Island Harbour Marina, on the Isle of Wight, UK, is a commercial marina on the River Medina in the small hamlet of Binfield. It is located approximately halfway between Cowes and the County Town of Newport. Being a relatively small marina, it best suits pleasure craft of up to 20 metres in length. The marina accommodates both annual berthholders and short-term visiting craft.
As the River Medina is tidal, the marina has lock gates to maintain a sufficient operational depth. It also means that access to the marina by boat is dependent on the state of the tide and the draught of the vessel concerned. A table showing the approximate access times is shown below.
Island Harbour Marina was built in 1966 on the site of a demolished water mill, with the main part of the marina being formed by enlarging the original millponds. The marina's creators and first owners were cousins Alan and Colin Ridett, together with Robert Trapp.Isle of Wight County Press dated 2 October 1965, Page 13
As well as arriving by boat, access to the marina can be gained by car, bus and river water taxi. A new riverbank cycle-way has recently been completed between Newport and Island Harbour Marina, with further plans for it to be extended to the Folly Inn in the future.Isle of Wight County Press dated 23 January 2015, Page 55
Features
As well as the marina, there is a large hardstanding area for around 100 boats to be stored ashore. The marina also has its own on-site restaurant. There is an on-site chandlery, boat builders and repair workshop, with a 50-ton travel hoist.
At Island Harbour there are also 96 holiday homes and three permanent dwellings situated within the marina grounds. In November 2014, work began on building a further 25 holiday apartments, due for completion in early 2017. A brand new customer showerblock was completed in June 2015 and in 2016, work was started on two more blocks of apartments. Also in 2016, the on-site restaurant was greatly enlarged and refurbished and a new chandlery and boat repair workshop was built on land to the rear of the hardstanding.
A major feature of the site is the paddle steamer Ryde, currently in a very poor state. More details of this vessel are shown below.
At the far eastern end of the marina is a nature reserve, where birds and other wildlife are left completely undisturbed. On the southern boundary of the marina land is a fairly large lake, which is currently unused.
Road access to Island Harbour is via Mill Lane, which connects to North Fairlee Road (A3054). In Mill Lane, adjoining Island Harbour, is Binfield Farm. The farm has long been associated with Island Harbour and been in common ownership.
Tidal access times
The safe access times up the River Medina to Island Harbour, before and after High Water are as follows, depending on draught:-
Draught Spring Tides Neap Tides Up to 1.0 metre +/- 4 1/2 hours Unrestricted 1.5 metres +/- 3 hours +/- 3 hours 2.0 metres +/- 2 hours +/- 2 hours Over 2.1 metres +/- 2 hours Check with marina office
To stay in the deepest water, yachtsmen should steer straight for the green navigational buoy immediately off of the marina's holding pontoon. A 90 degree turn to port just before it, will take vessels parallel to the pontoon and into/through the lock. Yachtsmen should be beware of the mudbanks either side of the entry channel and stay within the channel markers.
The Spice Bus
On 18 July 2014, The Spice Bus was put on permanent display at Island Harbour Marina. It is the original bus used in the Spice Girls' 1997 film, Spice World. In the film, the brightly-coloured, Union Flag painted tour bus driven by Dennis (Meat Loaf) transports the Spice Girls around London to all of their engagements and appearances.Isle of Wight County Press dated 25 July 2014, Page 4
The Spice Bus is a 1978 British Leyland Bristol VRTSL3 double-decker.
History
From the Medieval times onwards The known history of Island Harbour goes back to the Middle Ages when the land was owned by the medieval abbey of St Mary of the Quarry (or Quarr Abbey), which was founded in 1132. The abbey was granted areas of the nearby parish of Whippingham in the early to middle of the 13th century by Henry de Clavill. Shortly afterwards, the abbey also acquired the lands of Cleybrokes or Cleybroc, which would have encompassed the whole of the Island Harbour site. The prominent features of the site are the two 'lucks' or streams which flow into the River Medina. One of these has been known at various times as both Claybrooks Luck and Great Luck, whilst the other is North Fairlee Luck.
Around 1250, the monks built a mill on the site and dammed the two lucks to form "sea-ponds" or fishing lakes. It is unclear whether they were actually used for fish or for oyster cultivation, which has always been a very lucrative industry on the River Medina. There was also a dedicated farm called Claybrook Farm, which is now known as Binfield Farm. With its access to the River Medina, it is thought to have been a possible route through which the abbey transported its wool to Southampton.
Later, in 1430, the Cleybrokes Farm site was leased by the abbey for life to William Knyt; and in 1487 to Joan Legge, widow of Thomas Legge. In 1517, this lease was passed on to John Pocock of Chillerton. Then, in 1536, with the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII, ownership of the lands passed from Quarr Abbey to The Crown. It remained a crown possession until 1628, when it was granted by Charles I to The City of London in satisfaction of debts owed.
