Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
Encyclopedia
Yarmouth is a port
and civil parish in the western part of the Isle of Wight
, off the southern coast of mainland England
. The town is named for its location at the mouth of the small Western Yar river (there is also an Eastern Yar on the island). Yarmouth is a crossing point for the river, originally with a ferry
, replaced with a road bridge in 1863.
's record of the Danegeld
tax of 991. It was originally called Eremue, meaning "muddy estuary
". The Normans
laid out the streets of Yarmouth on the grid system, a plan which can still be seen in the layout today. It grew rapidly, being given its first Charter
as a town in 1135. The town became a parliamentary borough
in the Middle Ages, and the Yarmouth constituency
was represented by two members of Parliament until 1832.
Until the building of the castle, regular raids on the island by the French continued, and in 1544 the town of Yarmouth was reputed to have been burned down. Legend has it that the church bells were carried off to Cherbourg or Boulogne
.
Yarmouth Castle
was built in 1547. It survives, and is now in the care of English Heritage
. It is effectively a gun platform built by Henry VIII to strengthen the Solent and protect the Isle of Wight, historically an important strategical foothold for any attempted invasion of England.
In St. James's Church
there is a monument to the 17th-century admiral
Sir Robert Holmes who based his operations at Yarmouth. He obtained it in a raid on a French ship, when he seized an unfinished statue of Louis XIV of France
and forced the sculptor to finish it with his own head rather than the king's.
Yarmouth Pier
was opened in 1876. It received Grade 2 listed status in 1975. Originally 685ft (207.5m) long, it's now 609ft (186m) but is still the longest timber pier in England
open to to the public, and is a docking point for the MV Balmoral and PS Waverley
.
Several Sites of Special Scientific Interest
lie close to Yarmouth, including Yar Estuary SSSI & Bouldnor And Hamstead Cliffs
SSSI.
As a port and market town Yarmouth has long had local commercial significance. It still has some boat yards and chandlery
, and although relatively small in size it still supports a number of shops, hotels, pubs and restaurants, supported partly by passing trade from the ferry terminal and by visiting yacht-owners in the harbour.
In 2009 there were reports of the town suffering badly due to roadworks making access into the town near impossible. In addition to the Yar Bridge being closed for essential work repairs, other complicated diversions and trouble with Wightlink's Yarmouth to Lymington ferry service saw some businesses reporting a 30% drop in trade. In an attempt to help the problem, the Isle of Wight Council
announced plans to remove double yellow lines and increase the amount of free parking available in the town for the duration of the bridge closure.
car ferry
sails from Yarmouth to Lymington
in Hampshire
.
Southern Vectis
operate bus services from Yarmouth bus station
, the main one being route route 7
serving Totland
, Alum Bay
, Freshwater
, Newport
and Shalfleet
as well as Yarmouth. The route runs in both directions. To reach Yarmouth, route 7 uses Pixley Hill, which has caused some controversy amongst local residents who do not believe the road is large enough to send buses down. The controversy was initially started by former route 11
being extended to serve Yarmouth and using the lane in September 2008.
In the spring and summer, Southern Vectis
also operate an open top bus route called "The Needles Tour
" which runs through Freshwater Bay
to Alum Bay
and onto The Needles
Battery down a bus only road along the cliff edge; returning to Yarmouth via Totland
and Colwell. For the more athletic, Yarmouth is on the Isle of Wight Coastal Path
.
The parish
was once served by Yarmouth railway station
, with services to Newport
. Passenger services ended in 1953, and the track has long since been removed; the trackbed between Yarmouth and Freshwater
has been converted into a bridleway.
. It had a 2001 population
of just 791(compared with about 600 at the beginning of the 19th century).
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
and civil parish in the western part of 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...
, off the southern coast of mainland 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...
. The town is named for its location at the mouth of the small Western Yar river (there is also an Eastern Yar on the island). Yarmouth is a crossing point for the river, originally with a ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
, replaced with a road bridge in 1863.
History
Yarmouth has been a settlement for over a thousand years, and is one of the very earliest on the Isle of Wight. The first record of a settlement here was in King Ethelred the UnreadyEthelred the Unready
Æthelred the Unready, or Æthelred II , was king of England . He was son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth. Æthelred was only about 10 when his half-brother Edward was murdered...
