Shanklin
Encyclopedia
Shanklin is a popular seaside resort
and civil parish on the Isle of Wight
, England
, located on the east coast's Sandown Bay
. The sandy beach, its Old Village and a wooded ravine, Shanklin Chine
, are its main attractions. The esplanade
along the beach is occupied by hotels and restaurants for the most part, and is one of the most tourist-oriented parts of the town. The other is the Old Village, at the top of Shanklin Chine.
Near Regent Street are the town's two main supermarkets, the Co-op
and Lidl
. There are also many local shops, including three newsagents, three bakeries, two arts and craft shops, several clothing and sports shops. The High Street also has shops, but is dominated by tourist shops and restaurants.
is the terminus of the Island Line
from Ryde
. The railway used to continue south to Ventnor
, but this section was closed in the 1960s. However in October 2004 this section was revived in the form of a bus service named the "Rail link".
Bus services to nearby towns and suburbs are run by Southern Vectis
and Wightbus
, mainly on routes 2
, 3
, and 23, principally from the bus stands at The CO-OP. Destinations served include Newchurch
, Newport
, Ryde
, Sandown
, Ventnor
and Winford
. In the summer, an open top bus route called "The Sandown Bay Tour
" is run, serving the main tourist areas of Shanklin and running to Sandown.
In July and August 1819 the poet John Keats
lodged at Eglantine Cottage in the resort's High Street, where he completed the first book of Lamia and began a drama, Otho the Great, with his friend Charles Armitage Brown.
In July 1868 the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
stayed at the Crab Inn in Shanklin's Old Village during his last visit to Europe and left a poem about it on a stone by the pub. It is not generally held to be amongst his best work.
The 1980's indiepop band Trixie's Big Red Motorbike
were from Shanklin, and recorded some of their records there.
es; 'Small Hope Beach' and 'Hope Beach.' Small Hope Beach eventually meets Sandown Beach and has many beach hut
s available for hire, and a small cafe. Hope Beach stretches in the opposite direction. Above Hope Beach is the esplanade which boasts some traditional seaside attractions including an amusement arcade
, a crazy golf course, and a children's play area, with slides, ball pools, bouncy castles, rigging, swings etc available to be hired for a childs birthday party. There are several seafront hotels, a cliff lift from the seafront to the top of the cliff, a putting course, several cafes and restaurants and pubs, and a large, clean beach. Shanklin used to have a pier
, but this was destroyed in the Great Storm of 1987
. The pier formerly had a theatre at which many famous performers appeared, including Paul Robeson
, Richard Tauber
and Arthur Askey
(whose daughter attended a local boarding school called Upper Chine School for Girls). The Summerland Amusement Arcade on the seafront was formerly a seaplane hangar positioned at Bembridge
where it housed Fairey Campania
seaplanes of the Nizam of Hyderabad's Squadron. Much of the seafront was cleared in World War Two bombing.
Shanklin Sailing Club is situated at the North end of the Esplanade. Founded in 1931 as 'Shanklin Amateur Sailing Club', the club has a fleet of Sprint 15 catamarans and holds races three days a week during the season.
Further along the beach is the Fisherman's Cottage pub. This is at the bottom of Shanklin Chine
, from which the town takes its name, historically "Chynklyng Chine" and in the Domesday Book
of 1086 Sencliz (held by William FitzAzor; Jocelyn FitzAzor) from "Scen-hlinc" . The Chine is open to the public for a small fee and continues up to Rylstone Gardens in the Old Village. It contains a small section of the pipe of the "Operation Pluto
" pipeline which ran across the Isle of Wight and out from Shanklin and another branch from Sandown to supply fuel to the D-Day
beaches.
is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
located between Shanklin and Whiteley Bank. It is owned by the Woodland Trust
It takes a bit of stamina and determination to get into America Wood, on the outskirts of Shanklin, since it has little accessible parking. However, the more active Isle of Wight visitor can make use of public footpaths and bridleways that lead into the wood. There is an ‘open’ feel to the site with storm damage in 1987 and 1990 creating lots of open sections. There is one particularly large glade which is gradually reverting to woodland.
The woods is situated just west of Ninham
.
