East Cowes

History

In 1894 East Cowes became an urban district, the district contained only the parish of East Cowes, on 1 April 1933 the district and parish were abolished and merged with Cowes. East Cowes Urban District Council was based at East Cowes Town Hall. On 1 April 1998 East Cowes became a parish. The name Estcowe (East Cowes) originally comes from one of two sandbanks each side of the River Medina estuary, so-called after a supposed likeness to cows. The name was subsequently transferred to fortifications built during the reign of Henry VIII on the east bank (East Cowes Castle) to dispel a French invasion, referred to as or cowes, which subsequently gave the name to the town. The naming of Cowes was done in a similar fashion. They replaced the earlier name of Shamblord. The settlement of Shamblord at East Cowes was first recorded in 1303. It grew as East Shamblord, and became a much more significant settlement than the Western Shamblord. As the Isle of Wight was the target of frequent French invasions, with some notable incursions, the fort built at East Cowes was later destroyed and should not be confused with the "East Cowes Castle" built subsequently by John Nash. During the reign of Queen Victoria, who made her summer home at Osborne by acquiring and rebuilding Osborne House, East Cowes was the subject of planned estate of grand houses, groves and parks. The scheme, not finding the finances it needed, folded, but a few residences built in the early stages still survive to this day such as the former Albert Grove residences of Kent House and Powys House on York Avenue. In East Cowes Norris Castle was designed in the Norman style by James Wyatt in the late eighteenth century. The building survives and today remains a private home. In 1798, the architect John Nash, began…