Living History
Modern Wootton - An Overview
Over the last 40 years the village has changed from a quiet rural backwater consisting of three small enclaves of Wootton Common, Wootton and Wootton Bridge into a large village of over 3000 people and is now known as Wootton Bridge. The change started around 1970 when two housing development took place followed by a further one in 1985, also during this period quite a number of private houses were built. The overall result was an influx of around 1000 people and the local parish council decided to amalgamate the three enclaves into one village called Wootton Bridge.
The village now covers an area stretching from Woodside Bay in the north, along the Creek and Millpond up to Havenstreet Station; then back along the railway track to just short of Wootton Station, turning westwards to Briddlesford crossroad, then down Whiterails Road to Palmers Brook and follows this stream to sea at Kings Key.
Take a Pictorial Tour of the Village
Because the village’s location; almost mid way between Newport and Ryde and the proximity of the ferry port, the quiet High Street has seen a considerable increase in the volume of traffic using the road. The village is close to all the main ferry links to the mainland, which are located at Fishbourne, Ryde and Cowes and furthest only just over three miles distant, it also has an excellent bus service. The village boosts a wide variety of houses from large old and modern properties standing in their own grounds, to those with superb views of the Solent. There are a number of properties along the creek with private moorings for those following a more nautical pursue and within the village itself there is a wide selection of housing stock to covering all tastes. Due to its location and the availability of transport links, it is an ideal commuter base and many people from the mainland make their home in the village.
So what can the area offer, as you arrive on the car ferry [foot passengers permitted] terminal at Fishbourne, the Royal Victoria Yacht club is nearby. Just before crossing over the 150-year-old road bridge into Wootton there is a caravan and camping ground on the left in Kite Hill. As you cross over the bridge looking to your left there is the new four star hotel and conference centre of Lakeside overlooking the lake [millpond] to your right is the historical Sloop Inn dating back to the 1800s. Driving up the High Street there are various shops and take away’s, at the top by the traffic lights is the 100 year old Cedars public house and along further along is again a 100year old public house called the Woodman’s, all these places serve food. For those wanting island produced there is the Bluebell on Briddlesford Road.
The are several attraction in and around Wootton Bridge, here are some, the village hosts one end of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, and there is public slipway access to the creek. The village has an activity centre catering for children holidays, there is Butterfly World were you can see butterflies from all over the world. There are a number of historical churches and buildings in and around the area, within the village you have St Edmunds Church dating back to 1086, St Mildred’s Church at Whippingham designed by Prince Albert and Osborne House where Queen Victoria died. In August 1969 the village was the centre of world attention when the first major Isle of Wight Pop Festival was held in the village and Bob Dylan was the attraction.
The area is surrounded by beautiful countryside much of it classified as AONB; which supports a wide variety of wild life. Pause awhile, and you may see herons, egrets, swans and other birds feeding on the Millpond; this together with the lovely view over the water towards Havenstreet, presents a very tranquil scene. In order to allow visitors to enjoy the village and its surroundings, the parish council has produced five walk’s leaflets; copies of these can be downloaded free from this web site. If you look carefully whilst in wooded areas you may spot the red squirrels; it is believed there are about 3000 of them on the Isle of Wight, and there is a formal policy to protect their habitat from the aggressive mainland grey squirrels.
If you are coming to the island and interested in history, we recommend that you spend a little time looking at the articles and pictures on this web site, this will allow to enjoy the area more fully.
This page was last edited on: 26th January, 2022 17:50:40