The website of Ryde District Heritage Centre

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Historic Ryde Society has been invited to take part in the Jubilee parade through Ryde on Saturday, June 2nd. If you would like to help in any way, or to take part, please contact Liz at Splash, 57 Union Street, on 616257, in the first instance.

Easysearch and  easyfundraising have now brought in over £100, at no cost to anyone! Sign in here when you buy anything online, and raise money for Ryde District Heritage Centre.... It couldn't be easier. 

Great Exhibition 2012  - RDHC is now a 'Destination in Great Britain'! We need more votes. You can still vote for us here.

Disclaimer: Historic Ryde Society is not responsible for any of the display in the Eyeland Optical window, other than the pieces which have HRS information  on them. We are aware the flags are not Union flags. They are not upside down, but symmetrical about both a horizontal and vertical line, and we believe can be purchased from Matalan. 

SUMMER OPENING HOURS - Monday to Saturday, 11am to 4pm. During July and August, the centre will be open seven days a week. Come along and see our 2012 exhibition - THE START OF THE PIER SHOW - see below.....

The HRS localgiving website for donations to RDHC can be found here.

Iris folding card making instruction available. For more information, click here.

Ryde District Heritage Centre

Ryde District Heritage Centre- If you would like to help in any way, click here, or telephone 01983 717435. To find out more about the work of the Heritage Lottery Fund, click here.

The photograph shows the new Diamond Jubilee banner amidst the bunting in the avenue of the Arcade.

Come along to Ryde District Heritage Centre and see 'The Start of the Pier Show' celebrating 200 years since the passing of Ryde Pier Act, on July 13th, 1812. From April until September, RDHC is hosting an exhibition showing the history of Ryde Pier, and with many images rarely seen, which have been very kindly loaned by the Isle of Wight Heritage Service. Over this period we also have a small exhibition celebrating 200 years of formal education in Ryde. Please come along and add your memories of school days in the town. Any photographs and other ephemera relating to schools in Ryde welcome. 

 We also have a facsimile of Ryde Pier Act, which is available for research, and also Ryde Town Act, which has all kinds of interesting detail. The tolls on the pier were begun straight away: for anyone embarking or disembarking on a ferry, or any boat, a charge of 3d (1.5p) was levied. Anyone wishing to merely promenade on the pier was charged 2d. If you wished to ride a horse along the pier, it would cost 4d, and 1 shilling, (5p), if a four wheeled carriage was taken on the pier, although it cost 3 shillings if the carriage was to be landed on or disembarked from the pier. Small parcels weighing under 6lbs, and carried in the hand of a paying passenger, were exempt. Household furniture was charged at 1 1/2d per item!    

Group/school visits can be arranged by appointment. Telephone 01983 717435 between 11am and 4pm for further information.

Royal Victorian Ryde 2012 - The Start of the Pier Show!

The weekend of 13th - 15th July 2012 marks the 200th anniversary of the passing of Ryde Pier Act, 1812. Historic Ryde Society plans to mark this important date with a weekend of events, the culmination of our Summer Exhibition: 'The Start of the Pier Show'. Members of Historic Ryde Society were lucky enough to be given access to Wightlink's archive in Portsmouth, and two well wrapped-up souls braved the chilly conditions of a container for over two hours on a freezing February afternoon. Please go to the Events and Ryde District Heritage Centre Gallery pages to see more photographs. For a report of last July's celebration, click here.

Volunteers always welcome!

If you would like to help with Ryde District Heritage Centre, please call 01983 717435, between 11am and 4pm, Monday to Saturday. More volunteers are always needed, as we hope to be open full time during the summer months. Volunteers receive full training, and we hope to recruit enough to have two or more on duty at all times.

There are many different ways volunteers can become involved. We are about to take over the far side of the basement and will need willing hands to help with decorating. Can you wield a paint brush? Anyone handy with a broom? Please get in touch if there is anything you think you may be able to do to help, as much of the work needed can by done by volunteers, thus saving HRS vital funds. We also need help with fundraising ideas, as more money is always needed to maintain upkeep of the Heritage Centre. Do you have any new ideas, which we may be able to use? 

The photograph shows Alan Brading and Barbara Long, née Hailes, both members, meeting up again after about 50 years and reminiscing over their old school photographs, below, and Arthur Street Coronation Day Street Party, 1953, above. The Coronation Street Party was partly organised by Alan's mother, and involved many of the residents of Arthur Street, young and old. Were you there?

Carole Jones, another volunteer, copies out some school memories. Do you have any memories of school days in Ryde? Please come along and add them for the archive. We also have books for recording memories of Ryde personalities, and general memories of past days in the town.

Pictures