetery of Bronze Age round barrows is situated on the summit. One of these barrows was the site of a warning beacon in the Middle Ages. This 'toot' or look-out place gives its name to nearby Totland (2017).
A small cemetery of Bronze Age round barrows is situated on the summit. One of these barrows was the site of a warning beacon in the Middle Ages. This 'toot' or look-out place gives its name to nearby Totland (2017).
Gary Mowle. Gary’s workshop is located next to Golden Hill Country Park an area which is steeped in history. The most notable landmark in the park is the Grade I listed Golden Hill Fort, a defensible barracks built in the 1850s to provide manpower to protect the western end of the Isle of Wight. The Fort is surrounded by the country park, an area of scrub and grassland with panoramic views of the surrounding West Wight landscape (2017).
Gary Moule, Cabinet Maker, Golden Hill. “I’ve always had a fascination with wood, right from an early age – Wood is an amazing commodity and even in this high-tech world, people still love having things made with wood (2017).
Richard at milking time. " Goats are always challenging, incredibly inquisitive and most importantly, never dull." (2017).
Richard Stevens, farmer at Green Barn.
“My fascination with dairy farming began at an early age, helping my father before and after school.
My interest led me to Merrist Wood Agricultural College and then into a career as a herdsman, before achieving my ambition of starting and owning my own Dairy Goat farm in 2005.
A day at The Green Barn, the goat farm that our family run outside of Yarmouth, involves everything from animal care to cheesemaking and milking.” (2017).
My interest led me to Merrist Wood Agricultural College and then into a career as a herdsman, before achieving my ambition of starting and owning my own Dairy Goat farm in 2005.
A day at The Green Barn, the goat farm that our family run outside of Yarmouth, involves everything from animal care to cheesemaking and milking.” (2017).
Place: Compton beach, Sunrise (2018).
Coastguard volunteer training on Afton Down which is part of the Tennyson Heritage Coast.
Pictured are: Cliff-top -Tom Wyeth and Martin Reeves; Descending the Cliff - Sammi Keen and James Godolphin (2017).
Pictured are: Cliff-top -Tom Wyeth and Martin Reeves; Descending the Cliff - Sammi Keen and James Godolphin (2017).
The Needles Coastguard Team is made up of volunteers from the local community from the West-Wight. They provide 24-7 response to coastal incidents from St Catherine’s to Cowes. They carry-out searches and rescues on all the coastal terrain in their guard, which includes cliffs, mud and water.
Place: Afton Down, Freshwater (2017).
Richard Bolwell Willow Worker, Yarmouth estuary.
Richard’s beautiful willow arbour seat is an ideal place to pause for a while and spot the many different birds that shelter and feed in the Yar estuary. The Western Yar is a special place for wintering wildfowl and waders (2017).
John Margham, local historian.
“I was brought up on the Isle of Wight and although no longer live on the Island, I have been researching the landscape history of the Island for over thirty years.
My interests include place-names, historic settlement patterns and the Anglo-Saxon period.” The big field on the flank of Tennyson Down was known as Easton Common Field. This was cultivated in strips well into the nineteenth century.
Further up the down was the site of a Neolithic mortuary enclosure where it is thought the tradition was to expose the bodies. After exposure the clean bones were buried, quite possibly in the long barrow on Afton Down - now in the middle of the golf course (2017).
Clare Griffin, manager at the West Wight Sports and Community Centre.
In 2017 at the time of the photograph, Clare said "I am privileged to manage this amazing place and work with the incredible West Wight community to provide a huge range of services that support people’s mental and physical wellbeing.”
In 2020 Clare was awarded an MBE for services to the community.
In 2020 Clare was awarded an MBE for services to the community.
Stephen Plummer, Pastor at Colwell Baptist Church from 2011 to October 2017.
Stephen said of the congregation. “It was a privilege to be involved with such a wonderful bunch of people. We have seen the numbers of people attending church steadily grow over the years and the church has been a real part of the community”.
An example of the community spirit is the local Foodbank which takes place twice a week in the Church Hall. Dedicated volunteers have helped to make a real difference in the lives of people who live in the West Wight.
Bob Edney, Mill Copse. Yarmouth (2017).
Bob worked as a countryside officer with the Isle of Wight Council on a variety of sites across the Island. He originally started as part of the Dutch Elm Disease clearance team.
Bob took a keen interest in the management of Mill Copse, a nature reserve located on the east of the Yar estuary. Sadly Bob passed away in March 2020 after serving 39 years with the Isle of Wight's countryside service.
