| Sandown | |
|---|---|
  Sandown Location within theIsle of Wight | |
| Population | 11,654 (2021 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SZ600843 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SANDOWN |
| Postcode district | PO36 |
| Dialling code | 01983 |
| Police | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Fire | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Ambulance | Isle of Wight |
| UK Parliament | |
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Sandown is aseaside resort andcivil parish on the south-east coast of theIsle of Wight, England. The neighbouring resort ofShanklin and the settlement ofLake are sited just to the south of the town. Sandown has a population of 11,654 according to the2021 Census,[1] and the threeSandown Bay settlements form a built-up area of more than 20,000 inhabitants.[2] Sandown is the Bay's northernmost town, with its easily accessible, sandy beaches running continuously from the cliffs below Battery Gardens in the south to Yaverland in the north.
There is some evidence for a pre-Roman settlement in the area.[3] During the Roman period, it was a site of salt production.[3]
Before the 19th century, Sandown was on the map chiefly for its military significance, with the Bay's beaches feared to offer easy landing spots for invaders from the Continent.
It is the site of the lostSandown Castle. While undergoing construction in 1545, the fortification was attacked during theFrench invasion of the Isle of Wight when invaders fought their way overCulver Down fromWhitecliff Bay before being repelled. The castle was built into the sea, prone to erosion and demolished fewer than a hundred years after it was built. In 1631, the castle was replaced by Sandham Fort,[4] built further inland. In 1781, the fort's complement consisted of a master gunner and over twenty soldiers.[5] Sandham Fort was demolished in the mid-19th century and is now the site of Sandham Gardens.
In the 1860s, fivePalmerston Forts were built along the coast of Sandown Bay, includingGranite Fort atYaverland, now theWildheart Animal Sanctuary. On the town's western cliffsSandown Barrack Battery survives as a scheduled monument andBembridge Fort, where the National Trust offers tours, can be seen on the downs to the north-east.[6]
One of the first non-military buildings was Sandham Cottage or 'Villakin', a holiday home leased by the radical politician and one-time Mayor of LondonJohn Wilkes in the final years of the 18th century.[7] See 'Sandown's famous connections' below.
The arrival of the railway in 1864 saw Sandown grow as aVictorian resort, with the town's safe bathing becoming increasingly popular. In the summer of 1874, the Crown Prince Frederick and Princess Victoria of Germany, their children and entourage rented several properties in the town and took regular dips in the Bay.[8] Sandown's pier was built in the same decade, opening in May 1878, and extended in length in 1895.
The town laid further claim to becoming a fashionable English resort when the Ocean Hotel opened in 1899. The brainchild of West End theatrical impresarioHenry Lowenfeld, the Ocean built around the town's previous hotel of choice, the King's Head. For the new hotel's inauguration, a large number of dignitaries were invited from London, arriving in Sandown from Portsmouth by special boat. Guests had the chance to explore Sandown in coaches and carriages, and the hotel servants were all dressed in uniforms 'like admirals and post-captains'.[9]
Sandown's destiny in the 20th century was to become a favourite bucket-and-spade destination for all classes. The Canoe Lake was opened in 1929 by the authorHenry De Vere Stacpoole followed in 1932 by Brown's Golf Course (see below). TheArt Deco Grand Hotel, opened next door to Brown's in April 1938, is now closed with planning permission for demolition granted in 2014.
Today, Sandown's esplanade has a mixture of former Victorian andEdwardian hotels with modern counterparts overlooking the beach and the Bay. A newPremier Inn opened in 2021.[10]
The originalSandown Pier was opened in 1878 and extended to its present length in 1895. The Pier Pavilion Theatre closed in the 1990s and the pier's former landing stage is used for sea fishing today.
Further north is theWildheart Animal Sanctuary, formerly Isle of Wight Zoo.[11] Established as Sandown Zoo in the 1950s, it was acquired by the Corney family in the 1970s; today, it specialises in rescuedtigers, other big cats and primates. Nearby is the purpose-builtDinosaur Isle palaeontology centre, which opened in 2001, and Sandham Gardens,[12] which offers a dinosaur miniature golf course, attractions for children and young people, and bowls.
On 24 March 1878, the Royal Navy training shipHMSEurydice capsized and sank in Sandown Bay with the loss of 317 lives, one of Britain's worst peacetime naval disasters. The tops of the vessel's sunken masts were still visible from Sandown two months later, on the day the town's pier was opened.[13]
The ship was re-floated in August and beached at Yaverland to be pumped out, the subject of a painting by Henry Robins (1820-1892) for Queen Victoria who came over fromOsborne House with other members of her family to see the wreck.[14]
There is a memorial to crew of theEurydice in the graveyard ofChrist Church, Sandown.
