IWFHS Resource Centre

Opening times

Our opening times are:

Tuesday afternoons : 1 pm to 4 pm

Wednesday mornings : 10 am to 1 pm

Please advise our Librarian, Hazel Pullen, if you intend visiting.

Find Us

We're in Northwood Cemetery at Cowes in the West chapel

The address is Newport Rd, Cowes PO31 7ER but don't necessarily rely on Satnav to get you there if you are coming by car. There's plenty of parking in the cemetery grounds.

If you come by bus the service is the No 1 from Cowes or Newport - make sure you get the one that says via "Park and Ride"  (not via Roundhouse) and get off at Cowes Medical Centre stop. 

Google maps link :
https://maps.app.goo.gl/JJkSE6gQukCmQnTb7

Background

We are pleased to be part of the Heritage Resource Centre at the West Chapel, Northwood Cemetery.

Thanks to the efforts of the Friends of Northwood Cemetery, funded mainly by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, the Chapels at the Cemetery have been restored and fitted out to modern standards. The West Chapel is now used as a Heritage Resource Centre with representatives of Friends of Northwood Cemetery, and the Isle of Wight Family History Society, on hand to assist with cemetery, local and family history research.

Please note : Northwood Cemetery is a working Cemetery, managed by the Isle of Wight Council Bereavement Services section. Priority is given to any funeral services and visitors should be respectful of the needs of people attending such services and other visitors to the grounds.

There is limited parking at the Cemetery, and visitors should not use the nearby Medical Centre Car Park. The Park and Ride car park at Somerton is a few hundred metres away (one bus stop away). Southern Vectis bus services (Route 1) from Cowes Red Funnel Terminal or Newport Bus Station pass the door (use the service showing 'via Park & Ride' which operates approximately every 15 minutes - do not use the service showing 'via Roundhouse').

The full address of the Centre is Northwood Cemetery, 196-198 Newport Road, Cowes, Isle of Wight, PO31 7ER. This is given for directional and SatNav purposes only :- Please - do not use this address for postal correspondence as it could go astray. If you need to contact us by post, please see the Committee addresses in the latest quarterly Journal.

A DDA compliant toilet facility is available to visitors.

Correspondence

We prefer contact by e-mail in the first instance.

For general enquiries, please contact Enquiries

For any Membership enquiries, please contact Membership Secretary

For anything relating to the Website or its content, please contact the Webmaster

For any administrative matters, please contact the Secretary

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Dedications

We are indebted to the late Miss Barbara Chard of Cowes, a long-standing member who died in 2013. She generously bequeathed £3,000 to the Society, and we have used this bequest towards our contribution to the Project, our equipment and our library holdings.

We also receive many generous donations during the year, from existing members, and we have earmarked much of this funding to the acquisition of Island related books and up to date reference material. 

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Library Services

Our volunteers have personal subscriptions (which we can use to assist visitors) to the following family history services :

FindmyPast (this includes Isle of Wight newspapers including the Isle of Wight County Press up to 1911)
Ancestry *
FamilySearch *
Isle of Wight County Press Archive

We also have copies of popular monthly Family History magazines. 

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Library Catalogue

We are currently working on our Catalogue of holdings, including up to date reference material, local Isle of Wight books, and collections of material donated by members, including books, postcards, and other artefacts.

For the Catalogue to date, please see this searchable database :

IoWFHS Library Catalogue

We have facilities to copy, scan and print materials for personal use (subject to copyright where applicable).

The Heritage Resource Centre is 'free to use' but donations towards our running costs, and any materials, will be welcomed.

Non-members are asked to become temporary members (just a quick signature and a suggested minimum donation of £1 is all that is required) to enable us to offer access to privileged material available to our full members.

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