Helen Goodman, artist, Totland Pier (2017).
In 1880 a hotel and pier were built at Totland Bay by the Totland Bay Pier and Hotel Company, who planned to create a new watering place in a then largely uninhabited part of the Isle of Wight.
The pier closed in the 1930s and was repaired after the Second World War and paddle steamers called once again. The pier finally shut in 1972. The Pier was restored once again in 2021 and now operates as a Restaurant.
Helen Goodman, Totland Pier.
Totland Parish Council funded a community mosaic to be sited in Totland Bay to aid the regeneration of this area. Local artist, Helen Goodman, of the Totland Bay Mosaic Arts Company designed the panels and taught the local volunteers to make the mosaics from donated crockery and ceramic tiles (2017).
James Osman, beef farmer, Warren Farm. Alum Bay.
James is from an Isle of Wight farming family stretching back many generations. He currently runs a herd of Hereford beef cattle at Warren Farm. The farm also features a café and farm shop.
James has a passion for farming and cattle which runs in his blood, and farming very much fits with the mantra of ‘Choose a job you love, and you’ll never have to work another day in your life’. (2017).
Liz Wason at the old Totland Lifeboat station.
Liz explains, “The old Lifeboat house has been in my husband's family since 1933. It was much bigger then with rooms upstairs. Over the years my husband made sure it was safe for everyone, painting, replacing tiles and carrying out general maintenance.” (2017).
Liz Wason says,“The Totland Tides poem on the Needles side of the building is well loved. Michael wrote the first three verses, and his cousin, Peg Low, the last.” (2017).
Carol Bray, Stroud Coppice, Freshwater.
“I was born in Freshwater, grew up here, spent most of my life in Freshwater and can trace my family routes on the Island back to the 1580s. My parents ran the Red Lion and I spent most of my childhood on and around the river Yar. I attended All Saints Primary School where I was a governor for many years". (2017).
Carol Bray at Stroud Recreation Ground, with the recently restored play equipment (2017).
Kingsley Hollis works for the National Trust on their properties in West Wight. The Trust’s conservation flock of Hebridean sheep help keep the flower rich meadow in good shape. In turn Kingsley and bis dog Max look after the sheep by moving them on to new pasture and keeping an eye on their general health and wellbeing (2017).
Kingsley and his sheep dog at Newton National Nature Reserve (2017).
Somewhat surprisingly Newtown is the only National Nature Reserve on the Isle of Wight.
Rich in wildlife with a diverse range of habitats from estuary, meadow to woodland it is an undeveloped ‘wild’ landscape as good as any to be found along England’s South Coast. The area is part of the Isle of Wight’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is part of the Hamstead Heritage Coast.
Rich in wildlife with a diverse range of habitats from estuary, meadow to woodland it is an undeveloped ‘wild’ landscape as good as any to be found along England’s South Coast. The area is part of the Isle of Wight’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is part of the Hamstead Heritage Coast.
Mark Orchard. Grocer, Freshwater Bay.
Mark is the 5th generation of the Orchard family that have been running the Orchard's Brothers shop. Mark has been working in the shop for over 47 years and has always had the grocery business in his blood from when is father had him stacking shelves from an early age (2017).
Mark Orchard. The shop is a Grade 2 listed building and has been run by the Orchard Brothers since 1865.
The shop is famous for its connection with Alfred Lord Tennyson and the Victorian photographer Mrs Margaret Cameron, both who lived nearby.
Since its opening the shop has operated as a Post Office, a branch of the County and Capital Bank, and a bakery. At one time the shop sold coal, paraffin and the family bottled their own spirits, beer and sherry " (2017).
David Wallace, wood carver at Fort Victoria Country Park (2018).
In 2020 David had a carved piece of his exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in London..
Place: Tree carving of Solent wildlife by David Wallace. carved on a single fallen tree. Fort Victoria Country Park (2018).
David Wallace and his carved Solent wildlife tree depicting dozens of the flora and fauna to be found in the Solent.
His work was a huge visitor attraction and David would spend many hours talking to people about the wildlife. The tree carving was later stolen, part of which was to mysteriously return a year later (2018).
Ian Lennie, Golden Hill Country Park (2019).
In 1962 Ian was in the Army and was billeted at Golden Hill Fort. He was one of the last soldiers to march out of the Fort before it was decommissioned by the Army. The Fort grounds became a country park in 1970.