Ventnor Heritage Museum

About the museum

The Ventnor Heritage Museum is part of the Ventnor Heritage Centre at 11 Spring Hill, which the Ventnor and District Local History Society bought in 1987. The society had been founded in 1980 to record and preserve the history of the area, and the building gives it space for a museum and for its collection of photographs, documents and artefacts. The society is a registered charity and is run entirely by volunteers.

The museum follows the rise of Ventnor from a tiny fishing hamlet in 1840 to a fashionable Victorian resort with two railway stations and a pier. Display boards combine words with pictures, including detailed images from glass plate negatives and reproductions of paintings by visiting artists. Other displays cover life in the outlying villages in the early twentieth century and the villages of Bonchurch and St Lawrence, which attracted writers and artists such as Dickens and Macaulay.

Visitors also see showcases of artefacts, models of the town’s vanished railway lines, a Victorian kitchen and laundry and films about the past. New displays for 2026 include a scale model of the town’s Winter Gardens.

Highlights

• How Ventnor grew from a fishing hamlet to a Victorian resort
• Images from glass plate negatives and reproductions of paintings by visiting artists
• Models of the town’s vanished railways
• Victorian kitchen and laundry displays
• Scale model of the Winter Gardens (new in 2026)

Permanent exhibition

• The story of Ventnor – Display boards, photographs, artefacts and railway models on the growth of Ventnor from 1840, with a Victorian kitchen and laundry.

Founded

1987

Operated by

Ventnor and District Local History Society

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free and donations are welcome. Children under 16 must be accompanied.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum is accessible for wheelchair users and others who need level access.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The centre is in the middle of Ventnor, opposite the Central Car Park.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit