2-696-150 - Kirk & Sons of Cowes/Heritage-Images

Princess Beatrice at Northwood House, Cowes, Isle of Wight, 1929. On 4 September 1929, Princess Beatrice (1857-1944), Royal Governor of the Isle of Wight and the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria, accepted from the owner Captain Ward the deed to Northwood House and grounds. Watched by a large gathering of townspeople, the Princess handed the deeds over to Mr F W Beken, chairman of Cowes Urban District Council. The gifting of Northwood House and Northwood Park, its 26-acre 'pleasure park', was conditional upon the house being used as municipal offices and the grounds 'as pleasure gardens for the people of Cowes'. The house, dating back to 1799, was rebuilt to designs by John Nash.