An Oral History of Bembridge, Isle of Wight

The fifteen interviewees in this volume were all in their eighties and nineties when recorded in the 1970s and 1980s, and their collective memories of Old Bembridge stretch back to the turn of the 20th century. Bembridge is often described as 'the largest village in England'. By the end of the 19th century it had become very fashionable and was attracting large swathes of the aristocracy to move there. As well as detailing the interplay between the locals and the upper class, these reminiscences cover schooldays, 'characters', old village shops, fishing, farming, coastguards, smuggling, lifeboats, entertainments, pubs and piloting. Together they provide insights into the resilience of ordinary individuals in a rural village on the Isle of Wight in the Victorian and Edwardian period, while the stories ad larger-than-life characters are always recalled with affections and genial good humour, and an obvious love of the old village.The volume is supplemented with old press reports and scrapbook entries.