The town is surrounded by natural features that form part of the Isle of Wight Biosphere Reserve designated by UNESCO'sMan and the Biosphere Programme in June 2019.[15] The area features walks along theIsle of Wight Coastal Path.
The bay that gives Sandown its name is an example of aconcordant coastline, with 5 miles (8 km) of tidal beaches from Luccombe to Culver replenished bylongshore drift.[16] Sandown Bay has one of the longest unbroken beaches in the British Isles.[17]
To the north-east isCulver Down, mostly owned and managed by theNational Trust. It supports typical chalk downland wildlife, and seabirds and birds of prey which nest on the cliffs.
Nearby is the flood plain of theEastern Yar, one of the few freshwater wetlands on the Isle of Wight, whereAlverstone MeadLocal Nature Reserve is popular forbirdwatching. Sandown Meadows Nature Reserve, acquired by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust in 2012, is a place to spot kingfishers and water voles.[18] Further inland,Borthwood Copse provides woodland walks, with manybluebells in the Spring.
The area's marinesub-littoral zone, including the reefs and seabed, is aSpecial Area of Conservation. At extreme low tide, apetrified forest may be revealed in the northern part of the bay, and fragments ofpetrified wood are often washed up.
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Commissioned by thelocal board of health in 1869, the Grade II listedSandown Town Hall is in Grafton Street.[19] In March 2021, the Isle of Wight Council granted planning permission to convert the building for housing[20] and subsequently decided to dispose of the Town Hall while exploring opportunities for community use.[21] In 2022, paint samples found evidence of the celebrated multi-coloured ceiling decorated by Henry Tooth in 1873, hidden for many decades beneath layers of 20th century paint.[22] In 2023, government funding was announced to renovate parts of the Town Hall for youth and community services.[23]
Designed by one of the UK's leading players of the time,Henry Cotton, the Brown's pitch and putt courses were the idea of south London pie and sausage maker Alex Kennedy. Opened on Sandown's eastern sea front in March 1932, the original clubhouse had the mottoGolf for Everybody emblazoned on its roof.[24] Brown's and its ice cream factory were reportedly adapted in the 1940s to disguise pumping apparatus forPipeline Under the Ocean (PLUTO) intended to deliver oil to theD-Day beaches. A conservation management plan for the 7.5-hectare (19-acre) site was published in July 2020.[25]
The town's summer carnival has existed since 1889.[26] Today, Sandown Carnival Association puts on a series of events including the Children's Carnival and Illuminated Carnival, Sandown Bay Regatta, and New Year's Day Celebrations with a fireworks display. Arts Council England funding was received in 2023 and 2024 to revive the town's tradition of wearing hats on Regatta day.[27]
Sandown offers an assortment of restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs along the seafront and in the town.Sandown Pier is a popular attraction for amusements and refreshments, and there are new cafes and eating places along the seafront promenade towards Lake and Shanklin.
Boojum and Snark at 105 High Street opened in 2019 as a venue for art exhibitions and community events, with its name inspired by authorLewis Carroll who stayed across the road in the 1870s.[28]
Sandown railway station is a stop on theIsland Line, the Isle of Wight's one remaining public railway line fromRyde Pier Head toShanklin. Services are operated bySouth Western Railway.[29]
Sandown is served by buses run bySouthern Vectis with direct services toBembridge,Newport,Ryde,Shanklin andVentnor. Night buses run on Fridays and Saturdays.[30]
The UK groupTake That filmed the video for their fifth single "I Found Heaven" on Sandown's beaches and sea front in 1992.[31]
Sandown High School and locations nearby were used in the 1972 filmThat'll Be The Day starring David Essex, Ringo Starr, Billy Fury and Rosemary Leach.[32]
The TV seriesTiger Island, onITV andNational Geographic in 2007 and 2008,[33] chronicled the lives of the more than twenty tigers living atIsle of Wight Zoo.
Sandown featured in theChannel 5 seriesIsle of Wight: Jewel of the South, shown in the UK in 2023 and 2024.[34]
Sandown had a twinning (jumelée in French) arrangement with the town ofTonnay-Charente in thewestern French département ofCharente-Maritime although the relationship was reported to be 'in tatters' in 2002.[49] Sandown has also been twinned with the United States city ofSt. Pete Beach, Florida.
No greater recommendation can be given to the excellent bathing facilities possessed by Sandown than recording the fact that the members of the Imperial family take every possible advantage of them by bathing almost daily...
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