Shanklin is also the location where Charles Darwin
wrote his Origin of Species during an 18 month-long visit
has the bell from HMS Eurydice (1843), which sank off Dunnose Point and is the subject of a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins
. St. Blasius Church, Shanklin
- better known as Shanklin Old Church - is to the south of the town and has bell ropes hanging in the nave and a fine lych-gate. The Church of St. Saviour-on-the-Cliff, Shanklin
is the biggest in the town and is in Queen's Road.
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
and civil parish on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, located on the east coast's Sandown Bay
Sandown Bay
Sandown Bay is a broad bay which stretches for much of the length of the Isle of Wight's southeastern coast. It extends ten kilometres from Culver Cliff in the northeast to just south of Shanklin in the southwest. The towns of Shanklin and Sandown are located on the bay's coast.The seabed is a...
. The sandy beach, its Old Village and a wooded ravine, Shanklin Chine
Shanklin Chine
Shanklin Chine is a geological feature and tourist attraction in the town of Shanklin, on the Isle of Wight, England. A wooded coastal ravine, it contains waterfalls, trees and lush vegetation, with footpaths and walkways allowing paid access for visitors, and a heritage centre explaining its...
, are its main attractions. The esplanade
Esplanade
An esplanade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The original meaning of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress' guns...
along the beach is occupied by hotels and restaurants for the most part, and is one of the most tourist-oriented parts of the town. The other is the Old Village, at the top of Shanklin Chine.
Shopping
The main shopping centre consists of two roads, Regent Street and High Street, which comprises the largest retail area in the south of the Isle of Wight, significant for tourists but also as an amenity for residents.Near Regent Street are the town's two main supermarkets, the Co-op
The Co-operative Food
The Co-operative Food, abbreviated sometimes to the Co-op, is a brand devised for the supermarket and convenience store business of the UK's consumers' co-operative movement. It is the name of the largest division of The Co-operative Group, and is used by other independent consumer co-operatives...
and Lidl
Lidl
Lidl is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany that operates over 7,200 stores across Europe. The company's full name is Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG...
. There are also many local shops, including three newsagents, three bakeries, two arts and craft shops, several clothing and sports shops. The High Street also has shops, but is dominated by tourist shops and restaurants.
Transport
Shanklin railway stationShanklin railway station
Shanklin railway station is a railway station serving Shanklin on the Isle of Wight. It is the present terminus of the Island Line from Ryde, although the line used to run to Ventnor. The station now has one platform with a ticket office and a small shop with the second platform now in use as a...
is the terminus of the Island Line
Island Line, Isle of Wight
The Island Line is a railway line on the Isle of Wight, running some from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin down the eastern side of the island. The line was electrified in 1967. Trains connect with passenger ferries to Portsmouth Harbour at Ryde Pier Head, and these ferries in turn connect with the...
from Ryde
Ryde
Ryde is a British seaside town, civil parish and the most populous town and urban area on the Isle of Wight, with a population of approximately 30,000. It is situated on the north-east coast. The town grew in size as a seaside resort following the joining of the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower...
. The railway used to continue south to Ventnor
Ventnor
Ventnor is a seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies underneath St Boniface Down , and is built on steep slopes and cliffs leading down to the sea...
, but this section was closed in the 1960s. However in October 2004 this section was revived in the form of a bus service named the "Rail link".
Bus services to nearby towns and suburbs are run by Southern Vectis
Southern Vectis
The Southern Vectis Omnibus Company Limited is the dominant bus operator on the Isle of Wight. It was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in 2005 and is a part of the company's Go South Coast division. The firm employs 299 staff, with 105 single deck, double deck and open-top buses and coaches...
and Wightbus
Wightbus
Not to be confused with Wrightbus, the bus manufacturerWightbus was a bus operator on the Isle of Wight, owned by the Isle of Wight Council...
, mainly on routes 2
Southern Vectis route 2
Southern Vectis route 2 is a bus service operated on the Isle of Wight by Southern Vectis between Newport and Ryde via Merstone, Godshill, Shanklin, Sandown and Brading. The general daytime frequency of the route is every half-hour each direction, although in the evenings and on Sundays fewer buses...
, 3
Southern Vectis route 3
Southern Vectis route 3 is a bus service operated on the Isle of Wight by Southern Vectis between Newport, Ventnor and Ryde. It also runs via Rookley, Godshill and Brading. The general daytime frequency of the route is every half-hour each direction, although in the evenings and on Sundays fewer...
