Ryde
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ryde | |
|---|---|
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| Statistics | |
| Population: | 26,152 (1991 Census) |
| Ordnance Survey | |
| OS grid reference: | SZ591923 |
| Administration | |
| District: | Isle of Wight |
| Shire county: | Isle of Wight |
| Region: | South East England |
| Constituent country: | England |
| Sovereign state: | United Kingdom |
| Other | |
| Ceremonial county: | Isle of Wight |
| Historic county: | Hampshire |
| Services | |
| Police force: | Hampshire Constabulary |
| Fire and rescue: | {{{Fire}}} |
| Ambulance: | South Central |
| Post office and telephone | |
| Post town: | RYDE |
| Postal district: | PO33 |
| Dialling code: | 01983 |
| Politics | |
| UK Parliament: | Isle of Wight |
| European Parliament: | South East England |
| Image:Flag of England.svg | |
- For the Australian city, see Ryde, New South Wales.
Ryde is a British seaside town and the second largest urban area on the Isle of Wight, with a population of approximately 30,000. It is situated on the north-east coast.
The town grew in size as a seaside resort following the joining of the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower Ryde in the nineteenth century. The influence of this era is still strongly visible in the town's central and sea facing architecture.
As a resort, the town is noted for its expansive sands that occur at low tide, making its pier necessary on the wide beach for a regular passenger service. Ryde Pier is a listed structure which is the fourth longest pier in the United Kingdom, and also the oldest.
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[edit] Transportation and amenities
The hovercraft to Southsea operates from the esplanade close to Ryde Esplanade railway station and the bus station. A catamaran service run by Wightlink operates from Ryde Pier to Portsmouth Harbour which connects with both Island Line trains and mainland trains to London Waterloo. The Island Line train service runs from Ryde Pier Head via Ryde Esplanade to Shanklin, a distance of 8½ miles - Britain's smallest railway franchise. A major bus interchange is situated between Ryde Pier and the Hover Terminal on the Esplanade with hourly departures and arrivals from all the Island's main towns and villages.
At one time Ryde had two separate piers; the other being the Victoria Pier, no longer in existence. Ryde has its own Inshore Rescue service which mostly has to deal with people becoming stranded on sandbanks as the incoming tide cuts them off from the shore.
[edit] Entertainment
Sited on the Esplanade is an ice rink and a pavilion, converted to house a night club and bowling alley feature on the esplanade, the former being the home of the Isle of Wight's ice-hockey team, the "Wightlink Raiders". Many bars, pubs and restaurants can be found on the Esplanade and on the town's main shopping street, Union Street. The town has a fine live music venue at the Ryde Theatre.
[edit] Carnival
Ryde is noted for its carnivals. There are five throughout the year - an Arts Parade in June; Children's, Main and Illuminated processions at the end of August and a lantern Parade in December. The carnival at Ryde is the oldest in England, although its popularity had been decreasing until the Millennium.
In 2001 a London Carnival group called Kinetica was brought to the Island to teach carnival skills to adults and young people in community workshops. Since Kinetica's input the carnival has been expanding, with its effects felt throughout the Island's other carnivals.
Ryde remains the Island's largest carnival, with local crowds and mainland visitors totaling in excess of 50,000 spectators. Performers consist of community groups, schools, multiple samba and brass bands, stilt walkers and family groups, with over 2,000 performers taking part in August 2006.
[edit] Famous connections
- David Icke - is a Ryde resident
- Sam Browne - the soldier after whom the belt was named, retired and lived the last years of his life in a house called Argosy on East Hill Road, Ryde
- Philip Norman - the writer who attended Ryde School and has written about his childhood on the Island.
- Karl Marx visited Ryde for health reasons in the summer of 1874
- Michael Sheard - the actor who played Mr Bronson in Grange Hill and appeared in Star Wars, lived in Ryde and died there in 2005.
- Raymond Allen - the TV writer who attended Ryde Secondary Modern School and wrote the BBC series Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.
- William Hutt, the colonial administrator, was educated in Ryde
- William Booth - the founder of the Salvation Army spent the first part of his honeymoon in Ryde
- Mark King - the Level 42 musician, originally from Ventnor, opened a pub, Joe Daflos, in Union Street, Ryde in the 1980s.
- Anthony Minghella - the Hollywood director was born in Ryde in 1954. His parents are well-known local residents, and own an ice cream factory in Wootton (about 2 miles away). At the time of his birth they ran a cafe in Ryde High Street.
- Albert Pollard - the historian was born in Ryde on 16 December 1869.
- John Lennon and Paul McCartney- the title of the song "Ticket To Ride" was inspired by a trip John took to Ryde in the 60's. Paul also mentions the Isle of Wight in the song "When I'm 64."