's record of the Danegeld
Danegeld
The Danegeld was a tax raised to pay tribute to the Viking raiders to save a land from being ravaged. It was called the geld or gafol in eleventh-century sources; the term Danegeld did not appear until the early twelfth century...
tax of 991. It was originally called Eremue, meaning "muddy estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
". The Normans
Norman dynasty
Norman dynasty is the usual designation for the family that were the Dukes of Normandy and the English monarchs which immediately followed the Norman conquest and lasted until the Plantagenet dynasty came to power in 1154. It included Rollo and his descendants, and from William the Conqueror and...
laid out the streets of Yarmouth on the grid system, a plan which can still be seen in the layout today. It grew rapidly, being given its first Charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
as a town in 1135. The town became a parliamentary borough
Parliamentary borough
Parliamentary boroughs are a type of administrative division, usually covering urban areas, that are entitled to representation in a Parliament...
in the Middle Ages, and the Yarmouth constituency
Yarmouth (Isle of Wight) (UK Parliament constituency)
Yarmouth was a borough constituency of the House of Commons of England then of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...
was represented by two members of Parliament until 1832.
Until the building of the castle, regular raids on the island by the French continued, and in 1544 the town of Yarmouth was reputed to have been burned down. Legend has it that the church bells were carried off to Cherbourg or Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
.
Yarmouth Castle
Yarmouth Castle
Yarmouth Castle is a small off-square blockhouse built by Henry VIII in 1547, to guard Yarmouth harbour on the Isle of Wight. It was built as part of Henry's second device programme to fortify the English coast with a chain of coastal defences known as Device Forts or Henrician Castles. These were...
was built in 1547. It survives, and is now in the care of English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. It is effectively a gun platform built by Henry VIII to strengthen the Solent and protect the Isle of Wight, historically an important strategical foothold for any attempted invasion of England.
In St. James's Church
St. James' Church, Yarmouth
St. James' Church, Yarmouth is a parish church in the Church of England located in Yarmouth, Isle of Wight.-History:The church dates is medieval but little remains. Rebuilding began in 1635.....
there is a monument to the 17th-century admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Sir Robert Holmes who based his operations at Yarmouth. He obtained it in a raid on a French ship, when he seized an unfinished statue of Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
and forced the sculptor to finish it with his own head rather than the king's.
Yarmouth 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...
was opened in 1876. It received Grade 2 listed status in 1975. Originally 685ft (207.5m) long, it's now 609ft (186m) but is still the longest timber pier in 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...
open to to the public, and is a docking point for the MV Balmoral and PS Waverley
PS Waverley
PS Waverley is the last seagoing passenger carrying paddle steamer in the world. Built in 1946, she sailed from Craigendoran on the Firth of Clyde to Arrochar on Loch Long until 1973...
.
Several Sites 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...
lie close to Yarmouth, including Yar Estuary SSSI & Bouldnor And Hamstead Cliffs
Bouldnor And Hamstead Cliffs
Bouldnor And Hamstead Cliffs is a 95.7 hectare Site of special scientific interest which is located north-east of Yarmouth. The site was notified in 1951 for both its biological and geological features.-References:*...
SSSI.
Commerce
Chandlery
A chandlery was originally the office in a medieval household responsible for wax and candles, as well as the room in which the candles were kept. It was headed by a chandler. The office was subordinated to the kitchen, and only existed as a separate office in larger households...
, and although relatively small in size it still supports a number of shops, hotels, pubs and restaurants, supported partly by passing trade from the ferry terminal and by visiting yacht-owners in the harbour.
In 2009 there were reports of the town suffering badly due to roadworks making access into the town near impossible. In addition to the Yar Bridge being closed for essential work repairs, other complicated diversions and trouble with Wightlink's Yarmouth to Lymington ferry service saw some businesses reporting a 30% drop in trade. In an attempt to help the problem, the Isle of Wight Council
Isle of Wight Council
The Isle of Wight Council is a local council. It is a unitary authority covering the Isle of Wight, South East England. It is currently made up of 40 seats, with the Conservatives as ruling party with 24 councillors at the latest local election in June 2009....
announced plans to remove double yellow lines and increase the amount of free parking available in the town for the duration of the bridge closure.
