Exhibitions in the Heritage Centre

Saunders Roe Princess flying boat

East Cowes over 200 years - A permanent exhibition displays the history of East Cowes over 200 years with maps, photographs, models and text. Plans to include more subjects, film archive and sound recordings using publicly-accessible tablets are underway.

Rockets and Satellites - Black Knight, an experimental rocket for the space programme and Black Arrow, the UK's only satellite-carrying rocket, were built at East Cowes and tested at the Needles before being launched into space in Australia.

Queen Victoria's Island home - Consider the great influence of Queen Victoria who came to live at Osborne House in 1845. East Cowes became the centre of the British Empire when she was in residence and she died here in 1901.

Early Hovercraft - East Cowes was the birthplace of the hovercraft. In 1959 Sir Christopher Cockerell designed the SR-N1, the forerunner of the giant cross-channel craft of the late 20th Century.

Flying Boats - England's first flying-boat took flight in 1913, from Samuel Saunders' workshops which went on to develop aircraft for the military. In the 1950s the first jet-powered flying-boat, the SR.A1, and the largest metal flying-boat in the world, The Princess were built here.

Heritage Centre displays

Royal Architect's home - Find out about Regency architect John Nash, the designer of many buildings in London including Regent Street and the interiors of Buckingham Palace. Nash lived in a castle he designed and built for himself in East Cowes.

East Cowes in Victorian times - Learn about the home for retired seamen built in memory of an explorer who was killed by an elephant. Trace the development of the Botanic Gardens of 1842 and the LIFU steam-vehicle factory. See the displays illustrating the Royal Naval College and the Trinity House Depot, both of which were based in East Cowes.

Ships and Shipbuilding - Shipbuilding has been a key industry for many centuries until its closure in 1965. J.S. Whites built many vessels for navies around the world and include a long list of ships which fought in both World Wars. HMS Cavalier, now a museum ship at Chatham Dockyard, was constructed here.

Boats and Lifeboats - The boatyards of Cowes and East Cowes built hundreds of lifeboats for the RNLI over the last 160 years. Lifeboats are still built in East Cowes today.