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Dear Members,
Another heat wave is perhaps keeping visitors away from Osborne. Our Membership Secretary recorded that only 301 of our members visited Osborne in July. It was also noted that visitor numbers were low for Cowes Week this year, and that the busiest day, 1,500 visits had been recorded, lower than previous years.
The Committee were pleased to authorise the payment for The Education Department’s Funding Request for:
(1) 10 sets of shoe brushes and polish, to re-establish the Victorian downstairs experience of shoe cleaning during school visits, for a total of £71.90
(2) 40 Floor cushions and 2 storage trollies, for use in the Education Suite, to avoid children sitting on the wooden floor, for a total of total £892.98.
RECENT EVENTS
Friday 17th July – The Terraces and Walled Garden tour.
Again, this proved to be a very popular event, which was enjoyed by all, although the heat did reduce the number attending. The group was divided in two with Frances leading the tour of the Terraces and Cynthia the Walled Garden. Both Frances and Cynthia are extremely knowledgeable of not only the planting schemes but also the history of the house and gardens. We all learnt so much.
At half time, the groups met back in the Education Rooms for refreshments, a chat and where historical information was available for members to peruse. After being suitably refreshed, members swapped tours and braved the heat once more!
Please click here for photos - Friends of Osborne | Guided Tour and Talk of the Terraces and Walled Garden
UPCOMING EVENTS
Thursday 10th September. Quiz Night.
Test your knowledge against our quiz mistress, Carolyn, in our fun filled quiz. Compete for the coveted challenge cup in 4 specialist rounds of 10 questions together with a Joker option.
Try your luck at the 20 table questions for a bottle of wine and win prizes in the raffle.
Enjoy a sausage and mash supper, from Osborne’s in-house catering team, during the interval.
Ticket price to include a sausage and mash supper - £20
There will be a bar available serving alcoholic drinks and mocktails throughout the evening.
Please click here for details and booking forms - Friends of Osborne | Quiz Night 2026
Friday 18th September. A talk: ‘Prince Albert, the Gardener’ by Toby Beasley.
Osborne is the place where Prince Albert really exercised his interests in gardening. He inherited gardens at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, and Balmoral was much more about countryside pursuits. This talk will explore some of the constraints and the need for efficiencies Prince Albert experienced and how the garden at Osborne became the sole place he could really develop 'his own' garden. We'll look at Prince Albert's garden design and planting ideas and some of the potential areas for future restoration.
Please click here for details and booking forms - Friends of Osborne | Prince Albert - The Gardener. Talk by Toby Beasley
Saturday 19th September 2026. Visit to Windsor Castle.
All attendees have now been emailed by Allison with details of the pick up times. These are also available on our website at Friends of Osborne | Visit to Windsor Castle - UPDATE - Pick Up Times
Friday 9th October. A talk: ‘Prince Albert on the IOW. Out of the Darkness and into the Light’ by Mark Earp
The talk covers the early lead up to Albert's arrival at Osborne. The talk looks at some of the things Albert did and created at Osborne; and finally, the consequences and legacy of his early death.
This talk will complement the talk that Toby is giving in September which looks at Albert as a gardener.
Please click here for details and booking forms - Friends of Osborne | Talk 'Prince Albert on the Isle of Wight'
October (date to be announced). Toby’s Autumn Walk
The Education Award update:
Anne Walters with Christopher Warleigh-Lack have decided on next year’s focus. The award will be split into the Key Stages, therefore, there will be KS1, KS2 and Secondary school delineations. The theme is to create a casket for the Durbar Room, containing a letter to Queen Victoria, to celebrate the 190th Jubilee year of this event. Anne has produced a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation for every school that participates. It was felt relevant that winning schools would have a fully funded visit to Osborne with the coach travel included. The Trophy will be presented to the overall winner.
The Royal Yacht Britannia Exhibition:
Those members who attended ‘A Yotties Tail’ talk earlier on in the year might be interested in a new exhibition in August at the Commodore’s House, Cowes, about the royal yacht and Cowes Week. The exhibition is open to 29 August.
Click here for further details - https://www.royalyachtbritannia.co.uk/cowes/
The Victoria Cross Trust
As reported last month, The Victoria Cross Trust has enacted gravestone cleaning of the five Osborne Naval College Cadets buried there, and on the many Officers of both the Army and the Navy who sadly died while convalescing at the Osborne Convalescent Home, most after serving in WWI. This cleaning work would have been cost c.£10,000 by a professional contractor but was undertaken as voluntary work by the Trust. Unfortunately, The Victoria Cross Trust does not fit into FoO’s criteria for a donation as Whippingham Church is not part of the Osborne Estate. However, should any of our members wish to donate to the Victoria Cross Trust then they are more than welcome to do so by contacting their representative on the Island, Gary Newman of the Wargraves Commission, on garycn28@gmail.com.
Library opening times in August
The Library, which is manned by volunteers, will be opened at the following times this month. For further details click here Friends of Osborne | Osborne Library - 2026
Friday 14th 10:00 –12:00
Monday 17th 10:00 –12:00
Friday 24th 10:00 –12:00
Monday 28th 10:00 –12:00
Friends of Osborne
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