STYLE | Feature
Before the biosphere:
The Island’s Victorian naturalists By Ja mes R ay ner
T
he 19th century was a time when the Isle of Wight was famous for its myrtles, when Charles Darwin began The Origin of Species during his stay at Sandown, and the Irish author and philanthropist Charlotte O’Brien came to study the wild flowers of the Undercliff. The Island’s impressive scenery attracted and inspired all kinds of visitors, including the Empress of Austria who stayed at Steephill Castle in 1874 and declared: “... as to the Isle of Wight, it is a little paradise on earth. Why, dear me, I saw fuschias and heliotropes there as big as trees... the pomegranates and oleanders, would make one believe that one was in Greece, while those great green, velvety lawns that sweep right down to the sea could be found nowhere but in English territory." Just like today, it was a time of great interest in the environment, but it was
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also a time of change: locals were noticing bee orchids disappearing from the cliff path at Ventnor and watercress no longer growing by the stream in Church Street. During this period of environmental awakening and appreciation, two Isle of Wight men grew to become wellknown botanists, making remarkable contributions to the understanding of natural history. The first was William Arnold Bromfield, a native of the New Forest, who settled in Ryde in 1836. For the next 14 years he would explore every corner of the Island in search of its wild plants, amassing a huge collection of dried specimens and recording everything he discovered in incredibly precise detail. Living in Dover Street, he had one of the richest parts of the Island’s natural life right at the bottom of his road.
“... as to the Isle of Wight, it is a little pa rad ise on ea rth. W hy, dea r me, I saw f usch ias a nd heliotropes there as big as trees... the pomeg ra nates a nd olea nders, wou ld ma ke one believe that one was i n Greece, wh i le those g reat g reen, velvety law ns that sweep right dow n to the sea cou ld be fou nd nowhere but i n English territor y."
Above: Pomegranate
