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Page 33
* * * * *
We now open a general view of the fast-improving town of ...
VENTNOR.
>>_This is the chief resting-place between Shanklin and Niton. The_
CHURCH, _and the_ COVE, _are the most interesting features_.
* * * * *
Ventnor has risen into importance with a rapidity greater than any other
place in the island: for as late as the year 1830 it numbered but about
half-a-dozen cottages, one hotel, a small inn, and the accompaniment of
a humble grist-mill, so necessary in a _retired hamlet_ as this was
_then_. But such has since been the eagerness for building, that land
for the purpose which was at that time sold for �100 per acre, soon
advanced to 300 or �400; latterly the price has risen at the rate of 800
to �1000 per acre for the more eligible sites. And at present there are
three first-rate hotels and several minor inns; well stocked shops in
almost every line of business: and medical men established on the spot.
Several streets of considerable extent are completed, others are rapidly
progressing; and much has also been done in the way of public
improvements, such as paving, lighting, &c. The new Esplanade, on the
beach, cannot fail to prove a delightful convenience both to the
inhabitants and visitors at Ventnor.
It is greatly indebted for its prosperity to Dr. Clarke's popular
Treatise, to which we have already referred (p. 16,) when speaking of
the climate generally. Its progress was still more accelerated by the
interest which the proprietor of Steephill Castle, John Hambrough, esq.,
took in its success, by erecting a handsome church, a large free-school,
parsonage, &c.
Building being still carried on with undiminished speculation, the
general appearance of the town must be consequently anything but
agreeable--nor has there been the lapse of sufficient time for the
growth of the shrubberies (however genial the climate,) to attain that
size which would afford the relief of even a partial screen. Little
therefore can be particularized under the present _changing aspect_ of
the place.
Among the buildings which attract attention in entering by the old road,
are the connected range called St. Boniface Terrace, occupying a
commanding situation, and the houses concurring in one general design:
and below, some extensive erections, of rather a novel appearance to the
untraveled eye, being strictly in imitation of the airy and picturesque
style of the Italian villa.
The somewhat confused appearance of Ventnor is no doubt owing to its
unexpected advance having prevented the adoption of any uniform
ground-plan, as would no doubt have been done could the proprietor of
the land have foreseen the magnitude to which the place was so soon to
extend,--for in this respect a considerable improvement is visible in
the latest-erected part of the town. The most regularly laid-out streets
are near the shore: and one branch-road runs by the edge of the
sea-cliffs for about half a mile towards Bonchurch, thus affording the
houses an uninterrupted view of the sea.
[Illustration: To JOHN HAMBROUGH _Esq. of Steephill Castle, in the Isle
of Wight_, _This view of_ ST. CATHERINE'S CHURCH, _erected by him at_
VENTNOR, _is most respectfully inscribed by His much obliged humble
servant, GEORGE BRANNON._]
ST. CATHARINE'S CHURCH is a beautiful feature in every respect, both in
its exterior and interior, being the neatest in the island: and situated
as it is on a commanding knoll nearly in the middle of the town, affords
an admirable relief to the whole scene, by arresting the eye from the
scattered glare of the surrounding slate-roofed and white-walled
buildings,--which are almost the universal character of the houses.
* * * * *
The COVE presents at certain times a very animated and engaging picture:
fishermen preparing for or returning from their voyage; invalids and
other respectable parties sauntering or reclining on the sunny beach:
some reading, others amused in listening to, and watching the curling
waves expire at their feet in spreading foam. The material of the shore
is principally fine shingle, or very small pebbles, among which
particles are frequently picked up, possessing a brilliancy that has
gained for them the title of "Isle of Wight diamonds;" and though they
may be comparatively of inferior value in point of intrinsic
quality,--still, the _interest_ taken in searching for them must prove a
source of the most agreeable employment to those visitors whose health
precludes any exercise of a more active nature.
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