Lifeboat

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=100 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="06f64643.jpg"> <div> <I><B>The Isle of Wight Photo Gallery</B></I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#660000" FACE="Georgia Ref" ><I>  </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#660000" FACE="Georgia Ref" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><A HREF="isle_of_wight_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Index"><U><B>MAP</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id287.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Yarmouth"><U>Yarmouth</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id548.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lifeboat"><U>Lifeboat</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id549.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lifeboat"><U>Lifeboat</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id555.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Harbour Entrance"><U>Harbour Entrance</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id556.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Yarmouth Pier"><U>Yarmouth Pier</U></A>   |   <B>Lifeboat</B>   |   <A HREF="id605.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Yarmouth Harbour"><U>Yarmouth Harbour</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id557.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Band"><U>The Band</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id606.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Sweep"><U>The Sweep</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id607.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Man in a cage"><U>Man in a cage</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id608.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vintage Transport"><U>Vintage Transport</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id609.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vintage Transport"><U>Vintage Transport</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id612.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vintage Motor Cycles"><U>Vintage Motor Cycles</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id610.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="St James Church"><U>St James Church</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id611.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="High Street"><U>High Street</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id613.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mill House"><U>Mill House</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id768.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Helicopter"><U>Helicopter</U></A></div> <bR> <div>  <HEAD> <STYLE type="text/css">  </STYLE> </HEAD>  </div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=380 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="1ec75a5a3.jpg"> <div> <B>Y</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#660000" FACE="Georgia Ref" >armouth is famous as a yachting centre, its harbour jam-packed with boats seven months of the year.</FONT></div> <div> It also serves as the gateway to West Wight. The harbour is overlooked by the castle, which itself is easily missed, being small and tucked away behind its surrounding buildings, but it is open to visitors during the summer season and is in good state of preservation, with a Great Hall, Master Gunner's parlour, kitchen and gun platforms on show.</div> <bR> <div> <B>T</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#660000" FACE="Georgia Ref" >here is a sense of history in Yarmouth. It was probably the site of Celtic settlement before the Romans came (the name it was given in those days was Ermud, meaning the muddy estuary), and eventually, in the 12th century a town was built here by the Norman Baron de Redvers, who is believed to have given the town its first Charter in 1135. Some 200 years later Yarmouth was subjected to a series of attacks by the French, who sailed into the Solent and ransacked the town. This action was repeated in the 16th century when Henry VIII was persuaded that a castle was needed to protect that part of the island from attack. The castle was completed in 1574, since when Yarmouth has been free from French or any other invasion.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>F</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#660000" FACE="Georgia Ref" >or a time Yarmouth enjoyed an importance that was hardly justified by its size, but which was partly explained by the fact that one of its Governors, Sir Richard Holmes, decided to live there, and by the fact that, in 1584, it had been given a second Member of Parliament, a distinction that was finally removed by the Reform Bill of 1832, which deprived Yarmouth of both its MPs. Later Yarmouth was declared a "rotten borough', and stripped also of this status.</FONT></div> <div> In spite of such indignities the people of Yarmouth enjoyed some more practical benefits, including the construction of the bridge across the river Yar and the building of its pier, which was completed in 1876.</div> <bR> <div> <B>B</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#660000" FACE="Georgia Ref" >ut the limitations imposed by its position -with the sea on one side, the Yar on the west and marshy land to the south prevented any great expansion in size, and the population today is not much more than, 1,000 (compared with about 600 at the beginning of the 19th century).  As a result Yarmouth retains its compactness and a good measure of antique charm, though its popularity in summer can make it very crowded.</FONT></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>