Yarmouth (Isle of Wight)
| Yarmouth | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 50 ° 42 ′ N , 1 ° 30 ′ W | ||
| OS National Grid | SZ356896 | ||
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| Residents | 855 (as of 1991) | ||
| administration | |||
| Post town | YARMOUTH | ||
| prefix | 01983 | ||
| Part of the country | England | ||
| region | South East England | ||
| Ceremonial county | Isle of Wight | ||
| Unitary authority | Isle of Wight | ||
| British Parliament | Isle of Wight | ||
Yarmouth is a port and civil parish on the north west coast of the Isle of Wight in southern England . The place is at the confluence of the Western Yar River and the Solent Strait . Yarmouth is the smallest town in the United Kingdom.
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history
Yarmouth is considered one of the earliest settlements on the Isle of Wight and has existed for more than a thousand years. The first written mention of the place under the name Eremue (which means something like "muddy estuary ") comes from the year 991 in a document of King Æthelred about the Danegeld . In 1135 the place received the right to call itself "town".
During the Middle Ages the place was a Parliamentary Borough and until 1832 also a constituency. Before a castle was built, the place was repeatedly invaded by the French and finally burned down in 1544. According to a legend, the church bells were brought to Cherbourg or Boulogne-sur-Mer . Three years later a castle was built under the name Yarmouth Castle , which is now part of the English Heritage . It served to monitor the Solent Strait and protect the Isle of Wight and prevent invasions.
In 1863 a bridge was built over the mouth of the Western Yar River to replace the ferry previously used. The Pier of Yarmouth was built in 1876 and is still the longest publicly accessible wooden pier England.
economy
There are a few shipyards in Yarmouth and a relatively large number of shops, hotels, pubs and restaurants for the population. Construction on the Newport Road, repairs to the Deadland Road bridge and problems with ferry traffic to the mainland caused store sales to decline 30% in 2009.
traffic
Yarmouth is connected to the mainland by the Wightlink Ferry to Lymington . The A3054 is the only road through the town. It connects the island's capital, Newport , with Totland via Shallfleet , Yarmouth and Freshwater . Passenger trains ran to Newport until 1953. After that, rail traffic was stopped and the rails were removed.
Attractions
Yarmouth is on the Isle of Wight Coastal Path . There is also the SSSI Yar Estuary and Boulnor and Hamstead Cliffs .
