Ventnor Heritage Centre

"To Collect, Record and preserve the rich heritage and history of Ventnor and surrounding villages, and share it with local and wider communities"

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Ventnor Heritage Centre

Spring and Summer Opening 2024 (April – October)
Wednesday morning (10 am – 1 pm)
Thursday morning (10 am – 1 pm)
Friday all day (10 am – 4 pm)
Saturday morning (10 am – 1 pm)
We are closed on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

There is no admission charge (children under 16 must be accompanied). Location and information for visitors

How to contact us
Click here for information on how to contact us.

Would you like to help us as a volunteer?
We hold occasional informal open afternoons in the Ventnor Heritage Centre for people who would like to find out more about what we do: click here for more information here about these.

New Exhibition and Publication
Our D-Day and Ventnor exhibition marks the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings, and is accompanied by a new book Oh Day of Days! Ventnor The Isle of Wight and Operation Overlord,  available in the Heritage Centre or in our  online shop.

New Exhibition
Olivia: portrait of a life is now on display in the Heritage Centre and a new book about Olivia will be available in July.

Next Society Meeting:
Our next Society meeting will be on 28 June 2024, when Paul Kingswell presents Wanderings on the Island of Wight using postcards from his collection.  For full details of all forthcoming meetings see our Monthly Meetings page.

News
Click here for our News page with information about Society events, publications and exhibitions, and to read our weekly local history article.

Ventnor Heritage Newsletter
If you are interested in the history of our area and would like news of new publications, talks, and events – click here to sign up for our newsletter.

About the Local History Society:

Ventnor & District Local History Society was established in 1980 to record and preserve the history of our area. In 1987 the Society bought 11  Spring Hill and established the Ventnor Heritage Centre,  with space for a museum as well as room to store our collection of photographs, documents and artefacts.   We undertake research, publish books on the local history of our area, and hold popular monthly meetings.  Click here to see more about the Society, or use the menu on the left of the page to find out more about what we do. If you are interested in joining the Society please get in touch –  we welcome new members.

[The Society is a Registered Charity No 286848]

Donations:

Ventnor and District Local History Society and the Heritage Centre are entirely managed and run by volunteers.  We welcome gifts of objects, photographs and documents of local interest which can be added to our collection (please contact us if you have items to donate).  We are always grateful for financial donations.



If you are a UK taxpayer you can boost your donation by 25p of Gift Aid for every £1 you donate by completing this form Charity Gift Aid Declaration.

Exhibitions, stories, images . . .

Oh Day of Days! New Book and Exhibition

To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in June 1944, we are launching a booklet and exhibition highlighting Ventnor’s (and the Isle of Wight’s) role in the invasion and the experiences of local people. The Isle of Wight was closer to the Normandy beaches than any other part of Britain, and the Ventnor district hosted vital facilities such as the RAF radar station, a Royal Navy wireless interception station and the main radio station used for communication between the high command and the invasion forces.  The exhibition will be available from 5 June 2024, and features the logbook (supervisors’ diary) from RAF Ventnor covering 17 May to 12 June 1944, currently on loan to the Ventnor Heritage Centre. The new booklet, “Oh Day of Days!”  is available in the Heritage Centre, price £4.50, and our online shop, price £6.50 (including postage and packing).

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