| Cowes | |
|---|---|
 Cowes Parade | |
  Cowes Location within theIsle of Wight | |
| Area | 2.8 km2 (1.1 sq mi) [1] |
| Population | 14,370 (2021 Census) |
| • Density | 5,132/km2 (13,290/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SZ493958 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county |
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| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | COWES |
| Postcode district | PO31 |
| Dialling code | 01983 |
| Police | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Fire | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Ambulance | Isle of Wight |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Cowes (/kaʊz/) is anEnglishseaport town andcivil parish[3] on theIsle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of theRiver Medina, facing the smaller town ofEast Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by theCowes Floating Bridge, achain ferry.
Cowes has a population of 14,370 according to the2021 Census.[4]
Charles Godfrey Leland's 19th-century verses describe the towns poetically as "The two great Cowes that in loud thunder roar/This on the eastern, that the western shore".
Cowes has been seen as a home for international yacht racing since the founding of theRoyal Yacht Squadron in 1815. It gives its name to the world's oldest regular regatta,Cowes Week, which occurs annually in the first week of August. Later,powerboat races are held.
Much of the town's architecture is still heavily influenced by the style of ornate building thatPrince Albert popularised.
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The nameWestcowe was attested in 1413 as the name of one of twosandbanks, on each side of theRiver Medina estuary, so-called after a supposed likeness tocows. The name was subsequently transferred to fortifications built during the reign ofHenry VIII on the east and west banks of the river to dispel a French invasion, referred to as cow-forts or cowes. They subsequently gave their names to the towns of Cowes and East Cowes, replacing the earlier name of Shamblord.
The town's name has been subject to dispute in the past, sometimes being called Cowes, and then West Cowes. For example, a milestone from the 17th century exists, calling the town Cowes, but up until the late 19th Century the Urban District Council bore the name West Cowes. In 1895 West Cowes Urban District Council applied for permission to change the name of the town to Cowes officially, and this was granted on 21 August 1895.[5]
Whilst the name Cowes has become well established on infrastructure related to the town (including maps, road signage and postal addresses), the nameWest Cowes remained onAdmiralty charts, used bysailors, until 2015, when it was corrected following a letter from a Cowes resident.[6][7]
Red Funnel, the Southampton-based ferry company that provides routes fromSouthampton to both Cowes and East Cowes, has continued to use the nameWest Cowes for the town in information and publicity and as the name for the town's terminal.[8]
In earlier centuries the two settlements were much smaller and known as East and WestShamblord orShamelhorde,[9] the East being the more significant settlement.
TheIsle of Wight was a target of attempted French invasions, and there were notable incursions.Henrician castles were built in both settlements in the sixteenth century. The west fort in Cowes still survives to this day, albeit without the originalTudor towers, asCowes Castle. The fort built in East Cowes is believed to have been similar but was abandonedc. 1546 and since destroyed.
The seaport at Cowes was the first stop on English soil before crossing theAtlantic Ocean with many ships loaded with German and Swiss passengers leaving fromRotterdam and going to theNew World destination ofPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania. These passengers were going to become British subjects inColonial America, and the English captains made a written record of the stop in Cowes.[10]
It is believed that the building of an 80-ton, 60-man vessel calledRat o' Wight[11] on the banks of the river Medina in 1589 for the use of QueenElizabeth I sowed the seed for Cowes to grow into a world-renowned centre of boatbuilding. However, seafaring for recreation and sport remained the exception rather than the rule until much later. It was not until the reign of keen sailorGeorge IV that the stage was set for the heyday of Cowes as 'The Yachting Capital of the World.' In 1826 theRoyal Yacht Squadron organised a three-day regatta for the first time and the next year the king signified his approval of the event by presenting a cup to mark the occasion. This became known asCowes Regatta and it soon grew into a four-day event that always ended with a fireworks display.
Theopium clippersNina (1852),Eamont (1853) andWild Dayrell (1854) were built in Cowes.[12]
In Cowes the 18th-century house of Westbourne was home to a collector of customs whose son, born there in 1795, lived to become DrThomas Arnold, headmaster ofRugby School.
Northwood House was the home of the Ward family. It was donated under trust to the town in 1929, the grounds becoming Northwood Park. William George Ward was a close friend of the poetTennyson and in whose memory the poet wrote six lines.
Cowes and East Cowes became a singleurban district in 1933.
