Gurnard
Gurnard village was once the hamlet of Gurnet, on the north shore of the Island, overlooking the Solent. In the 13th century it was held by Henry de Stiles, and it was not until the early 1700s that it began to grow.
Before Cowes was a port, the crossing was from Lepe, opposite Gurnet Bay, and it is thought that the stream known as the Luck was navigable for some distance. Recently when ploughing at Harts Farm, Rew Street, a very large stone block with a metal mooring-ring was unearthed. A good deal of land must have been washed away by the sea, for it is known that a Roman Villa existed on the north shore; this was excavated as far as possible in Victorian times, but it has all now disappeared into the sea. Coins and other objects have been found on the beach.
Many local houses are built of bricks made from clay found in the district, cream-coloured from Gurnard cliffs, and a very deep red from Redcliff. Gurnard Marsh, at one time a private road, was used by the troops from Albany Barracks as a firing range.
The Round House, as it is now called, at the top of Tuttons Hill, was the original Tollgate House.
The village Church was built in 1868; before this meetings were held in the Church Hall which is some thirty years older, and was also used as the school. The Council School was built in 1906. The owner of The Dell, in Cockleton Lane, gave a Strawberry Feast each year at his home for all the village children, and they were always invited on Good Friday to pick daffodils and primroses for the Church at Easter.
During the 1914-18 War an Army detachment camped by Cooks Cottage to stand guard over the telephone cable from the mainland; Coastguards occupied Station cottages, but they were abandoned after the war.
In 1926 Princes Esplanade was opened by the then Prince of Wales.
Linking Gurnard with Cowes, it is a beautiful walk at all seasons.
A W.I. Hall was built in Worsley Road on a site given by Mr. Westbrook, Snr. All members worked very hard to raise the money for the Hall, which was used during the last War to feed and shelter families bombed out from Cowes. Gurnard also suffered from enemy action on several occasions, the Church being badly damaged; services were held in the Church Hall for a time.
