Royal Victoria Arcade | |
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General information | |
Status | Completed |
Type | Shopping arcade |
Classification | Grade II* |
Location | Ryde, Isle of Wight, England |
Town or city | Ryde |
Country | United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 50°43′53″N 01°09′42″W / 50.73139°N 1.16167°W |
Construction started | 1835 |
Renovated | 2001 |
The Royal Victoria Arcade is a shopping arcade in Ryde, Isle of Wight. Built between 1835 and 1836 and restored in 2001, the arcade currently has 14 shops and an underground museum. The arcade is a Grade II* listed building.
The Royal Victoria Arcade was built between 1835 and 1836, [1] [2] and was restored in 2011. [3] It was built for William Houghton Banks, who was an apothecary in Ryde. [4] The cost of construction was £10,000. [5] It was one of the first purpose-built shopping centres, and was named after Princess Victoria (later Queen Victoria), who had stayed at the nearby Norris Castle. [3]
The arcade is in the neoclassical style, [2] with three floors, and a 12 feet (3.7 m) avenue. [6] It has a dome rotunda, which was painted in the 21st century, and contains Doric pilasters. [3] Originally, the arcade had 14 shops, an underground market, and a space for art exhibitions. [7] Ten of the shops were approximately 13 by 8 feet (4.0 m × 2.4 m), and four larger shops under the rotunda had a shopfront of around 30 feet (9.1 m). [6] There was living space above the arcade. [3] The underground market was in an ice house made of brick. [3]
In 1856, the front entrance was modified, with the original three arches being replaced with a rectangular opening. [2] In the 1860s, one shop was used by the Royal Photographic Society. [8]
In 1950, Royal Victoria Arcade became a Grade II* listed building. [3] The arcade became derelict in the 1970s, after an attempt to restore it. [1] [3] It was proposed for demolition in 1971, but this was voted against after a public inquiry the following year. [2] After its restoration in 2001, the building once again has 14 shops and an underground local history museum in the former underground market. [1] [3] The original shopfronts were restored. [2] In 2019, the arcade was put up for sale, [1] and in the same year, it was proposed that the arcade was added to the Isle of Wight's Asset of Community Value list. [9]