Osborne House, Isle of Wight
Osborne House
Osborne House in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight is a former royal residence built for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert from 1845-1851.
Prince Albert designed the house himself in Italianate palazzo style. After the death of her husband, Victoria spent much of her time here and died at the house in 1901.
English Heritage maintains the building, parts of which are open to the public including the magnificent State Rooms and more intimate Family Rooms.
Visitors can visit the Queen's private beach, Osborne Beach, and also her bathing machine. The Swiss Cottage was where the nine royal princes and princesses would play. Wandering the ornate gardens is also a delight and there are splendid views out to sea.
Other royal residences include Sandringham in Norfolk, Balmoral in Scotland, as well as Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace in London.
History
Prince Albert designed the house himself as a summer retreat. Some of the money to purchase the estate came from the sale of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton.
A previous house on the site was demolished to make way for the new residence except for an entrance portico that survives as part of the walled garden.
The builder was Thomas Cubitt (1788-1855) who developed several streets and squares in such London districts as Belgravia, Bloomsbury and Pimlico.
After Queen Victoria's death at the house in 1901, her son King Edward VII presented the house to the state.
Thereafter, parts of the property were used by the Royal Navy. English Heritage took over management of the house in 1986.
House & Interior
The interior is particularly grand especially the State Rooms where the Queen and Prince Albert welcomed heads of state. The Durbar Room, the state banqueting hall, is full of treasures from the Indian subcontinent.
Visitors can admire a large vase in the Billiard Room, a gift from the Tsar of Russia.
The more restrained Family Rooms were the private quarters of the Royal Family. They include Victoria's sitting and dressing rooms and visitors can even see Her Majesty's bath and the bedroom where she passed away. Queen Victoria's private chapel, Victoria Hall, has some exquisite stained glass windows.
Prince Albert's private suite remains much as it was in his day, kept that way by his devoted wife, Victoria, after Albert's death in 1861.
The Swiss Cottage was a royal playground for Victoria and Albert's nine children. It was actually transported piece by piece from Switzerland and reassembled at Osborne. In its grounds is a museum housing works of art from the Royal Collection.
Grounds
The grounds with wonderful views of The Solent include the restored terrace gardens as well as the Walled Garden and its large glasshouses. Prince Albert grew trees and plants here for the wider estate.
Refreshments are available at the Terrace Restaurant, the Gazelle House in the Swiss Cottage gardens or at the cafe in the former Petty Officers' Quarters. There is an ice cream parlor on the Queen Victoria's private beach.
Access & Hours
York Avenue
East Cowes
Isle of Wight
Hants PO32 6JT
Tel: 0370 333 1181
www: english-heritage.org.uk
Entry 19 GBP for adults, 11.40 GBP for kids.
By public transport take Southern Vectis services 4 & 5. By car, the house is 1.6 km (1 mile) southeast of East Cowes.
Southampton Airport Airport
The nearest airport to the Isle of Wight is Southampton Airport. The U1C bus runs daily between the airport to Southampton University, the city centre and the Waterfront.
Southampton Airport Parkway Station is right at the airport with trains to Waterloo Station in London (70 minutes), Winchester, Bournemouth and Reading.
Southampton Airport (SOU) has connecting flights to Alderney, Aberdeen, Durham/Tees Valley, Chambery (winter ski season), Edinburgh, Geneva, Glasgow, Guernsey, Innsbruck (winter only), Inverness, Isle of Man, Jersey, Isles of Scilly, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, Manchester Airport, Newcastle, Stavanger, Stornoway, and Wick.
Overseas destinations in Europe departing from Southampton Airport include Alicante, Amsterdam, Avignon, Bergerac, Bordeaux, Brest, Brussels, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Faro, Frankfurt, Hanover, La Rochelle, Malaga, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Paris-CDG and Rennes.
Ferry
Wightlink Ferries has regular passenger ferries from Portsmouth to Ryde. It also operates car ferries from Portsmouth to Fishbourne and Lymington to Yarmouth. wightlink.co.uk
Hovertravel has hovercraft services for foot passengers between Southsea and Ryde. hovertravel.co.uk
Red Funnel has car ferries between Southampton and East Cowes as well as high-speed passenger-only boats from Southampton to West Cowes.
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