Isle of Wight The oldest records that give a name for the Isle of Wight are from the Roman Empire: it was then called "Vectis" or "Vecta" in Latin, "Iktis" or "Ouiktis" in Greek. From the Anglo-Saxon period Latin "Vecta", Old English "Wiht" and Old Welsh forms "Gueid" and "Guith" are recorded. In Domesday Book it is "Wit"; the modern Welsh name is "Ynys Wyth" ("ynys" = island). These are all variant forms of the same name, possibly Celtic in origin. It may mean "place of the division", because the island divides the two arms of the Solent. The Isle of Wight is
Railways on the Isle of Wight railway link to the mainland was authorised by Parliament in 1903. The South West and Isle of Wight Junction Railway was a joint project between the London & South Western Railway and the FYN. The excavation of a two and a half-mile long tunnel was approved in 1903, 1904 and 1909. However, the tunnel project was abandoned due the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. As mentioned above, the IWCR and FYN had an agreement whereby the IWCR would provide the train service along the FYN line. However, in 1913 this agreement deteriorated to the point that the