Sandown

For other uses, see Sandown (disambiguation).

Sandown
One of the town's sandy beaches
Sandown Location within the Isle of Wight
Population	11,868 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference	SZ600843
Unitary authority	Isle of Wight
Ceremonial county	Isle of Wight
Region	South East
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	Isle of Wight

Sandown is a seaside resort town and civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, England, with the town of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake in between.

Sandown is the northernmost town of Sandown Bay, notable for its long stretches of easily accessible, sandy beach. It is the site of the lost Sandown Castle. Whilst undergoing construction, this was attacked by a French force which had fought its way over Culver Down from Whitecliff Bay, resulting in the French being repulsed. It was built too far into the sea and constantly suffered erosion, until now reduced to a pile of rocks. Later forts in the town include the Diamond Fort (named after its plan), built inshore to replace the castle and which fought off a minor attack from privateers (probably French) in 1788, and the present "Granite Fort" at Yaverland, which is now the zoo.

Sandown Bay is often used as a sheltered anchorage, with ships requiring salvage periodically towed into the bay (such as the Tarpenbeck), and the wreck of a salvage tug could be seen until recently at low tide under Culver Cliff (the Harry Sharman) which had been assisting the stricken tanker Pacific Glory in the 1970s.

Together with Shanklin, Sandown forms a built up area of 21,374 inhabitants.

Natural interests

Sandown's impressive sandstone and chalk cliffs at the northern end of the Bay

Sandown Pier, with Culver Cliff behind

Sandown is a Victorian seaside town surrounded by a wealth of natural features. To the north is Culver Down, a chalk down accessible to the public, mostly owned and managed by the National Trust. It supports typical chalk downland wildlife, and many seabirds which nest on the adjoining cliffs. Nearby inland are Sandown Levels, one of the few freshwater wetlands on the Isle of Wight, where Alverstone Mead Local Nature Reserve is a very popular spot for birdwatching. Further inland the woodland of Borthwood provides delightful woodland walks, and bluebells aplenty in the spring.

The most significant wildlife designation in the area is the Special Area of Conservation which covers the marine sub-littoral zone, including the reefs and sea bed. At extreme low tide a petrified forest is partially revealed in the northern part of Sandown Bay, and fragments of petrified wood are regularly washed up on the beach.

History

Christ Church

The Bandstand restaurant and cafe, Culver Parade, an example of the town's regeneration

A performer at the town's popular summer carnival

Originally Sandown was chiefly of military significance, with its beaches feared to offer an easy landing place for invasion from the continent. One of the first non-military buildings was "Villakin", a holiday home leased by the radical politician John Wilkes in the 18th century, which, along with the Royal Pavilion at Brighton began the fashion for seaside holidays.

The arrival of the railway in 1864 saw Sandown grow in size, with the town's safe sea bathing popularised by the Crown Prince and Princess of Germany and their children who stayed in the summer of 1874. Sandown's pier was built in the same decade, opening in May 1878. The town laid claim to a future as a fashionable English coastal resort when the Ocean Hotel was built in 1899, but Sandown's destiny in the 20th century was to become a favourite bucket-and-spade destination for all classes. The Canoe Lake opened in 1929, followed by Brown's Golf Course in 1932 offering 'Golf for Everybody'. The golf course and its ice cream factory were adapted in the 1940s to disguise pumping apparatus for Pipe Line Under the Ocean (PLUTO) designed to pump oil to the D-Day beaches. The Art Deco Grand Hotel, now closed to guests, was built next to Brown's in the late 1930s.

Sandown railway station is on the one remaining public railway on the island from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin.

Today, Sandown esplanade has a mixture of Victorian and Edwardian hotels and their modern counterparts which overlook the golden sands of the beach. Sandown Pier hosts a large amusement centre with arcade games and children's play areas, typical of a seaside resort. The pier is also used for sea fishing, with designated areas for anglers. Further north, there is the Isle of Wight Zoo (also known as Sandown Zoo) which specialises in tigers. Other facilities include an 18-hole golf course, the Dinosaur Isle geological museum and Sandham Grounds, offering a skate park, children's play park, crazy golf, bowls and putting green.