During an air raid ofWorld War II on 4/5 May 1942, the local defences had been fortuitously augmented by the Polish destroyerBłyskawica (itself built byJ. Samuel White in East Cowes), which put up such a determined defence that, in 2002, the crew's courage was honoured by a local commemoration lasting several days to mark the 60th anniversary of the event. In 2004 an area of Cowes was named Francki Place in honour of the ship's commander.[13] The Friends of the ORP Błyskawica Society is active in Cowes. There is a Błyskawica Memorial.[14]
Industry in both Cowes and East Cowes has always centred on the building and design of marine craft and materials associated with boat-making, including the earlyflying boats, and sail-making. It is the place where the firsthovercraft was tested.[citation needed]
Major present-day employers includeBAE Systems Integrated System Technologies (Insyte), which occupies the site of the old Somerton Aerodrome at Newport Road, Cowes; andGKN Aerospace in East Cowes.
The population of the town increases dramatically duringCowes Week, the busiest time of the year for local businesses. The town was reported to be doing well in 2009, despite the economic downturn.[15]
The high street is where most of the retail shops in the town are located. These include specialist sailing shops catering for yachting enthusiasts, a small bookshop, hardware and homeware stores, an indoor plant shop and many more independent shops and businesses. There are a number of cafes and restaurants, including a coffee shop called PO41, despite the post code for Cowes being PO31.
Cowes has aNon-League football clubCowes Sports F.C., which plays at Westwood Park. Cowes also has a sailing harbour for sailing and a golf club.[16]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC South andITV Meridian. Television signals are received from theRowridge TV transmitter.[17]
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Solent on 96.1 FM,Heart South on 97.5 FM,Capital South on 103.2 FM,Easy Radio South Coast on 107.4 FM,Nation Radio South Coast on 106.0 FM,Greatest Hits Radio South on 105.2 FM and Isle of Wright based community stations:Vectis Radio on 104.6 FM andIsle of Wight Radio on 102.0 FM.
The town is served by these local newspapers,Isle of Wight County Press,Isle of Wight Observer andIsland Echo.[18]
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Cowes is a gateway town for the Isle of Wight. Travellers toSouthampton are served by a high speedcatamaran passenger ferry from Cowes known as theRed Jet.Southern Vectis' route 1 is the main bus service in Cowes. Single decker buses branded Red1 serve the Red Jet terminal, whilst route 1 double deckers serve theM&S Foodhall at Carvel Lane (the site of the formerCowes railway station). Both run toNewport to take travellers on to other island destinations.[19]Wightbus also ran local services around Cowes andGurnard until 2011. TheCowes Floating Bridge connects the two towns of West Cowes and East Cowes throughout the day. It is one of a few remaining chain ferries not replaced by a physical bridge.
Cowes is the start of theIsle of Wight Coastal Path.[20]
Cowes was once served by a rail link to and from Newport but as part of cutbacks made on the recommendation ofDr Beeching in the 1960s the line to Newport was cut in 1966. The trackbed south of Arctic Road is now maintained as a cycle path.
Cowes Park and Ride is apark and ride scheme on the Isle of Wight, featuring an 85-space car park and bus stop on the outskirts of Cowes in Somerton. It is currently served bySouthern Vectis buses on route 1 every 10 minutes during the day.[21] From the park and ride, a return journey is available to Cowes Pontoon for theRed Jet boat toSouthampton. This is one of the few return journeys Southern Vectis offer.[22]
Thepark and ride scheme for Cowes was launched in 2004 as part of a joint venture between theIsle of Wight Council,Southern Vectis andRed Funnel. It was built on a former council depot on the Somerton Industrial Estate. The scheme went ahead largely due to losing a car park in Denmark Road for development, resulting in a lack of parking around Cowes.[23]
To begin with, the scheme suffered with a huge lack in the number of people using the service, receiving no passengers in its first few days of operation.[24]
Prior to the network revision by Southern Vectis in April 2006, the park and ride was served by routes 1, 2 and 3,[23] with routes 2 and 3 running under the Route Rouge branding.[25]
When the scheme was first launched, the price of a return ticket was £1, however, in April 2008, the price increased for the first time, doubling to £2 by Southern Vectis. This was due to a rise in costs and substantial cut in payments for free travel by the Isle of Wight Council.[26] This later increased again on 2 February 2009 along with other £2 fares to £2.50 as part of Southern Vectis' annual fare review.[27]
The site was remodelled over the turn of 2009 and 2010. A new entrance was built directly off the roundabout, with a new bus stop and shelter, and a raised kerb. The previous entrance and exit was widened as an exit. The rearrangement provides more spaces.
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