Transport
The WightlinkWightlink
Wightlink is a ferry company operating routes between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in southern England.Their core routes are car ferries from Lymington to Yarmouth and Portsmouth to Fishbourne...
car ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
sails from Yarmouth to Lymington
Lymington
Lymington is a port on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It is to the east of the South East Dorset conurbation, and faces Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight which is connected to it by a car ferry, operated by Wightlink. The town...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
.
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...
operate bus services from Yarmouth bus station
Yarmouth bus station
Yarmouth Bus Station is a facility for buses and coaches to wait for passengers in the town of Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. It is conveniently located next to the Lymington ferry terminal allowing passengers arriving from and departing for the UK's mainland to transfer from one mode of transport...
, the main one being route route 7
Southern Vectis route 7
Southern Vectis route 7 is a bus service operated by Southern Vectis between Newport and Alum Bay via Yarmouth, Freshwater and Totland. The general daytime frequency of the route is every hour each direction. There has been significant local concern over the withdrawal of route 7 from some villages...
serving Totland
Totland
Totland is a village and civil parish at the western tip of the Isle of Wight. It lies on the coast at Colwell Bay, which is the closest part of the island to the British mainland...
, Alum Bay
Alum Bay
Alum Bay is a bay near the westernmost point of the Isle of Wight, England, within sight of the Needles. Of geological interest and a tourist attraction, the bay is noted for its multi-coloured sand cliffs.-Geology:...
, Freshwater
Freshwater, Isle of Wight
Freshwater is a large village and civil parish at the western end of the Isle of Wight, England. Freshwater Bay is a small cove on the south coast of the Island which also gives its name to the nearby part of Freshwater....
, 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...
and Shalfleet
Shalfleet
Shalfleet is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. it is located between Yarmouth and Newport in the northwest of the island.-Background:...
as well as Yarmouth. The route runs in both directions. To reach Yarmouth, route 7 uses Pixley Hill, which has caused some controversy amongst local residents who do not believe the road is large enough to send buses down. The controversy was initially started by former route 11
Southern Vectis route 11
Southern Vectis route 11 was a bus service on the Isle of Wight operated by Southern Vectis between Newport and Yarmouth via Carisbrooke, Calbourne, Chessell, Freshwater and Totland. The general daytime frequency of the route was hourly in each direction...
being extended to serve Yarmouth and using the lane in September 2008.
In the spring and summer, 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...
also operate an open top bus route called "The Needles 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....
" which runs through Freshwater Bay
Freshwater Bay
Freshwater Bay can refer to:*The cove on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England: see Freshwater, Isle of Wight*The bay in Newfoundland, Canada: see Freshwater Bay, Newfoundland*Freshwater Bay, Barbados*Freshwater Bay...
to Alum Bay
Alum Bay
Alum Bay is a bay near the westernmost point of the Isle of Wight, England, within sight of the Needles. Of geological interest and a tourist attraction, the bay is noted for its multi-coloured sand cliffs.-Geology:...
and onto The Needles
The Needles
The Needles is a row of three distinctive stacks of chalk that rise out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight, England, close to Alum Bay. The Needles lighthouse stands at the end of the formation...
Battery down a bus only road along the cliff edge; returning to Yarmouth via Totland
Totland
Totland is a village and civil parish at the western tip of the Isle of Wight. It lies on the coast at Colwell Bay, which is the closest part of the island to the British mainland...
and Colwell. For the more athletic, Yarmouth is on the Isle of Wight Coastal Path
Isle of Wight Coastal Path
.There are a couple of cafes on the cliff path which I believe are open in the summer months. The only public convenience on the cliff path now appears to be closed permanently ....
.
The parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
was once served by Yarmouth railway station
Yarmouth (Isle of Wight) railway station
This article is about a defunct station on the Isle of Wight, not the similarly named station in the English county of NorfolkYarmouth railway station, was an intermediate station of the Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway, incorporated in 1860 , opened over a ten month period between 1889...
, with services to Newport
Newport railway station (IoWCR Isle of Wight)
Newport railway station was established in 1862 with the opening of the Cowes and Newport. It was enlarged in December 1875 when the lines to Ryde and Ventnor were opened. The station was also used by the Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway from its opening in 1888 until 1913, when that...
. Passenger services ended in 1953, and the track has long since been removed; the trackbed between Yarmouth and Freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
has been converted into a bridleway.
Size and population
Yarmouth is one of the smallest towns in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It had a 2001 population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of just 791(compared with about 600 at the beginning of the 19th century).