Victorian times

Osborne © IW Tourism

Queen Victoria chose the Island for her family retreat. She bought the Osborne estate, and by 1846 the old house had been replaced with the one you see today, designed by Prince Albert and incorporating the latest technology.

Government affairs soon followed the queen to Osborne House, and the modestly furnished home had to be enhanced to make it appropriate for receiving foreign heads of state. Osborne provides a unique resource for studying Victorian taste, Victoria's role as Queen and Empress, and Victorian family life - admittedly the life of a rather unusual family.

Queen Victoria gave the Isle of Wight the endorsement of her approval. To this were added attractions of scenery, climate and greater accessibility as communications improved. The population of the Island grew, and so did its tourist trade. Railways were built, the network extending even to the remote south and west. Ryde, Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor grew from tiny villages of fishermen and smugglers, into fashionable seaside resorts with piers, promenades and rows of bathing machines.

Away from the coast farming still dominated the lives of most Islanders. Farmers and farm workers lived in villages and hamlets scattered through the Island, growing corn and keeping dairy cattle and sheep. Two of the watermills and one of the windmills that once ground Island grain into flour still survive and are open to the public. The buildings are pre-Victorian, but the processes are relevant and they were part of he rural economy through the Victorian period.