News

Ryde Social Heritage Group News Stories

August Nature Diary
The August Nature Diary has been added to the website, click on the link below to view.
July additions of records
In July our busy Research Team added detail to 65 records on the website.
Report from July Meeting
The July meeting was attended by 25 members and 7 guests.
July Nature Diary
The July Nature has been added to the website.
Cemetery Activity and Open Day 6 July 2008
Despite the weather, a very successful activity day was held in the cemetery on Sunday 6th July in support of the Isle of Wight Council Restoration Project and in association with Ryde Arts Festival.
June additions to records
In June our busy Research Team led by Ann Barrett added biographical information of a further 78 records on the website.
The National Federation of Cemetery Friends AGM
Saturday 14 June 2008 Attended by Rachael Mead and Janette Gregson on behalf of RSHG
More School Studies in Ryde Cemetery
Dover Park School continued their studies at Ryde Cemetery last week when a group of 23 of the more able writers and artists spent an enrichment morning there.
Ryde's Heritage, Our Town, Your Histories - Book Review
This book is the culmination of Ryde Social Heritage Group’s Lottery-funded project and deals with the history of the town of Ryde, Isle of Wight. It tells the stories of many of the people buried in Ryde’s West Street Cemetery and others associated with them.
Project Celebration and Book Launch
Over 100 guests attended Ryde High School’s Studio Theatre on the evening of Saturday 7 June 2008, to celebrate the launch of Ryde Social Heritage Group’s major publication, Ryde’s Heritage – Our Town, Your Histories.
School Studies in Ryde Cemetery
Over the last week several groups of school children have been undertaking studies in Ryde Cemetery as part of the IWC's Ryde Cemetery Restoration Project.
June Nature Diary Added
The monthly Nature Walk took place at the beginning of June and the Nature Diary has been updated with photographs and text of our findings.
May 2008 Additions to records on the website
In May our Research Team led by Ann Barrett added information to 74 of the records on the website.
New Interpretation Panel for Ryde Cemetery Unveiled
Members of Ryde Social Heritage Group proudly unveiled their brand new interpretation panel in the display case in Ryde Cemetery at noon on Saturday 24th May.
A Mile Stone Reached by the Mapping Team!
The Mapping Team led by David Earle have recently completed all the maps for the Old Cemetery.
May Nature Diary Added
The monthly Nature Walk took place at the beginning of May.
Unveiling of our Brand New Interpretation Panel
12 Noon 24th May 2008 unveiling of new Interpretation Panel in the display case in Ryde Cemetery.
More detail added to records
Our dedicated Research team have been working hard in April and have added more detail to 82 of the records on the website.
Report on the April Meeting
On April 12th we held our quarterly Members’ meeting at 10:30am at the George Street Centre. Thirty-three members and 6 guests attended the meeting.
Ryde Cemetery Restoration Project
Our sister group, the Friends of Ryde Cemetery, held an Activity Day in Ryde Cemetery on 5th April 2008
Addition to records in March
In March our Research Group added information to a fantastic 82 records!
Results of the 2008 RSPB Garden Bird Watch
The results of the 2008 Bird Watch have just been published by the RSPB. Almost 400,000 people took part in the survey nationally counting over six million birds.
A Young Historian's work in Ryde Cemetery
Sophie Sellars, a pupil at Ryde School, helped Ryde Social Heritage Group transcribe inscriptions from the memorials in Ryde Cemetery.
April 2008 - Invitation to RSHG April Meeting
Our next Members' meeting will be held on Saturday 12th April commencing at 10:30am at the George Street Centre in Ryde.
March 2008 - Activity Day in Ryde Cemetery
Our 'Sister Group' the Friends of Ryde Cemetery are holding an Activity Day in Ryde Cemetery on Saturday 5th April 2008 between 10am and 3pm.
March 2008 - Nature Page updated and New Nature Diary added
The Nature page of the website has been updated and revitalised. Hopefully you will think this is an improvement.