, and 23, principally from the bus stands at The CO-OP. Destinations served include Newchurch
Newchurch, Isle of Wight
Newchurch is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. It is located between Sandown and Newport in the southeast of the island. Anthony Dillington, owner of the Knighton Gorges Manor in Newchurch wrote to his son Robert in 1574 that, "This is the very Garden of England, and we be privileged...
, Newport
Newport, Isle of Wight
Newport is a civil parish and a county town of the Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England. Newport has a population of 23,957 according to the 2001 census...
, Ryde
Ryde
Ryde is a British seaside town, civil parish and the most populous town and urban area on the Isle of Wight, with a population of approximately 30,000. It is situated on the north-east coast. The town grew in size as a seaside resort following the joining of the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower...
, Sandown
Sandown
Sandown is a seaside resort town and civil parish on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, neighbouring the town of Shanklin to the south. Sandown Bay is the name of the bay off the English Channel which both towns share, and it is notable for its long stretch of easily accessible...
, Ventnor
Ventnor
Ventnor is a seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies underneath St Boniface Down , and is built on steep slopes and cliffs leading down to the sea...
and Winford
Winford, Isle of Wight
Winford is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight, that since the 1950s and in particular in the late 1970s has seen considerable housing development. The local shop in Forest Road closed some time ago, but tourist attractions with gift shops are situated nearby....
. In the summer, an open top bus route called "The Sandown Bay Tour
Island Breezers
Island Breezers is the brand name given to the open top bus services run by Southern Vectis, which is the main bus operator on the Isle of Wight....
" is run, serving the main tourist areas of Shanklin and running to Sandown.
Culture
Shanklin has one theatre, Shanklin Theatre, which is just off the top end of the High Street.In July and August 1819 the poet John Keats
John Keats
John Keats was an English Romantic poet. Along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, he was one of the key figures in the second generation of the Romantic movement, despite the fact that his work had been in publication for only four years before his death.Although his poems were not...
lodged at Eglantine Cottage in the resort's High Street, where he completed the first book of Lamia and began a drama, Otho the Great, with his friend Charles Armitage Brown.
In July 1868 the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
stayed at the Crab Inn in Shanklin's Old Village during his last visit to Europe and left a poem about it on a stone by the pub. It is not generally held to be amongst his best work.
The 1980's indiepop band Trixie's Big Red Motorbike
Trixie's Big Red Motorbike
Trixie's Big Red Motorbike were an indiepop band formed in the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom, in 1981.They released two singles, one e.p. and one flexidisc...
were from Shanklin, and recorded some of their records there.
Beaches & Esplanade
Shanklin has two beachBeach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es; 'Small Hope Beach' and 'Hope Beach.' Small Hope Beach eventually meets Sandown Beach and has many beach hut
Beach hut
A beach hut is a small, usually wooden and often brightly coloured, box above the high tide mark on popular bathing beaches. They are generally used as a shelter from the sun or wind, changing into and out of swimming costumes and for the safe storing of some personal belongings...
s available for hire, and a small cafe. Hope Beach stretches in the opposite direction. Above Hope Beach is the esplanade which boasts some traditional seaside attractions including an amusement arcade
Amusement arcade
An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
, a crazy golf course, and a children's play area, with slides, ball pools, bouncy castles, rigging, swings etc available to be hired for a childs birthday party. There are several seafront hotels, a cliff lift from the seafront to the top of the cliff, a putting course, several cafes and restaurants and pubs, and a large, clean beach. Shanklin used to have a pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
, but this was destroyed in the Great Storm of 1987
Great Storm of 1987
The Great Storm of 1987 occurred on the night of 15/16 October 1987, when an unusually strong weather system caused winds to hit much of southern England and northern France...
. The pier formerly had a theatre at which many famous performers appeared, including Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
, Richard Tauber
Richard Tauber
Richard Tauber was an Austrian tenor acclaimed as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. Some critics commented that "his heart felt every word he sang".-Early life:...
and Arthur Askey
Arthur Askey
Arthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian.- Life and career :Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey , secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden , of Knutsford, Cheshire...
