A former Isle of Wight yacht club with royal history is going under the hammer this month.

The four-storey Prince Consort waterfront building at St Thomas Street, Ryde, has a freehold guide price of £350,000 - £400,000.

Overlooking the Solent, the property was completed in 1847, with the foundation stone having been laid by Prince Albert in the spring of the previous year.

It was formerly known as the Royal Victoria Yacht Club.

The yacht club was based in the building until 1966, after which it has had a varied history, having initially traded as a restaurant.

In more recent years, the upper two floors have been converted into apartments, and the lower two floors were last in use as a call centre.

Historian, David White, touched on this historic building in his lasted County Press heritage article.

He wrote: “Have you ever wondered how it got its name? When Queen Victoria lived at Osborne her husband Prince Albert applied to join the Royal Yacht Squadron.

“However, so the story goes, he was refused membership, mainly because he was German, so what did Victoria do? 

“She built him his own rival yacht club, thus named The Prince Consort Yacht Club.

“It proved to be very prestigious, having many influential people of the time as members.”