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its use. There is currently no vehicular access between St
Lawrence and Niton along the former road. Vehicular traffic must go via Whitwell. Pedestrian and cycle access was restored by late 2016. Bus routes are diverted and no longer serve St Lawrence; as of 2024, the 3 passes from Ryde via Bonchurch through Ventnor to Wroxall and Newport, while the 6 goes from Ventnor via Whitwell and Blackgang to Newport. A few steep roads (probably ancient routes, locally termed "shutes") connect the clifftop to the lower Undercliff level: Niton Shute, St Lawrence Shute, and Bonchurch Shute.
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was broken by landslips in the 20th century. The road between St
Lawrence and Niton collapsed in two places at the westerly edge of St Lawrence on 17 February 2014 as a result of land movement following a period of prolonged rainfall amidst ongoing engineering works to stabilize the A3055 and prolong
189:. The main through road, Undercliff Drive, was disrupted by a mud slide near St Lawrence in 2001, requiring 18 months to build a new road section and in 2014 further erosion after heavy rain fell and the road was under repair, leading to more damage, and nine houses being evacuated.
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east of
Ventnor, the National Cottage Hospital for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest (later Royal National Hospital for Diseases of the Chest). While the hospital was closed in 1964 and demolished in 1969, its grounds were redeveloped as the twenty-two-acre (8.9 ha)
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considerably warmer than elsewhere on the island. Although inhabited, the
Undercliff is an area prone to landslips and subsidence, with accompanying loss of property over time. Settlements along the Undercliff, from west to east, are:
411:, and there are a number of scenic walks along and below the cliffs backing the Undercliff. These include Gore Cliff east of Niton, the 'Cripple Path' and 'St Rhadegund's Path' that climb the inner cliff at Niton and St Lawrence, the
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in the 1880s during his attempt, cut short by his death, to develop St
Lawrence as a town. Bonchurch was a particular focus of development, a number of elite Victorians renting or owning homes there (e.g.
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3 bus followed the section called
Undercliff Drive as far as St Lawrence; the Southern Vectis 6 ran north-east from Ventnor to Bonchurch and beyond. The road's low-level continuation between Niton and
212:'. This rapid geological change in terrain is also responsible for necessitating the town's distinctive routes in and out of Ventnor, which feature panoramic views across
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77:, England is a tract of semi-rural land, around 5 miles (8.0 km) long by 0.25–0.5 miles (0.40–0.80 km) wide, skirting the southern coast of the island from
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The stable section of the
Undercliff has evidence of long human occupation, with ancient churches at Bonchurch and St Lawrence, and archaeological evidence of
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173:: 8000–4500 years and 2500–1800 years ago. It is flanked by highly active landslip zones that have seen major slides over the past two centuries: the
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321:, partly out of the general trend for speculative building, and partly in association with the establishment of the amusement park at
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on the Isle of Wight, and the softer rocks of the
Undercliff below Ventnor means that subsequent erosion has caused Upper Ventnor, or
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to the north-east, and the
English Channel to the south. Ventnor's microclimate is also created by the shelter of St. Boniface Down.
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685:
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sufferer, moved to the Isle of Wight in 1869. On the basis of his experience of the climate of the
Undercliff, he established a
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Prior to the 19th century, it was the location of a number of large estates, including that at Steephill, whose owners included
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and marine villas, with associated grounds. These developments included Steephill Castle, owned in the early 20th century by
93:, parkland, grounds of large isolated houses, and suburban development. Its sheltered south-facing location gives rise to a
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cliffs. The largest urban landslide complex in northern Europe, it dates from two main phases of landslides after the last
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The growth of Ventnor in particular was driven by its popularity as a health and holiday resort from 1830. The physician
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325:. These properties, however, have largely been obliterated by landslides and coastal erosion over the 20th century.
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The Undercliff was a popular development site in the mid-19th century, which saw the construction of many
656:, Isle of Wight County Archaeology and Historic Environment Service, October 2008 (retrieved 9 July 2013)
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of slipped clays and sands above a low sea-cliff, backed by higher (100 metres (330 ft))
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that backs this coastal section, its undulating terrain comprises a mix of rough pasture,
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632:"My latest paper: Patterns of movement at the Ventnor landslide on the Isle of Wight"
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at the east. The main section is more stable, though there are ongoing concerns over
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Upper Greensand crags backing the Undercliff, Isle of Wight, above Steephill.
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668:, Memorials & Monuments on the Isle of Wight (retrieved 9 July 2013)
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The area can be visited on foot by the Ventnor-Blackgang section of the
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Victorian Undercliff development also extended westward beyond Niton to
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680:, David Wharton Lloyd, Nikolaus Pevsner, Yale University Press, 2006,
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The Undercliff was formerly served by railway stations at Ventnor (
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597:, Standing Conference on Problems Associated with the Coastline.