Later, Claybrook Luck came under the control of Claybrook Farm and North Fairlee Luck came under the control of Heathfield Farm. Both were being used for oyster production, which is perhaps an indication that this was always the case. Oyster production carried on here right through the 17th and 18th centuries, with the oysters of the River Medina being widely regarded as the best in England! In fact, oysters were still being cultivated commercially in the River Medina right up until 2005.
In 1711, there was a dispute over who had the rights to produce oysters in the two lucks, which went to court. John Redston and Edward Faulkner were farming them, with the permission of the land-owners. However, as a fisherman by the name of William Cave had been granted sole rights by the Borough of Newport to fish the whole of the River Medina, he believed that he also had the sole rights to the lucks as well. He confiscated 2000 oysters, as well as firing a warning shot over the head of one of Redston and Faulkner's workers.
East Medina Mill
In 1790, a local baker called William Porter built East Medina Mill on the site, in partnership with William Gregory, a Newport hairdresser.Isle of Wight County Press dated 4 August 1945, Page 5 Built on the site of a former army barracks, it was to become one of the great English tide mills. The oyster lakes became the mill's millponds and the water wheel was placed right where the current marina's lock gates are now situated. Almost from the moment when William Porter built it, East Medina Mill became known as Botany Bay Mill, because it supplied the transport ships which were taking convicts to Australia.
East Medina Mill was originally 80 feet long, 30 feet wide and built on five floors. It had an undershot wheel, two sets of barley stones, one American wheat cutter, one oat cutter, three pairs of French stones, a flat roof for drying; and could grind thirty loads of wheat per week. Having both mill ponds full on Spring tides, gave enough water flow to turn the wheel sufficiently to run the mill for six hours. Vessels of up to 70 tons could berth alongside the mill in the river, for loading and unloading.The Hampshire Chronicle dated 26 December 1791
The southern half of the mill, described as a "bakehouse and storehouse", was from the start still occupied as a hospital and barracks by His Majesty King George III's troops. These were Hessian mercenaries from Germany and Prussia. In 1794, eighty four of these soldiers died of typhus and were buried in the nearby Whippingham Church. There is a memorial there to them, placed by The Landgraf A F of Hesse in April 1906. During the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s, French soldiers were also barracked at East Medina Mill as prisoners of war.
As well as building East Medina Mill, Porter also built West Medina Mill on the other side of the river (nicknamed 'Port Jackson') and Yarmouth Mill. However, in doing so, he over-stretched himself and the Newport Bank, which financed him, foreclosed on the loan. He was declared bankrupt in 1791, before their completion and died soon after in 1794 of a malignant fever.Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette dated 29 May 1794, Page 4 The Hampshire Chronicle reported that he left a pregnant wife and four small children totally unprovided for.John Albin's 'A New, Correct, and Much-improved History of the Isle of Wight', 1795 West Medina Mill was also used as barracks, housing Dutch soldiers of Count Bentinck's regiment. It seems that the soldiers at both East and West Medina Mill were barracked there in between being sent to assist in, among other things, the quelling of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Following William Porter's bankruptcy in 1791, the mill was put out on lease, awaiting its sale. William Roach took over the lease for the mill and its lands from John White, Esquire of Fairlee in 1797. He eventually bought the mill outright. He then also built East Medina House, which was to become the residence of many of the owners of East Medina Mill. This house still exists in Mill Lane, although its name was changed to Tide Mill House some years ago.
In 1856, a carter by the name of Daniel Sheath was killed, whilst working at the mill. He was stopped in his wagon when another gig passed by, out of control, after its horses took fright. Sheath got down from his wagon and endeavored to stop the horses, but was run over and died of a fractured skull.Hampshire Advertiser dated 29 March 1856, Page 8 In 1863, there was another death at the mill when the 22 year old Henry Slade was dragged into a bean crusher by his clothing, which was revolving at 600 revolutions a minute. He died instantaneously, sustaining serious head injuries, a broken back and two broken legs. He was described as a sober, steady man, but careless around machinery. An accidental death verdict was given.Hampshire Advertiser dated Saturday 12 December 1863, Page 11
The mill remained in Roach's family for the next 140 years, spanning eight generations, with John Roach being the last to operate it. In 1930, much of the mill was badly damaged by a terrible storm which ripped off most of the roof and sent it flying up to 100 yards into nearby cottages. In 1933, the aging Roach sold the mill to the Newport Corporation (the local council), but stayed on as a tenant until September 1937, by which time he was 78 years old. He also owned West Mill and Lower Shide Mills, but by the time of his eventual retirement in 1939, he only had West Mill left. Newport Corporation advertised for new tenants for East Medina Mill, but from the time that John Roach left it, the mill was only ever used as a place of storage by the Council. Evidence shows that they allowed it to fall into a state of disrepair and by 1943 it was considered to be structurally unsafe. In 1945, the disused building was damaged even further by a major fire and it was finally demolished in 1950.
The Medway Queen Marina