March 2008 - Technical Problems
We are experiencing a few technical problems with the website at the moment
March 2008 - Additions to Records on the Website in February
Our research team led by Ann Barrett have been busy again in February
March 2008 - Transcribing Group
Following the winter break the Transcribing Group has recommenced its work.
January 2008 - Updates to website this month
Our dedicated research team, led by Ann Barrett, worked hard throughout January.....
January 2008 - Report of the Meeting
February 2008 - Report of RSPB National Big Garden Birdwatch Weekend 26–27 January 2008
Four members of the RSHG Natural History Team took part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch survey on Saturday 26th January 2008 counting the number of birds spotted in Ryde Cemetery.
January 2008 - More Fascinating Facts about some of the people buried in Ryde Cemetery
In December 2007 our Research Group added informtion, in the form of Census details, marriage notices, death notices and obituaries, to 35 of the records on the web site.
December 2007 - Invitation to RSHG January Meeting and Presentation on Oakfield Primary School
The next meeting of RSHG will be held at the George Street Centre in Ryde on Saturday 12th January 2008 commencint at 10:30 am.
December 2007 - New plaque for our Display Case in the Cemetery
David Earle, Ryde Social Heritage Group’s Membership Secretary and Leader of the Mapping Group, is a man of many talents and a valuable member of our team. He recently impressed us all by making a plaque to adorn the display case we had installed in Ryde Cemetery last year.
December 2007 - The Transcribing Group is taking a Break until the New Year
The dedicated team of Transcribers have been meeting in Ryde Cemetery every Saturday morning throughout the year to record the inscriptions from the grave stones and memorials. We normally work for a couple of hours and only the severest of weather conditions would normally put off this intrepid troupe.
December 2007 - New Updates to Website
Our Research Group was busy again in November and 35 records were updated with census information, death notices, obituaties and other information.
November 2007 - A Cause for Celebration
I am really pleased to announce that on 10 November 2007 we passed the milestone of uploading the 4000th individual record to Ryde Social Heritage Group’s website.
Nobember 2007 - More Records Updated in October
Our Researchers were busy again in October and have updated 28 records with information gleaned from a variety of records including census records, directories and death and funeral reports from local newspapers.
October 2007 - Our Successful AGM
RSHG held its AGM at the George Street Centre in Ryde at 10:30am on Saturday 13th October. The meeting was well attended with 32 members and 10 guests.
October 2007 - Addition to the Article on Augustus George Vernon-Harcourt
After reading the article on Augustus George Vernon-Harcourt, Jane Ryder sent us information on her great uncle, Harry Higgins, who worked for Augustus for a short time between 1903 and 1906.
October 2007 - Annual Report for Ryde Social Heritage Group's AGM
It has been an eventful 11 months since our first AGM in November 2006.
October 2007 - New additions to the Website!
Our hard working Research Team is always busy researching and typing up information to add to the records already on the website.
October 2007 - RSHG Annual General Meeting
Saturday 13th October 2007 10:30 am at the George Street Centre, Ryde, Isle of Wight
September 2007 - Heritage Open Days Report
Over the weekend of September 8th and 9th the RSHG held two open days at Ryde Cemetery as part of the National Heritage Open Days event. This annual event has been set up to allow people to explore places of interest for free and learn all about their own local history. This was the first time RSHG participated in the Heritage Open Days programme.
September 2007 - RSHG Open Days in Ryde Cemetery
Over the past few weeks we have been working really hard to get everything together for the Open Days next Saturday and Sunday.
September 2007 - Open Day at the Crematorium - 1 September 2007
On Saturday 1 September Carol, Rachael and I went to the Annual Open Day at the IW Crematorium at Whippingham. Now you might think that’s a strange way to spend a Saturday afternoon, but all the team who work for Bereavement Services at the Crematorium, are very helpful to us as a Group and we thought it would be good to go and find out a bit more about the work they do.
August 2007 - Heritage Open Days in Ryde Cemetery
As part of the National “Heritage Open Days” Scheme Ryde Social Heritage Group will be hosting two Open Days in Ryde Cemetery on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th September 2007 from 11am to 4pm each day.
