History Of The Isle Of Wight
The Isle of Wight is rich in historical and archaeological sites. These range from prehistoric fossil beds which include dinosaur remains, to dwellings and artefacts of the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman period and beyond.
The island was formed at the end of the last Ice age. A rise in global sea level flooded the former river valley of the Solent to the north and the future English Channel to the south. This cut Wight off from the island of Britain and the Continental landmass. Once open to the sea, tidal scouring widened the Solent: the sequence of tidal ingress (whether from east, west or south) remains unclear. The English Channel may have been flooded later.
Read more about History Of The Isle Of Wight: Etymology and Early History, The Norman Conquest, Medieval, Early Modern and Modern, Caulkheads and Other Island Terms, Political History, Isle of Wight Disease, The Isle of Wight Festival
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“There is no history of how bad became better.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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With her would I go.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
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Shall I not learn to suffer then,
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—Henry Howard, Earl Of Surrey (1517?–1547)