Place:Ryde, Isle of Wight, England

Watchers
NameRyde
Alt namesLower Rydesource: settlement in parish
Upper Rydesource: settlement in parish
Haven Streetsource: settlement in parish
Oakfieldsource: settlement in parish
TypeParish (ancient), Civil parish, Borough (municipal)
Coordinates50.733°N 1.167°W
Located inIsle of Wight, England     (1890 - )
Also located inHampshire, England     ( - 1890)
See alsoNewchurch, Isle of Wight, Englandparish from which Ryde was formed (early)
East Medina Liberty, Hampshire, Englandancient county division in which it was located
Medina District, Isle of Wight, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area 1974-1995
Isle of Wight (council), Isle of Wight, Englanddistrict municipality and unitary authority covering the area since 1995
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog
source: Family History Library Catalog
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Ryde is a British seaside town and civil parish, and the most populous urban area on the Isle of Wight, England, with a population of about 32,250 in 2001, reducing to 23,999 at the 2011 UK Census. It lies on the northeast coast. The town grew in size as a seaside resort after the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower Ryde were merged in the 19th century. The influence of the Victorian era is still strongly visible in the town's central and seafront architecture.

As a resort, the town is noted for its expansive sands, which are revealed at low tide, making its pier necessary on the wide beach for a regular passenger service (to Portsmouth). Ryde Pier is a listed structure, and the fourth longest pier in the United Kingdom, as well as the oldest.

In 1782 numerous bodies of men, women and children from HMS Royal George, which sank suddenly at Spithead, were washed ashore at Ryde. Many were buried on land that is now occupied by The Esplanade. A memorial to them was erected in June 2004.

Ryde, already a civil parish, became a municipal borough in 1868 and held this type of administration until 1974 when it became part of the Medina District. The Medina District was merged into the Isle of Wight (council), the district municipality and unitary authority covering the whole island since 1995.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Ryde.

Research Tips

  • Victoria County History of Hampshire, volume 5, chapter on Newchurch, the parish from which Ryde was formed in 1866.
  • Victoria County History of Hampshire has an outline map of the parishes of East Medina.
  • The Isle of Wight Family History Society has a website with a lot of information.
  • GENUKI has a list of archive holders in Hampshire including the Hampshire Record Office, various museums in Portsmouth and Southhampton, the Isle of Wight Record Office and Archives.
  • The Hampshire Online Parish Clerk project has a large collection of transcriptions from Parish Registers across Hampshire.
  • A listing of all the Registration Districts in England and Wales since their introduction in 1837 together with tables listing the parishes that were part of each district and the time period covered, along with detailed notes on changes of parish name, mergers, etc. Do respect the copyright on this material.
  • The three-storey City Museum in Winchester covers the Iron Age and Roman periods, the Middle Ages, and the Victorian period.
  • Volumes in The Victoria County History Series are available for Hampshire through British History Online. There are three volumes and the county is covered by parishes within the old divisions of "hundreds".
A collection of maps on the A Vision of Britain through Time website illustrating the English county of Hampshire over the period 1832-1932 (the last two are expandible):
  • A group of maps of the post-1974 municipal districts or boroughs of Hampshire on Wikipedia Commons
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Ryde. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.