Sandown History Booklet

Sandown History

courtesy of the isle of wight history archive

The Ocean hotel, 1900s-1910s.

The Sandringam hotel, 1930s

Hotels

The Ocean Hotel today. It has been abandoned for aproximatly 20 years. I could smell the mould and rot as I walked past. my mum worked there in the early 1980s. she described it as almost derelict even then. they apparently hired lots of people illegally, people with prior convictions, illegal immagrants, she was 16 when they hired her and she actually lived in the staff wing, and was paid less than minimum wage. she said there was lots of exposed wiring, black mould and rats. mushrooms grew in the employees shared bath. The future of the building is unknown, but my suspision is that it will be knocked down if the funding can ever be raised to do so, as it looks pretty structurally unsound.

The Sands hotel, 1950s

This building has since been knocked down and when i visited was in the process of becoming a premier inn. I think it’s a shame it had to go, the style of the building is typical of 1950s-70s resorts, with it’s private balconies. As far as I can tell, the premier inn that is being built has been stalled for some time, presumably because of a lack of funding.

High street, 1880s

High street, 1970s

The High Street

the high street really hasnt changed since the 1880s. greengrocer and fishmongers have been replaced with fried chicken and convenience stores. the flats above were once smart homes by the sea, are now cheap bedsits for the unemployed. many of the windows are borded up or smashed. unemployment has skyrocketed in the town since the decline of tourism. There are still many quirky and unique shops on the high street. This is unusual because in most towns big brands and chain stores populate the majority of the streets. There is something so amusing about these strange little shops to me. I saw the most random things in the windows whilst walking past. One shop seemed to sell exclusively knitted figures of the Royal family. There were many run-down-looking gift shops that looked like they hadn’t had a customer in years.

high street, 1890s

high street 1906

the most noticable change in the high street is the dissapearence of people. the streets are almost desolate now, whilst old photos seem to be bustling with people.

Near the Pier, 1870s

The promenade near the pier, 1890s

the hotel seen in the top left picture still stands, but looks a lot more run down. this street also now has two crystal and magical healing shops. The steps in the top lft picture that once had a nice little patch of shrubbery now is the site of a permanantly closed public lavatory.

Donkeys on the beach, 1930s

The beach, 1900s

The Beach

the beach was once a very popular attraction. Wide stretches of golden sand, shallow blue water perfect for families to swim without fear of getting swept out by the tide. when i visited the beach was nearly abandoned exept for a few people walking their dogs. Donkey rides are no longer available, presumably due to animal cruelty laws. I saw signs offering deck chairs available to rent, but I couldn’t find anywhere that was actually open. The sand seems darker and dirtier now than in the old photos. There was some sort of orange-brown scum in the water under the pier, and I saw cigarette butts and broken glass in the sand.

The promenade, 1900s

Bathing machines on the beach, 1880s

The same promenade, the sand has now built up and several large chunks of cliff have fallen down. bathing machines (bottom left) have not been seen on the beach for a long time. the grand house that can be seen in the background of the old photos on to of the cliff has long since fallen into the sea. The beach huts are still there, but it seems as though most are abandoned, they were all padlocked on the day I visited.

Holiday makers on the beach, 1960s

This photo gives an idea of the scale of sandown’s issue. no holiday makers equals no money for the economy which was almost exclusivly built on tourism.

Beach with deck chairs, 1890s

The beach, 1900s

deck chairs can still be rented but they are in less demand

The newly built pier, 1900s

Looking down the pier, 1900s

The Pier

i wonder how the legs of the pier can hold up so much extra weight. there are now many buildings on the pier that weren’t there when it was first built. The structure origonally consisted of a simple walkway. Now there are large buildings along the entire length. Sandown pier actually had two ‘sister’ piers, at the next town over, Shanklin and the second next town over, Ventnor.

Shanklin pier collapsed in a storm in the 1980s and Ventnor pier was destroyed in a fire in the 1950s.walking under the structure on the beach below you can see multiple cracks and built up rust, with the weight being held by scaffolding in some places. A childhood memory of mine was being on the pier one evening in stormy weather. I remember the whole structure swaying and shaking, and hearing crashing, groaning noises from below. It was an almost dream-like experience, and it has influenced the way i view the pier tody.

View from the cliff, 1960s

Same view, 1940s

Not Much has changed. the angle of the old photos and my new one are different because there has been landslips since, so the cliff is lower down and further back than before.

End of the pier, 1910s

Same view, 1920s

The pier was once just a jetty to walk down but now has many attrractions icluding a crazy golf, indoor playground, arcade, cafe, bar, donut stand, rides and more. the gaps in the floor planks are large enough to get your feet stuck in some places. it is quite alarming to look down and see the sea churning beneath you.

Culver cliff, painting, 1920s

Culver Cliff, 1910s

Culver Cliff

Culver cliff today. Again, not much has changed in the 110 years since the bottom left photo. The tower that can be seen on the top of the clif is the Yarborough Monument. The monument is a memorial to Charles Anderson-Pelham, the 2nd Baron Yarborough, founder of the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes. The cliff is unfortunately a well known suicide spot, due to the exposed road that runs along the top. The cliffs are 341ft high at their tallest point.