‘Giving Ryde’s Past to the Future’

Historic Ryde Society Quiz Night Thursday 27 November 2025 at Yelf's Hotel, at 7p.m. for 7.30pm.

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Busy Bee Sponsors Quiz Night

We are pleased to announce that Busy Bee Garden Centre has agreed to sponsor the next Quiz Night, to coincide with the opening of their new store. Busy Bee has been spending the last few months building a state of the art Garden Centre with Glass Atrium, Restaurant with balcony, disabled access and a glass fronted entrance hall. For more information about Busy Bee Garden Centre and date of opening of the new store visit the Busy Bee website here.

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Heritage Open Days – day three

Brian had brought all his tools with him, hoping to find time to drill a couple of holes in the fire door……NO CHANCE! The general public came down the stairs from 10:20, although the Centre wasn’t officially open until 11am! By eleven, there had been 17 visitors already. A steady stream continued throughout the day, including members, small groups of curious children, someone who had played bass guitar in a band at the Diamond Club, visitors from the Island, the mainland and Canada. Brian finally drilled the holes at about a quarter past four in the afternoon. Over 100 people visited the Centre during the day, and funds were given a considerable boost. Four people expressed an interest in volunteering, including a fifteen year old local boy, which is exactly the age group with which Historic Ryde Society needs to be engaging! All in all, everyone seemed very impressed with the exhibitions, some even saying they were going to return on Sunday, the last of the Heritage Open Days of 2013. Barbara had a very busy day, with many people expressing great interest in her lace work, and she increased her fan base considerably over the course of the day. The photograph shows Oliver

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Heritage Open Days – day one….

Ninety two people visited the Heritage Centre on the first day of Heritage Open Days! We welcomed Barbara and Ann from the Isle of Wight lace making group, who proved very popular. Barbara even had a round of applause from some young admirers last thing in the day. More images on the gallery pages. The Heritage Centre closed to the public on Friday, September 13, for a meeting of conservation officers from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. After lunch, the group was given a guided tour, including the history of the arcade and the creation of the heritage centre. This included a foretaste of plans for the future extension of the Centre to include the ice well and further areas of the basement, and the recreation of the late Georgian confectionery which would have existed in the building. The group was then taken on a tour of other buildings in the town which benefited from the Ryde Townscape Heritage Initiative, by IW Council Principal Conservation Officer, Lee Byrne. This is the third time the Heritage Centre has been used for private meetings, and it has proved to work well. Return to homepage.

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Astronomic delights!

Historic Ryde Society would like to thank James Bissell Thomas of The Orrery, for inviting Ian Ridpath, editor of the Oxford Dictionary of Astronomy and Norton’s Star Atlas, to give two lectures on ‘The Stories of Stars’, and ‘The Planets’, at The Orrery on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, September 3 and 4. On the first evening, a  very appreciative audience was enthralled by the wonderful images Ian showed us, and his entertaining delivery kept the evening moving along at a slick pace. Historic Ryde Society was delighted to host a small party from the Island’s own Planetarium, at Fort Victoria. On the second evening, Ian addressed the planets, and took his audience on a guided tour of each, from innermost to outermost and beyond! Despite a stifling evening, with noisy traffic and curious passers-by, the evening was delightful and well received, and Ian said how much he had enjoyed the social nature of both evenings. Many thanks to Graham and Lesley for organising the events, printing posters and flyers, and liaising with Ian who, at the time of first contact, was delivering a lecture series aboard the Queen Mary, somewhere off Norway! Return to Homepage

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Cyril saves the day! (Well, almost…)

An unexpected  phone call on Sunday, September 1, requesting we open Appley Tower for the Visit Isle of Wight human dinosaur event, meant a quick change of plan for Diana – and subsequently, Brian – today! It also enabled the Visit Isle of Wight team, and Island Echo photographers, to shoot their aerial photographs of the event, to add to the photographs already being taken from the air. Brian and Diana welcomed nearly one hundred people into the tower, and had a very busy and interesting afternoon in the shop. A very different experience to running the Heritage Centre, and a refreshing change. Thanks to James for the opportunity! PS You’re looking at it upside-down…..:D  For a better, aerial view on the Isle of Wight Radio website, click here. Oops! It appears it’s no longer there…..many apologies! Return to Homepage.      

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