August 2007 - Publications Group Outing
RSHG’s Publications Group which is led by Carol Strong and is made up of members Liz Graves, Rachael Mead and Janette Gregson, is working on an idea for a publication about the places of historical interest along Ryde Esplanade between the Pier and Puckpool Park.
August 2007 - Greenmount School's 150th Anniversary
July 2007 marked the 150th anniversary of Greenmount School. Ever since July 1857 there has consistently been a place of education on the site of the school.
July 2007 - Report on Meeting on July 14th 2007
RSHG held a very successful meeting on Saturday 14th July.
June 2007 - Next Members Meeting - 14 July
Put 14th July in your diary, to hear Richard Smout
May 2007 - The Funeral of Les Barrett
Les was a loyal supporter of the Ryde Social Heritage Group
April 2007 - Report on meeting
We are pleased to report we had a very successful meeting on the morning of Saturday 14th April at the George Street Centre, Ryde.
January 2007 - First Members' Meeting of 2007
On 13 January, about 35 people attended the members' meeting at the George St Centre in Ryde, when Paul Donnelan gave a talk about a collection of negatives he acquired a few years ago, including photographs of Captain Goodwin BARNES, RAF, who is buried in Ryde Cemetery.
Programme for 2007
There will be four Members' meetings next year, each with an invited speaker. Entry is by membership card, or £2 at the door.
November 2006 - Exhibition at the George Street Centre Ryde
On the evening of 24th November 2006 Roy Brinton (RSHG Hon President) and Tony Gale (RSHG member) gave two illustrated talks at the George Street Centre in Ryde to help raise funds for the Vernon Square Society.
November 2006 - RSHG AGM
The Ryde Social Heritage Group held its AGM on 11th November from 10:30 to 12:30 in the George Street Centre, Ryde Isle of Wight.
October 2006 - Interested in Fungi?
A Fungi Foray was held in the Cemetery on Sunday 22 October. 17 species were identified by Jackie Hart.
September 2006 - New Stories added for July, August and September
Lists have been added to the Featured Graves pages for July, August and September. The links for each person are not active yet, but you can search manually to find the record. The links will be added as soon as possible.
September 2006 - RSHG Members Meeting
A Members meeting was held on 9th September, in the George Street Centre, 10:30 to 12:30
September 2006 - New information on LEES and CALDWELL
New documents have been added to the graves of Sir James Lillyman CALDWELL, and Sir John LEES and family members. All of this research was carried out by Kathie Ann Gibbs, who is a very active member, and can be found in the Cemetery most days. She has completed the transcriptions in OPC4 single handed!
August 2006 - Isle of Wight Society
On Wednesday, 23 August, Sally-Ann Garrett made a presentation about the Ryde Social Heritage Group to the Isle of Wight Society, at the Ryde Parish Church Hall.
August 2006 - Exhibition in the Ryde Library
A small exhibition was held in Ryde Library from 18 to 29 August. The display was a double sided set of three boards, showing some of the research carried out so far, particularly some of the stories of the people buried in the cemetery.
July 2006 - RSHG Display Case installed in Ryde Cemetery
Today our new Display Case was installed in Ryde Cemetery. It is next to the central road way just past The Lodge.
July 2006 - More Cemetery Walks
RSHG held two more walks in the Cemetery during Ryde Arts Festival week, one on 9th July at 2:30 and one on 14th July at 7:00. If there is sufficient interest (10-12 people) we will plan a new route for August, with different graves and stories.
July 2006 - Butterfly Walk, 1 July 2006
We held a Butterfly Walk in the Cemetery on 1 July, and Richard Smout took a small group for a walk lasting just over an hour and a half. Several species of butterflies were spotted, as well as some other insects of interest.
June 2006 - More new stories added this month
Ann and Les Barrett continue to research the lives and funeral reports of the citizens of Ryde.
May 2006 - Local History Week - Exhibition
May 2006 - Local History Week: Walks in the Cemetery
May 2006 - More stories added this month
May 2006 - Family History for Beginners
April 2006 - Updated list of stories added to the website
April 2006 - Mr Frederick Adams and the Undertaker
March 2006 - RSHG Project Launch Exibition