Salvation Data 0800 075 0720

Cowes
Cowes from the sea
Cowes  Cowes shown within the Isle of Wight
Population	9,663 [1]
OS grid reference	SZ493958
Unitary authority	Isle of Wight
Ceremonial county	Isle of Wight
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	COWES
Postcode district	PO31
Dialling code	01983
Police	Hampshire
Fire	Isle of Wight
Ambulance	Isle of Wight
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Isle of Wight
List of places: UK • England • Isle of Wight

Cowes

The population was 9,663 in the 2001 census,^[1] a figure that is easily doubled during the regatta in early August.

Leland's nineteenth century verses described the towns poetically as "The two great Cowes that in loud thunder roar, This on the eastern, that the western shore".

Cowes Castle is home to the Royal Yacht Squadron. The town gives its name to the world's oldest regular regatta, Cowes Week, which occurs annually in the first week of August. Later on in the summer, powerboat races are held.

Much of the town's architecture is still heavily influenced by the style of ornate building which Prince Albert popularised.

Cowes is a gateway town for the Isle of Wight. Travellers to Southampton are served by a high speed catamaran passenger ferry from Cowes known as the Red Jet. Southern Vectis route 1 is the main bus service in Cowes, serving the Red Jet terminal and running to Newport to take travellers on to other Island destinations.^[3] Wightbus also run local services around Cowes and Gurnard. The Cowes Floating Bridge connects the two towns of Cowes and East Cowes throughout the day. It is one of the only chain ferries left not to have been replaced by a physical bridge.

Cowes Esplanade and Cowes Castle (home of the Royal Yacht Squadron)

Cowes is the start of the Isle of Wight Coastal Path.^[4]

The name Westcowe was attested in 1413 as the name of one of two sandbanks, on each side of the River Medina estuary, so-called after a supposed likeness to cows. The name was subsequently transferred to fortifications called built during the reign of Henry VIII on the east and west banks of the river to dispel a French invasion, referred to as cowforts or cowes. They subsequently gave their names to both Cowes and East Cowes, replacing the earlier name of Shamblord.

In earlier centuries the two settlements were much smaller and known as East and West Shamblord; the East then being more significant settlement.

As the Isle of Wight had been a target of attempted French invasions, some had notable incursions. The west fort in Cowes still survives to this day, albeit without the original Tudor towers, as Cowes Castle. The eastern fort was destroyed.

It is believed that the building of an 80 ton, 60 man vessel called Rat O'Wight^[5] on the banks of the river Medina in 1589 for the use of Queen Elizabeth I sowed the seed for Cowes to grow into a world renowned centre of boat-building. However, seafaring for recreation and sport remained the exception rather than the rule until much later. It was not until the reign of keen sailor George IV that the stage was set for the heyday of Cowes as 'The Yachting Capital of the World.' In 1826 the Royal Yacht Squadron organised a three-day regatta for the first time and the next year the king signified his approval of the event by presenting a cup to mark the occasion. This became known as Cowes Regatta and it soon grew into a four-day event that always ended with a fireworks display.

In Cowes the 18th century house of Westbourne was home to a collector of customs whose son, born there in 1795, lived to become Dr Thomas Arnold, headmaster of Rugby School.

Northwood House was the home of the Ward family. It was donated under trust to the town in 1929, the grounds becoming Northwood Park. William George Ward was a close friend of the poet Tennyson and in whose memory the poet wrote six lines.

Cowes and East Cowes became a single urban district in 1933.

During an air raid of World War II, the local defences had been fortuitously augmented by the Polish destroyer Blyskawica (itself built by White's in East Cowes), which put up such a determined defence that, in 2002, the crew's courage was honoured by a local commemoration lasting several days to mark the 60th anniversary of the event. In 2004 an area of Cowes was named Francki Place in honour of the ship's commander.^[6]

Local industry in both Cowes and East Cowes has always centred on the building and design of marine craft and materials associated with boatmaking, including the early flying boats, and sailmaking. It is the place where the first hovercraft was tested.

Major present-day employers include BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies (Insyte), which occupies the site of the old Somerton Aerodrome at Newport Road, Cowes; and GKN Aerospace in East Cowes.

The population of the town increases dramatically during Cowes Week, and becomes the busiest time of the year for local businesses. The town has recently been reported to be doing well, despite the economic downturn.^[7]

Princes Zita of Bourbon-Parma, future Empress of Austria-Hungary was educated at a nearby convent as a young girl

Dr Thomas Arnold - Headmaster of Rugby School

Jeremy Irons - film actor and Oscar and double-Emmy winner

Cliff Michelmore - BBC television and radio presenter/producer

Mark King - Bassist and Lead singer of Jazz/Funk Fusion band Level 42

Albert Ketèlbey - Composer, Conductor and Pianist

Kenneth Kendall - Journalist and Broadcaster

Celia Imrie - Actress

Uffa Fox - Naval architect, Author, Yachtsman