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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
178:. 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:
400:, 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.
373:
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
201:'. 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
66:, 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
232:
The stable section of the
Undercliff has evidence of long human occupation, with ancient churches at Bonchurch and St Lawrence, and archaeological evidence of
162:: 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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310:, 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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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
82:, 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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The Undercliff was a popular development site in the mid-19th century, which saw the construction of many
645:, 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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621:"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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657:, 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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669:, 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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586:, Standing Conference on Problems Associated with the Coastline.
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Art as a tool in support of the understanding of coastal change
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740:, Institution of Civil Engineers, Thomas Telford, 1991,
536:, Ventnor Botanic Garden website (retrieved 9 July 2013)
563:(ed) Hungr, O., Fell, R., Couture, R., Eberhardt, E.
251:, and John Hambrough, builder of the now-demolished
131:The Undercliff, Isle of Wight, looking westward at
549:Luccombe-Blackgang Isle of Wight (United Kingdom)
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643:Historic Environment Action Plan: The Undercliff
341:Later Undercliff residents included the writers
369:to Bonchurch. West of Ventnor, before 2014 the
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690:, The Crown Estate – Caird Fellowship, 2008
686:McInnes, R., Marine Estate Research Report,
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553:Isle of Wight Centre for Coastal Environment
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51:For other places with the same name, see
773:Tourist attractions on the Isle of Wight
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723:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
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74:. Named after its position below the
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567:, Taylor & Francis, 2010, p183
441:Old St. Boniface Church, Bonchurch
361:The Undercliff is accessed by the
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91:(also called Niton Undercliff),
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181:Interactions between the heavy
768:Geography of the Isle of Wight
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599:, Southampton, 31 October 2002
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577:West & South Isle of Wight
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447:St. Boniface Church, Bonchurch
166:landslip at the west, and the
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595:Watching coastline crumble,
46:The Isle of Wight Undercliff
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738:Slope Stability Engineering
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452:St. Catherine's Lighthouse
398:Isle of Wight Coastal Path
226:Isle of Wight Coastal Path
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114:
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565:Landslide Risk Management
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268:Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie
365:running its length from
297:Elizabeth Missing Sewell
224:, looking down from the
582:9 February 2012 at the
383:Ventnor railway station
301:Henry De Vere Stacpoole
174:, further slippage and
751:(retrieved 5 July 2008
504:50.5860694°N 1.24111°W
469:Ventnor Botanic Garden
336:Mediterranean habitats
332:Ventnor Botanic Garden
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551:, Robin G. McGiness,
412:Locations of interest
289:Henry Beaumont Leeson
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509:50.5860694; -1.24111
349:, and the yachtsman
347:Aubrey de Sélincourt
264:John Morgan Richards
249:Wilbraham Tollemache
138:The Undercliff is a
43:class=notpageimage|
623:. 19 December 2014.
532:20 May 2013 at the
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423:Bonchurch Landslips
406:Bonchurch Landslips
319:Arthur Hill Hassall
168:Bonchurch Landslips
705:on 2 February 2012
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80:secondary woodland
667:The Isle of Wight
187:St. Boniface Down
140:landslide complex
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435:Devil's Chimney
418:Blackgang Chine
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402:Devil's Chimney
371:Southern Vectis
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312:Blackgang Chine
285:Charles Dickens
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172:coastal erosion
152:Upper Greensand
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220:Undercliff at
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191:chalk downland
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707:. Retrieved
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527:Introduction
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492:50°35′9.85″N
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387:Ventnor West
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343:Alfred Noyes
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323:tuberculosis
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245:Hans Stanley
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84:microclimate
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507: /
459:Old Church.
457:St Lawrence
391:St Lawrence
234:Paleolithic
222:St Lawrence
203:Sandown Bay
97:St Lawrence
89:lower Niton
762:Categories
597:Daily Echo
482:References
404:, and the
363:A3055 road
327:sanatorium
176:subsidence
144:Cretaceous
76:escarpment
60:Undercliff
495:1°14′28″W
463:Steephill
375:Blackgang
308:Blackgang
238:Neolithic
164:Blackgang
133:Woody Bay
109:Bonchurch
101:Steephill
93:Puckaster
72:Bonchurch
719:cite web
580:Archived
530:Archived
351:Uffa Fox
477:Museum.
475:Ventnor
209:History
160:Ice age
115:Geology
105:Ventnor
744:
709:9 July
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389:) and
357:Access
299:, and
199:Graben
107:, and
703:(PDF)
696:(PDF)
465:Cove.
429:Chink
367:Niton
183:chalk
156:Chalk
148:bench
68:Niton
742:ISBN
725:link
711:2013
671:ISBN
433:The
427:The
385:and
345:and
321:, a
236:and
154:and
58:The
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142:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
