Sun Hill Cowes - a little Cowes history

Numbers 49-47-45-43-41-39 Sun Hill, Cowes Old Town, IOW.

Cowes Old Town is a cluster of pastel painted streets that lead down from the Northwood Park area to the main Cowes High Street.

Now highly desirable quaint little coastal cottages, they once housed workers for the the ship building industry and shopkeepers for the nearby busy trade in the High Street.

Several of the houses in this street Sun Hill date back to the 18C, whilst others were rebuilt in the Victorian era and a few post WW2. Other than Ivy House, one of the town’s finest historical houses, the other cottages have frequently changed their names and house numbers over the years which makes census tracking almost impossible. Some of the documented professions of the street include straw hat cleaner, carpenter & joiner, shipyard driller, charwoman, yacht painter, seamstress, wine and beer bottler, yachts cook, watch and clock repairer, tailor, police inspector and town cryer.

Please read more about the history of Cowes buildings with more illustrations on our page Cowes History.