# Coach House. Isle of Wight. May 2012.



## gushysfella

For your next instalment form the sunny Isle of Wight, the Coach house at Blackgang. To be honest It wasn’t until I hear on the local news a few weeks back about a further land slip in the area that I remembered about this place. I did a report on the old holiday Village at Blackgang in August last year, (if your interested)
http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=19963&highlight=wightand at the beginning of the photo’s is an old house standing right at the edge of the cliff. Did a little research and put it away for another day.



Said house is the Blackgang coach house & pub bit of goggling came up with loads of info but nothing that really made sense! Everything relating to the coach house was from around 1811 to 1843 when Blackgang chine amusement park was first built, but the house is not that old.....so a little history digging and a few further trips needed, this is after what I’ve found.

A bit of back ground first................The Blackgang area, is on the most southern tip of the Isle of Wight, and runs from Ventnor, to Chail. It sits in a natural Plato between the sea and the Highest points on the Island, known as the downs. (Think 4 steps, Bottom step beach, top step the downs.) As you go up the steps from the beach Blackgang amusement park sits on step two, with the road on step three. When it rains, water at step 4, the downs, soaks into the soft limestone right down to the clay and sits there in a void, until it fills, this then pushed the top soil down the steps to the level below, then again to the level below and again to the sea. The result is known as landslip and everything in its way ends up at the same place, step one the sea!

These landslips are nothing new, evidence shows that they have been happening from the start, of the end of the ice age, which formed the Island. The first major one to result in a need to rethink the roads in this area of the Island was in the 1920’s. 

Windy corner, on the old Blackgang road 1920 something............



windy courner 1920's by gushys fella, on Flickr

Windy corner 1927



windy corner 1929 by gushys fella, on Flickr

Council reports say the total land lost in the area is around 3.75 meters a year, but major land slips accrue every 15 to 20 years after a spell of dry followed by wet weather, and what do you know, after 3 years of dry we are now in the wettest since 2004 on the island. 

New land slips at Blackgang this year 




may 2012 by gushys fella, on Flickr 




may 2012 by gushys fella, on Flickr

And Compton which is the beach behind chail




compton carpark by gushys fella, on Flickr


The last few land slips, 1971, and 1989 completely cut off the Blackgang holiday village, (above report) leaving many buildgs and cars cut off, just before the Amusement park. Now as I’ve been looking into the whole area and my first thoughts on the coach house and it’s age, the road has been moved back 3 times in the last 100 years. Over 25 builds have been lost and the parks about to look at moving again! The coach house that stands today is in fact the third replacement! It was originally the Blackgang pub, owned by the Amusement park owners 1901 to 1936. Then used during the war as a look out / coast guard station. In the 1950’s turned back into a pub/hotel, 1970’s to 80’s children’s holiday home, ran by a charity for problem children. Then bought privately to convert into a holiday home in 1988 a year before the last major land slip, that’s left it abandoned ever since. 


With the number of landslips this year and the 15-20 year idea of the councils we could be looking at another biggy soon I thought I’d better get back to the Coach house before it’s gone!

A map showing the old road that was in RED, Holiday village, amusement park and the coach house.
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map bg by gushys fella, on Flickr


The coach house as is to today...................
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Blackgang Coach House 2 by gushys fella, on Flickr

In the background to the right, you can see a further house; this was the main office and living quarters to the son of the present owner of Blackgang amusement park. Lower half bricked up with an 8 foot fence around and so over grown, there was no way of getting close, this time!

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Blackgang Coach House 7 - Copy by gushys fella, on Flickr

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Blackgang Coach House 12 by gushys fella, on Flickr

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Blackgang Coach House 19 by gushys fella, on Flickr

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Blackgang Coach House 20 by gushys fella, on Flickr

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Blackgang Coach House 25 by gushys fella, on Flickr

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Blackgang Coach House 34 by gushys fella, on Flickr

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Blackgang Coach House 31 by gushys fella, on Flickr

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Blackgang Coach House 43 by gushys fella, on Flickr

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Blackgang Coach House 50 by gushys fella, on Flickr

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Blackgang Coach House 37 by gushys fella, on Flickr

The views from the down stairs rooms at the front of the building were spectacular, but to take a photo, I needed to be right at the window to show how close this is to a almost shear drop to the sea, with the sun right in my face I wanted height but looking through the ceilings at the floor joists was a little un nerving! 

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Blackgang Coach House 44 by gushys fella, on Flickr

Looking up the stairs, all looks good.......half way up and with the sound of splitting wood under 17 stone, the carpet started to push through the step my right foot was on. Rather than jump the last few up and being stuck up there I jumped down. This is when I realised the floors below where in no better state!



Blackgang Coach House 1 by gushys fella, on Flickr

That was the end of the road as they say! Will keep any eye on the area and show any updates when, it happens. Hope it wasn’t to boring and a few more on my flicker if still interested. Thanks for looking keep safe GF


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## UrbanX

Wow, what a history, and ace photos too! I love the car park falling away too, be careful where you park!


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## gushysfella

UrbanX said:


> Wow, what a history, and ace photos too! I love the car park falling away too, be careful where you park!