Pubs and dining

Sandown offers an assortment of pubs and restaurants. The pubs range from the more traditional offering a selection of local ales and ciders, to more family-friendly 'gastro-pubs' with a wider menu. Restaurants in the town offer a varied cuisine and there are a variety of traditional tea rooms on High Street. A full listing of places to eat and drink in Sandown is now available online.

Transport

Sandown railway station

A plaque marks the site of John Wilkes' 18th century villa, just off the High Street

As well as the Island Line Railway, Sandown is served by regular buses run by Southern Vectis on routes 2, 3 and 8. Destinations which can be directly reached include Bembridge, Newport, Ryde, Shanklin and Ventnor. Night buses are run on Fridays and Saturdays, along route 3. Local bus services previously run by Wightbus have now been re-absorbed by Southern Vectis.

Sandown is on the Isle of Wight Coastal Path, between Niton and Ryde.

Media

The TV series Tiger Island chronicles the lives of the more than twenty tigers living at Isle of Wight Zoo.

Cities links

Sandown is twinned (jumelée in French) with the town of Tonnay-Charente, in the western French département of Charente-Maritime. Its American twin town is St. Pete Beach, Florida.

Famous connections

• John Wilkes (former Lord Mayor of the City of London) owned a house and stayed regularly in Sandown. There is a memorial plaque on the site of his house at the corner of High Street. On Sunday mornings Wilkes would go to Shanklin Church, and after the service would walk across the fields to Knighton with David Garrick and his wife.
• Sir Isaac Pitman is said to have worked on his system of shorthand here.
• Lewis Carroll spent summer holidays on Sandown sea front in the 1870s, staying first at the King's Head Hotel, then Culverton House. In 1875, while he was writing The Hunting of the Snark, he met Gertrude Chataway whose family were staying next door. The first edition of The Hunting of the Snark is dedicated to Gertrude.
• Charles Darwin was working on the "abstract" which became the Origin of Species when staying at the King's Head Hotel (later part of the Ocean Hotel) in Sandown in July 1858. He moved on to Shanklin's Norfolk House Hotel at the end of July and stayed for about two weeks. Darwin returned to the Isle of Wight for holidays on several other occasions. Rev. William Darwin Fox, naturalist-clergyman, second cousin of Charles Darwin lived at and is buried in Sandown.
• The composer Richard Strauss spent summer holidays at the Ocean Hotel in 1902 and 1903, and worked on his Symphonia Domestica while there.
• The Oscar-winning film director and playwright Anthony Minghella was a pupil at Sandown High School. Members of the groups Level 42 and the Bees also went to Sandown High School and began their musical careers in Sandown.
• Cilla Black, Frankie Howerd, Jimmy Tarbuck, Danny-John Jules and Dickie Henderson were among the performers doing summer seasons at Sandown Pier Pavilion .
• HMS Sandown is the name ship of the Sandown class of mine countermeasures vessels. It commemorates a wartime namesake, which served as a minesweeper, having formerly been a passenger ferry.
• Eric Charles Twelves Wilson V.C. was born in Sandown.

Notable people

• William Darwin Fox, naturalist-clergyman, second cousin of Charles Darwin buried in Sandown.
• Thomas Field Gibson FRG found some important fossils while staying at his beach house at Sandown.
• Simon Moore, footballer who plays for Sheffield United.
• Edward Upward, novelist, lived in Sandown from 1961 to 2004.
• Mary Ellis, ATA Pilot 1941-1945, lived in Sandown 1950-2018.

See also

• Bembridge Down
• Sandown Bay
• Christ Church, Sandown
• Church of St. John the Evangelist, Sandown
• List of current places of worship on the Isle of Wight

External links

• "Sandown" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). 1911.
• Official site for Sandown, Isle of Wight
• Facebook history group for Sandown
• Official site of the Isle of Wight Council
• Official website of Sandown High School
• Tourist Information and Accommodation Guide for Sandown
• Old pictures of Sandown