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Art as a tool in support of the understanding of coastal change
751:, Institution of Civil Engineers, Thomas Telford, 1991,
547:, Ventnor Botanic Garden website (retrieved 9 July 2013)
574:(ed) Hungr, O., Fell, R., Couture, R., Eberhardt, E.
262:, and John Hambrough, builder of the now-demolished
142:The Undercliff, Isle of Wight, looking westward at
560:Luccombe-Blackgang Isle of Wight (United Kingdom)
654:Historic Environment Action Plan: The Undercliff
352:Later Undercliff residents included the writers
380:to Bonchurch. West of Ventnor, before 2014 the
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701:, The Crown Estate – Caird Fellowship, 2008
697:McInnes, R., Marine Estate Research Report,
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564:Isle of Wight Centre for Coastal Environment
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281:; and houses built for the industrialist
62:For other places with the same name, see
784:Tourist attractions on the Isle of Wight
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734:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
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85:. Named after its position below the
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578:, Taylor & Francis, 2010, p183
452:Old St. Boniface Church, Bonchurch
372:The Undercliff is accessed by the
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102:(also called Niton Undercliff),
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192:Interactions between the heavy
779:Geography of the Isle of Wight
610:, Southampton, 31 October 2002
588:West & South Isle of Wight
458:St. Boniface Church, Bonchurch
177:landslip at the west, and the
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606:Watching coastline crumble,
57:The Isle of Wight Undercliff
749:Slope Stability Engineering
800:
463:St. Catherine's Lighthouse
409:Isle of Wight Coastal Path
237:Isle of Wight Coastal Path
61:
576:Landslide Risk Management
279:Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie
376:running its length from
308:Elizabeth Missing Sewell
235:, looking down from the
593:9 February 2012 at the
394:Ventnor railway station
312:Henry De Vere Stacpoole
185:, further slippage and
762:(retrieved 5 July 2008
515:50.5860694°N 1.24111°W
480:Ventnor Botanic Garden
347:Mediterranean habitats
343:Ventnor Botanic Garden
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562:, Robin G. McGiness,
423:Locations of interest
300:Henry Beaumont Leeson
227:
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520:50.5860694; -1.24111
360:, and the yachtsman
358:Aubrey de Sélincourt
275:John Morgan Richards
260:Wilbraham Tollemache
149:The Undercliff is a
54:class=notpageimage|
634:. 19 December 2014.
543:20 May 2013 at the
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434:Bonchurch Landslips
417:Bonchurch Landslips
330:Arthur Hill Hassall
179:Bonchurch Landslips
716:on 2 February 2012
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91:secondary woodland
678:The Isle of Wight
198:St. Boniface Down
151:landslide complex
16:(Redirected from
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196:-based rocks of
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429:Blackgang Chine
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413:Devil's Chimney
382:Southern Vectis
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323:Blackgang Chine
296:Charles Dickens
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183:coastal erosion
163:Upper Greensand
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231:Undercliff at
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202:chalk downland
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157:soft rocks, a
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718:. Retrieved
711:the original
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538:Introduction
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503:50°35′9.85″N
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398:Ventnor West
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354:Alfred Noyes
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334:tuberculosis
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256:Hans Stanley
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251:habitation.
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206:Lowtherville
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95:microclimate
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518: /
470:Old Church.
468:St Lawrence
402:St Lawrence
245:Paleolithic
233:St Lawrence
214:Sandown Bay
108:St Lawrence
100:lower Niton
773:Categories
608:Daily Echo
493:References
415:, and the
374:A3055 road
338:sanatorium
187:subsidence
155:Cretaceous
87:escarpment
71:Undercliff
506:1°14′28″W
474:Steephill
386:Blackgang
319:Blackgang
249:Neolithic
175:Blackgang
144:Woody Bay
120:Bonchurch
112:Steephill
104:Puckaster
83:Bonchurch
730:cite web
591:Archived
541:Archived
362:Uffa Fox
488:Museum.
486:Ventnor
220:History
171:Ice age
126:Geology
116:Ventnor
755:
720:9 July
684:
400:) and
368:Access
310:, and
210:Graben
118:, and
714:(PDF)
707:(PDF)
476:Cove.
440:Chink
378:Niton
194:chalk
167:Chalk
159:bench
79:Niton
753:ISBN
736:link
722:2013
682:ISBN
444:The
438:The
396:and
356:and
332:, a
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69:The
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
