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The Square is a public square in
In the 18th century Decoy Pond House stood at the point where a plank was used to cross the Bourne Steam on the track from Poole to 
The Square later became a large roundabout, with the clock being relocated into a clock tower at the roundabout's centre. By this time the clock tower had become known as the "Leaning Tower of Bournemouth".
The roundabout was removed in October 1992, and since 2000 the square has been almost totally pedestrianised. The old clocktower is now the site of the Obscura Café, so called because it once incorporated a functioning
Bournemouth Town Centre
Bournemouth Town Centre is an area of Bournemouth, Dorset. The town centre is the central business district and is located near the coast between West Cliff and East Cliff.
History
In 1908 a tramway accident killed 7 people in the Town Cent ...
that marks the centre of Bournemouth, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The Square separates the Central Gardens from the Lower Gardens.
History
In the 18th century Decoy Pond House stood at the point where a plank was used to cross the Bourne Steam on the track from Poole to Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
. The River Bourne still flows under the Square.
In 1848 composer Hubert Parry
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is be ...
was born next door to The Square and is marked with a blue plaque.
In 1925, a tram shelter was built at the center of the Square, with a clock on the top, which was given by Captain HB Norton, a magistrate and former Councillor.
The Square later became a large roundabout, with the clock being relocated into a clock tower at the roundabout's centre. By this time the clock tower had become known as the "Leaning Tower of Bournemouth".
The roundabout was removed in October 1992, and since 2000 the square has been almost totally pedestrianised. The old clocktower is now the site of the Obscura Café, so called because it once incorporated a functioning camera obscura
A camera obscura (; ) is a darkened room with a small hole or lens at one side through which an image is projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole.
''Camera obscura'' can also refer to analogous constructions such as a box or tent in w ...
, and the clock was installed at the top of the cafe.
Stores
*Debenhams
Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish ...
- Formerly Bobby & Co.
* Sports Direct
Frasers Group plc (formerly known as Sports Direct International plc) is a British retail, sport and intellectual property group, named after its ownership of the department store chain House of Fraser. The company is best known for trading pre ...
-(Formerly JJB Sports
JJB Sports plc was a British sports retailer. On 24 September 2012, shares in JJB Sports were suspended, and the firm called in administrators. On 1 October 2012, it was announced that Sports Direct had purchased part of the business, includ ...
)
* M&S
* Primark
Primark Stores Limited (; trading as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland) is an Irish multinational fast fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. It has stores across Europe and in the United States. The Penneys brand is not us ...
-(Formerly BHS)
* Beales
* House of Fraser-(Formerly Dingles)
* WHSmith
WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and m ...
* Waterstones
Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...
* TK Maxx
TK Maxx is a subsidiary of the American apparel and home goods company TJX Companies based in Framingham, Massachusetts. The stores operate throughout the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands, totall ...
* Wilko
* River Island
River Island is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores and online.
Best known for its trend focused womenswear offering, River Isl ...
* H&M
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Square, Bournemouth Buildings and structures in Bournemouth Geography of Bournemouth Squares in England