Steephill
Encyclopedia
Ventnor
Ventnor is a seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies underneath St Boniface Down , and is built on steep slopes and cliffs leading down to the sea...
, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, previously the location of a Victorian country estate with a castle-style mansion, Steephill Castle, which was demolished to build bungalows in the 1960s. Steephill itself now forms part of the suburban development westward from Ventnor.
Steephill Cove, on the coast some 400 yards to the south, has several kiosks and self catering cottages. Fish can be bought beneath a sign which states "Wheeler and Sons; Fishermen since the 1500s". The cove is accessible only on foot; it is about 200 yards from Undercliff Drive, and is on the Isle of Wight Coastal Path
Isle of Wight Coastal Path
.There are a couple of cafes on the cliff path which I believe are open in the summer months. The only public convenience on the cliff path now appears to be closed permanently ....
directly adjacent to Ventnor Botanic Garden
Ventnor Botanic Garden
Ventnor Botanic Garden is a botanic garden located in Ventnor, Isle of Wight. It was founded in 1970, by Sir Harold Hillier, and donated to the Isle of Wight Council. The garden is free to visit, except for parking charges....
.
Steephill was the location of a country estate since the time of Hans Stanley
Hans Stanley
Hans Stanley was a British diplomat and statesman.-Peace negotiator:In 1761 Stanley was Chargé d'affaires at the Embassy to France...
, governor of the Isle of Wight, who built there in landscaped surroundings a rustic-style house called The Cottage during his first term of office 1764-1768. After his death the estate was purchased by Wilbraham Tollemache
Wilbraham Tollemache, 6th Earl of Dysart
Wilbraham Tollemache, 6th Earl of Dysart FRS , known from 1739 to 1799 as Hon. Wilbraham Tollemache, was a British politician, a younger son of Lionel Tollemache, 4th Earl of Dysart....
. It was his favourite residence until his death in 1821, after which the estate was sold in 1828 to John Hambrough, who built Steephill Castle in 1835 on the site of The Cottage.
Its next owner was John Morgan Richards
John Morgan Richards
John Morgan Richards , was an American businessman and entrepreneur who made his fortune from the promotion of patent medicines and American cigarettes in Britain...
, an American businessman who bought it in 1903. His daughter, the novelist Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie (pseudonym "John Oliver Hobbes
John Oliver Hobbes
Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie was an Anglo-American novelist and dramatist who wrote under the pen-name of John Oliver Hobbes.-Life:...
") lived near the Castle from 1900–1906, writing a number of her works there.
The Castle was auctioned after Richards' death after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. It then saw service as a hotel with the Holiday Friendship Association (with a period as a school during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
) until 1959, when upkeep and fire safety issues made this use increasingly unviable. Unused, its condition deteriorated thereafter, until a demolition order was obtained in 1963.