(whose daughter attended a local boarding school called Upper Chine School for Girls). The Summerland Amusement Arcade on the seafront was formerly a seaplane hangar positioned at Bembridge
Bembridge
Bembridge is an affluent village and civil parish located on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. It had a population of 3,848 according to the 2001 census of the United Kingdom, leading to claims by residents that Bembridge is the largest village in England, and occasional claims that it is...
where it housed Fairey Campania
Fairey Campania
|-See also:-Bibliography:*Taylor, H.A. Fairey Aircraft since 1915. London:Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-370-00065-x....
seaplanes of the Nizam of Hyderabad's Squadron. Much of the seafront was cleared in World War Two bombing.
Shanklin Sailing Club is situated at the North end of the Esplanade. Founded in 1931 as 'Shanklin Amateur Sailing Club', the club has a fleet of Sprint 15 catamarans and holds races three days a week during the season.
Further along the beach is the Fisherman's Cottage pub. This is at the bottom of Shanklin Chine
Shanklin Chine
Shanklin Chine is a geological feature and tourist attraction in the town of Shanklin, on the Isle of Wight, England. A wooded coastal ravine, it contains waterfalls, trees and lush vegetation, with footpaths and walkways allowing paid access for visitors, and a heritage centre explaining its...
, from which the town takes its name, historically "Chynklyng Chine" and in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 Sencliz (held by William FitzAzor; Jocelyn FitzAzor) from "Scen-hlinc" . The Chine is open to the public for a small fee and continues up to Rylstone Gardens in the Old Village. It contains a small section of the pipe of the "Operation Pluto
Operation Pluto
Operation Pluto was a World War II operation by British scientists, oil companies and armed forces to construct undersea oil pipelines under the English Channel between England and France. The scheme was developed by Arthur Hartley, chief engineer with the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company...
" pipeline which ran across the Isle of Wight and out from Shanklin and another branch from Sandown to supply fuel to the D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
beaches.
Nature
America WoodAmerica Wood
America Wood is a 21.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Isle of Wight, notified in 1986. Legend is that It derives its name due to oak trees grown here to build ships in the American War of Independence However, the name Americas Wood appears on Andrews Map of the...
is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
located between Shanklin and Whiteley Bank. It is owned by the Woodland Trust
Woodland Trust
The Woodland Trust is a conservation charity in the United Kingdom concerned with the protection and sympathetic management of native woodland heritage.-History:...
It takes a bit of stamina and determination to get into America Wood, on the outskirts of Shanklin, since it has little accessible parking. However, the more active Isle of Wight visitor can make use of public footpaths and bridleways that lead into the wood. There is an ‘open’ feel to the site with storm damage in 1987 and 1990 creating lots of open sections. There is one particularly large glade which is gradually reverting to woodland.
The woods is situated just west of Ninham
Ninham
Ninham is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight located on the eastern side, about 2.06 miles away from Shanklin, the nearest town. It is about 7 miles away from Newport, the island's capital. It is also the location of Ninham Country Holidays, a campsite in the area.-References:...
.
Shanklin is also the location where Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
wrote his Origin of Species during an 18 month-long visit
Churches
There are three Anglican churches in Shanklin. St.Paul's Church in Regent StreetSt. Paul's Church, Gatten, Shanklin
St. Paul's Church, Gatten, Shanklin is a parish church in the Church of England located in Shanklin, Isle of Wight.-History:It is an ecclesiastical parish taken out of Sandown in 1876. The church was built 1880–90, and has an apsidal chancel, a nave with aisles of five bays and a stone tower at...
has the bell from HMS Eurydice (1843), which sank off Dunnose Point and is the subject of a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
. St. Blasius Church, Shanklin
St. Blasius Church, Shanklin
St. Blasius Church, Shanklin is a parish church in the Church of England located in Shanklin, Isle of Wight.-History:The church is medieval but was largely rebuilt in 1859.It is also known as Shanklin Old Church...
- better known as Shanklin Old Church - is to the south of the town and has bell ropes hanging in the nave and a fine lych-gate. The Church of St. Saviour-on-the-Cliff, Shanklin
Church of St. Saviour-on-the-Cliff, Shanklin
The Church of St. Saviour-on-the-Cliff, Shanklin is a Grade II Listed parish church in the Church of England located in Shanklin, Isle of Wight.-History:The church dates from 1869 to 1905 and was designed by the architect Thomas Hellyer....
is the biggest in the town and is in Queen's Road.