The WI began on the IOW on Monday May 19th, 1919, when our oldest branch, Ningwood & Shalfleet, opened its doors.

The first Honorary Secretary of Ningwood & Shalfleet was Miss B Jennings, who did all her work from a ‘suitcase’ using a room in her home at Canmore.  However, after a fire in the house, minute books, correspondence and other documents were destroyed, it was thought safer to move to a safer, more permanent office.

In 1927 the first rented WI House was over a draper’s shop on the corner of Market Square (now St James’ Square) in Newport, now a jeweller’s shop.  The offices and ‘rest room’ were “open daily to all members of the Isle of Wight Women’s Institutes from 10am to 6.30pm (closed on Sundays and Thursdays).  It was a convenient place to make a cup of tea and meet fellow WI members from island villages who would mostly travel to Newport by train or bus.

In 1939 WI Headquarters moved to a room over God’s Providence house restaurant in Newport.  Formal notice was given to vacate the property in 1945.  There were then 1611 members.  It proved very difficult to find a property, but word on the ‘grapevine’ suggested a house at 42 The Mall, and the property was bought in July 1947 for £2250, having originally been built in 1864.  

In 1971 the IOW Federation celebrated its Golden Jubilee with 46 WIs.  The house was now far too small to accommodate representatives from every WI, so an application was made to extend it.  The costs of over £7000 were self-funded from numerous events and donations and the new extension was finally opened in March 1975, despite many restrictions and revisions of the plans.  In 1990, the office moved from the ground floor to the first floor, from where the work of the Trustees is still carried out to this day.

Based upon the book “Out of a Suitcase - the story of WI house from 1921 to 1991” by Mildred Morris

1897: The WI movement began at Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, in 1897 when Adelaide Hoodless addressed a meeting for the wives of members of the Farmers' Institute.

1915: WIs quickly spread and, in 1915, the first WI meeting in Britain is held in Anglesey (Wales), organised by a founding member of the first WI in British Columbia.

The organisation had two aims: to revitalise rural communities and to encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the 1st World War. 137 WIs had formed by 1917.

1918: The very first WI resolution was passed in 1918 at the NFWI’s second Annual Meeting and called for a ‘sufficient supply of convenient and sanitary houses, being of vital importance to women in the country’.

The organisation had its own magazine and the early years saw campaigns for free school milk for children, extra women police officers and more midwives for rural communities.

‍https://www.countryfile.com/countryfile/the-10-key-moments-in-womens-institute-history

Some excellent historical photos on this website.

‍1919: The WI reached the Isle of Wight. The first two IoW WIs - Ningwood & Shalfleet and Wootton Bridge - were formed on the same day, in May 1919. They both celebrated their 90th birthday in 2009, but unfortunately Wootton Bridge has since suspended.

‍1926: By 1926 the Women's Institutes were fully independent and rapidly became an essential part of rural life; there were now 4000 WIs with a quarter of a million members.

1938: In 1938, the British Government asks the Women's Institutes to help with preparations for the potential evacuation of children to the countryside in the event of war. Additionally, the WI, now a force of over 290,000 women, sets up a Produce Guild to encourage members to produce more home-grown food and preserve fruit and vegetables.

1948: After the war, in 1948, Denman College, the WI's centre for learning, first opens its doors to students.

2012: The first WI inside a women’s prison is formed in 1912. Since then, other prisons in the UK have followed the example, hoping to improve their inmates’ mental health.

2017: The WI is a women-only organisation, but clarified in a 2017 statement 'Transgender WI membership' that "Anyone who is living as a woman is welcome to join the WI and to participate in any WI activities in the same way as any other woman".

2021: The Isle of Wight county branch of the WI (Women’s Institute) reach its centenary on 25th November 2021. A flower festival and archive display took place at Newport Minster. All 31 IoW WIs at the time took part, to highlight many of the best parts of the history.