The Village Of Wroxall

Wroxall was once a small agricultural settlement changed by the coming of the railway. Lord Yarborough of Appuldurcombe would not allow the tracks to be built over his land so a tunnel 1190m long had to be dug through St Boniface Down. Many of the old cottages in the main street of Wroxall were built to house the workmen involved. The railway is now closed and there is little evidence left of its existence.

Wroxall nestles in the downs with lovely walks leading to Ventnor Shanklin, Whitwell and Godshill. It also boasts a handsome church built from stone excavated from the tunnel. St John's Church has a conical tower and a blue clock.

Wroxall's main attraction is Appuldurcombe House. The ruin and surrounding park has an interesting history mainly centered around the Worsley family who originated from Lancashire. James Worsley was a page to King Henry VII and a companion to the future King Henry VIII. On the latter's accession to the throne Worsley was knighted and made Captain of the Isle Of Wight. He then went on to marry Ann Leigh the heiress of Appuldurcombe, starting a dynasty that would be closely involved in Island life and politics for the next three centuries. The Worsley's pulled down the old house and built a classical mansion in its place. By the end of the 18th century its contents of old master paintings and classical antiquities attracted visitors from far and wide. In 1855 the estate was sold the house then became a hotel followed by a school then a temporary home for the Benedictine Monks while Quarr Abbey was being built. From 1909 the house stood empty, its decay hastened by a land mine. The house, although now a ruin, is surrounded by beautiful parkland and maintained by English Heritage.

Wroxall Village August 2001

Although the Appuldurcombe Estate and its Norman priory had provided continual work for some local villagers throughout the ages, it wasn't until the mid 1860's that Wroxall showed any significant signs of development and diversification of skills. The rapid growth of the nearby fishing hamlet of Ventnor into a popular Victorian seaside resort was the trigger. Apart from the initial small increase in road traffic through the village (most horse drawn carriages from Ryde took the scenic coastal road through Luccombe and Bonchurch) there was the inevitable demand from Ventnor for increased local food production and supply of labour and services. However, it was the, almost, chance routing of the railway through Wroxall which brought about the most prominent change.

The original plans submitted to Parliament in 1859 for a railway from Ryde to Ventnor proposed following a coastal route via Brading, Sandown, Shanklin and Bonchurch. However, there was strong opposition from the Earl of Yarborough who objected to the idea of it passing through Luccombe Chine, so an alternative route via Wroxall was agreed in 1860. The railway was completed as far as Shanklin by 1864, but it took another two years to overcome the engineering challenges of taking it into Ventnor. These challenges included constructing a steep gradient over Apse Bank and a mile long tunnel through St Boniface Down - both very labour intensive. As a result, the population of Wroxall increased almost overnight with the sudden influx of workers.