: ''Hamstead should not be confused with any of the many places called

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

.'' Hamstead is a small rural settlement in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Shalfleet Shalfleet is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. it is located between Yarmouth and Newport in the northwest of the island. Background The name "Shalfleet" means "shallow stream". The stream in this case is the stream passing th ...

, on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

. It is located about three miles east of Yarmouth, in the northwest of the island, between the settlements of Cranmore in the east, Ningwood to the south, and the Newtown River to the east. The northern edge of Hamstead on

the Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain; the major historic ports of Southampton and Portsmouth lie inland of its shores. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit whic ...

forms the centre of the Hamstead Heritage Coast.

History

The celebrated architect John Nash (1752-1835), designer of London’s

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George IV of the United Kingdom, George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash (architect), J ...

, was a landowner in Hamstead and neighbouring areas in the early 19th century. Nash redesigned Hamstead Farm, part of the Hamstead Estate, in 1806 for his own use. In 1832, Nash built the Hamstead Tramway, which was the first railway on the Isle of Wight. This horse-drawn tramway connected Hamstead Quay on Newtown River with Nash’s property Hamstead House. The tramway supplied goods to the estate. It had ceased operations by 1860. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Hamstead was the site of support infrastructure for the Western Solent anti-submarine boom. The barrier ran from Hamstead Point to Sowley on the mainland, and supported nets to create a physical barrier to submarines attempting to enter

Southampton Water Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point, where the estuaries of the River Test and River Itchen meet. Along its salt marsh-fringed we ...

from the west. A concrete ramp used for the boom is still visible next to Hamstead Ledge. In 1959, the

Central Electricity Generating Board The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was responsible for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales from 1958 until privatisation of the electricity industry in the 1990s. It was established on 1 Januar ...

proposed the construction of a nuclear power station at Hamstead Farm. The proposal was opposed and blocked by the Solent Protection Society.

Walking

The Hamstead Trail starts in the settlement, connecting Hamstead Point on the Solent in the northern coast of the island to Brook Down and Brook Bay on the southern coast. The

Isle of Wight Coastal Path The Isle of Wight Coastal Path (or Coastal Footpath) is a circular long-distance footpath of 70 miles (113 km) around the Isle of Wight, UK. It follows public footpaths and minor lanes, with some sections along roads. Route The pat ...

passes through Hamstead between Newtown and Yarmouth.

References

Hamlets on the Isle of Wight Shalfleet {{IsleofWight-geo-stub