Compton is know as the islanders beach, if you don't know it's there you miss it, even on a really busy day nice and quite. When we first moved to the island we spend everyday just driving round and found the car park, parked in a spot now gone! In 6 years two whole rows vanished and in frount of them was a footpath and fence!


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## krela

It's not long for this world is it?


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## gushysfella

krela said:


> It's not long for this world is it?



You’re not wrong there Krela! Further landslip, Sunday night all be it a small one, but has allowed so I have been informed, new access to a section of the old black gang road with houses on! Have a look at the map below, looks like a busy weekends coming GF




new buildings by gushys fella, on Flickr


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## sandra

*New buildings*

Just a "heads up"...

These buildings are in the old "Cowboy Town" part of Blackgang Chine and are not accessable to the public, being fenced off within the park boundaries.

There is no road there.


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## gushysfella

Hi Sandra welcome to DP!

Think you a little north, the houses are below the holiday village to an area just before you come to the park. (So I've been told!). Was planning a trip out this weekend but it didn't happen.

Are you local to the area? With you being a new member you can't PM yet so drop me an email we'll exchange notes! [email protected]. Thanks for the "heads up" GF


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## Hendreforgan

Amazing . . . somebody actually bothered to replace the roof!

The flat roof for this property - yes, what's there now isn't a "builders bodge" - was completely torn off during the Big Gale of October 1987 leaving the timbers completely exposed . . . 

. . . which means that the owners still thought the property had a "future" even then!

PS : As an ex-resident of the Island I can remember when Blackgang Chine was all on the other side of the new road.


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## tempest70

Cracking set of pics!



> The coach house that stands today is in fact the third replacement! It was originally the Blackgang pub, owned by the Amusement park owners 1901 to 1936. Then used during the war as a look out / coast guard station. In the 1950’s turned back into a pub/hotel, 1970’s to 80’s children’s holiday home, ran by a charity for problem children. Then bought privately to convert into a holiday home in 1988 a year before the last major land slip, that’s left it abandoned ever since.



Unless I'm in the wrong place the more recent history doesn't quite add up. The Old Coach House must have been a pub around 1988 as it was one that a few of us used to go to from time to time, typically en route to Barney's Roadhouse (also long gone) in Brighstone. Several years ago it was brandishing a banner with the name 'Merlins' on it( presumably being run by the same people who have Merlins Cafe in Ventnor High Street). They would apparently do home delivery curry from there although I can't say I have had one from there. If that was the case then it must have held the mantle as being the most remote curry house around! lol

EDIT: 'Merlins' pic on Wikimedia Commons, dated 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Merlins_Bistro_and_houses_at_Blackgang.JPG

Sad to see the state of the place in your photos, but you are not going to stop Mother Nature doing her thing!

Regards, Kev


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## gushysfella

watch ya tempest70, your a building out! looking at you photo merlins is on the left, the coach house is about 100meters left again! welcome from a fellow wight'er by the way GF


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## Ramsgatonian

Nicely done, you don't see stuff like this every day!


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## tempest70

gushysfella said:


> watch ya tempest70, your a building out! looking at you photo merlins is on the left, the coach house is about 100meters left again! welcome from a fellow wight'er by the way GF



Thanks for the welcome! I havent been down to that place since it was the boozer. Now having had a look on Google Maps I am indeed a building out! Shocking to see the landslip right up to the building frontage on that view! :O

On another note: I posted to another thread about a place not far from here and now the thread seems to have disappeared! Whats going on there?


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## rambling rose

There was a road I remember going for a drink with my mother and aunt back in 1972. Do they still have an Undercliff Road? IOw revisted in 1996, many places had gone, slipped into the sea.


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## tempest70

There is 'Undercliff Drive' which runs from Ventnor to Niton. Parts of this have fallen away over the years, but remains a through route.Along this road was the 'St. Lawrence Inn (closed) and at the Niton end, down St. Catherines Road (towards the lighthouse) is the 'Buddle Inn'. This one is still open!


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## gushysfella

tempest70 said:


> There is 'Undercliff Drive' which runs from Ventnor to Niton. Parts of this have fallen away over the years, but remains a through route.Along this road was the 'St. Lawrence Inn (closed) and at the Niton end, down St. Catherines Road (towards the lighthouse) is the 'Buddle Inn'. This one is still open!



Buddle Inn, had a "few" pints in there


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## gushysfella

IT'S GOING, IT'S GOING!!!! 

Follow the link below relating to the area in the above report.............. 

http://www.islandecho.co.uk/news/emergency-services-descend-on-undercliff-collapse/


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## flyboys90

Thanks for link,it must be scarey when this happens.


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## gushysfella

Tbh it’s started a bit of an argument/conspiracy on the island, there’s more to it than the locals are being told! The whole area has been moving, last year, there was a little slip here, little slip there, the Military road from just outside Ventnor, and in a number of places was been reduced to one lane, due to the slowly crumbling road side and then the road was closed for a time, for what was said to be “works”, to the power lines that run parallel to the road. Next thing, army flown in nobody was informed and there is reports homes were evacuated PDQ. Worrying time for them there is a lot of homes this time that could just slip away! Anything happens I’ll keep you all posted GF


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## UrbanX

Cheers for the update fella!


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