Branksome, Dorset
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Branksome () is a suburb of
Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...
in
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
,
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 area consists of residential properties and also a number of commercial and industrial areas. It borders
Parkstone Parkstone is an area of Poole, Dorset. It is divided into 'Lower' and 'Upper' Parkstone. Upper Parkstone - "Up-on-'ill" as it used to be known in local parlance - is so-called because it is largely on higher ground slightly to the north of t ...
, another small Poole suburb, to the west and north west,
Alder Hills Alder Hills is a suburb in Dorset that crosses the boundaries of Bournemouth and Poole. It is south of Wallisdown, east of Alderney and north of Parkstone. History In July 2019, a huge heathland fire occurred in the area. It was reported th ...
to the north east, Branksome Park (a more affluent forested area) to the south and Westbourne (a suburb of
Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
, Poole's conurbation neighbour) to the east.


Overview

Until the late 19th century the area was mainly unbuilt
heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
and woodlands. With the development and growth of nearby
Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
and later
Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...
the area became popular as a place to live, mainly because the area was relatively undeveloped but yet was within commuting distance between Poole and Bournemouth. With the development of the railways, Branksome continued to grow, served by the new Victorian line between
Wimborne Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poole ...
, Poole and Bournemouth.
Branksome railway station Branksome railway station serves the Branksome and Branksome Park areas of Poole in Dorset, England. It is on the South West Main Line, down the line from . History The London and South Western Railway (LSWR) opened its line from Bournemo ...
which still serves the area today helped encourage a massive growth in the early 20th century. Most of the houses in Branksome today are from the Edwardian period and before the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
except for a 1970s development off of Winston Avenue known as the Farnham Estate and also a small amount of in-filling. The area became an official suburb of Poole in the 1960s and by the 1980s almost all open areas of Branksome were built upon. The area however still has some heathland towards the
Wallisdown Wallisdown is a residential and commercial area situated partly in Bournemouth and partly in Poole, in southern England. The appropriate ward is called Wallisdown and Winton West. Geography Wallisdown is situated on the border between Bournemo ...
and
Canford Heath Canford Heath is a suburb and area of heathland in Poole, Dorset, known for being the largest heathland in Dorset, and the largest lowland heath in the UK. It is also the name of the housing development built on the heathland in the 1960s, 197 ...
areas, as well as a large and popular park known as the Branksome Recreation Ground, which is home to Parkstone Cricket Club. Branksome merges with the area known as Branksome Park, an area of more expensive properties.


Commercial development

There are three main areas of commercial development within the Branksome Parish. The main area, Poole Retail Park (sometimes known as Redlands after the pipe factory once on the site) is situated along the main Poole to Bournemouth A35. It is a commercial and shopping area that includes several large chain stores. These include: *
John Lewis & Partners John Lewis & Partners (formerly and commonly known as John Lewis) is a brand of high-end department stores operating throughout United Kingdom, the UK, with concessions also located in the Republic of Ireland and Australia. The brand sells gene ...
at Home *
Homebase Homebase is a British home improvement retailer and garden centre with stores across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Founded by Sainsbury's and GB-Inno-BM in 1979, the company was owned by Home Retail Group from October 2006, unti ...
*Home Sense * Carpet Right *
Home Bargains Home Bargains is a British variety store chain founded in 1976 by Tom Morris in Liverpool, England, as Home and Bargain. It is the trading name of TJ Morris Ltd. History The retailer was founded by owner Tom Morris in 1976 as a single store ...
* Next Home *
Oak Furnitureland Oak Furnitureland is a British furniture retailer specialising in fully assembled hardwood cabinet and dining furniture, and sofa ranges. The company has stores across the UK, with its headquarters located in Swindon in Wiltshire, England. Histo ...
*
Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Boot or Boots may also refer to: Businesses * Boot Inn, Chester, Cheshire, England * Boots (company), a high-street pharmacy chain and manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in the United Kingdom * The Boot, Cromer Stre ...
*
Pets at Home Pets at Home is a British pet supplies retailer selling pet products including food, toys, bedding, medication, accessories and pets. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History The first stor ...
*DW Fitness Club The John Lewis store named John Lewis at Home opened in Branksome on 22 October 2009. The £6 million development is one-third of the size of a normal John Lewis
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
and is the first of a new experimental format for the retailer focusing exclusively on homeware. Accessed from Alder Road but essentially part of the Poole Retail Park area is a series of industrial buildings that were associated with the former confectionary factory that ceased operating in 2013. BCP Council approved plans for the site to be turned into a 70-bed residential care home with 32 extra care apartments in 2016. Aldi purchased the site in 2018, and made an unsuccessful bid to seek planning approval to turn it into a supermarket in August 2020. Despite this, the Daily Echo reports in February 2022 that the supermarket chain is now hopeful that a decision on its revised plans for a new store on the disused sweet factory site will be made "in the near future". The second area is situated on the old Gas Works site near to Yarmouth Road and Bourne Valley Road, known as Branksome Business Park it contains a number of industrial units. The third area is situated to the northern end of the parish and is known as the Sharp Road Industrial Estate. Just outside the parish and to the west lies another substantial industrial area which includes a post office sorting office and other commercial developments. Branksome has three main supermarkets,
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
,
Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...
and
Lidl Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, whi ...
. Both the Tesco and Sainsbury's stores have petrol filling stations attached. Along the A35 (Poole Road) there are a number of small independent retailers including fast food outlets, a bowling complex and a car showroom. The major insurer
Liverpool Victoria Liverpool Victoria, trading since May 2007 as LV=, is one of the United Kingdom's largest insurance companies. It offers a range of insurance and retirement products. History The First Hundred Years The first known meeting of the Society was ...
is situated towards the east of the boundary in a large building contained within the County Gates Roundabout. Along Alder Road are a number of small independent shops. This area is known locally as "Alder Parade".


Transport

Branksome is served by hourly South Western Railway trains, calling at
Branksome railway station Branksome railway station serves the Branksome and Branksome Park areas of Poole in Dorset, England. It is on the South West Main Line, down the line from . History The London and South Western Railway (LSWR) opened its line from Bournemo ...
on the
South West Main Line The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...
between Weymouth and
London Waterloo Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of ...
. However the closure of the
Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, also known as the S&D, SDJR or S&DJR, was an English railway line connecting Bath (in north-east Somerset) and Bournemouth (now in south-east Dorset but then in Hampshire), with a branch from Evercreec ...
cut the direct line linking to
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
. Branksome has bus links to many areas of Bournemouth and Poole. As of November 2022 Branksome is served by
morebus Wilts & DorsetCompanies House extract company no 1671355
Wi ...
services m1, m2, 15, 16, 17, 20 and U2.
National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...
coaches call at Branksome, Poole Road with services to
London Victoria Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street (not the Q ...
,
Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
and
Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...
.


Education

Branksome is home t
Bishop Aldhelm's CE Primary School.


Politics

Branksome lies partly within the UK Parliamentary constituency of
Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...
and partly within Bournemouth West. The Member of Parliament for Poole is Sir Robert Syms and
Conor Burns Conor Burns (born 24 September 1972) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bournemouth West since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Minister of State for Trade Policy from 2019 to 202 ...
for Bournemouth West. The unitary authority ward is Alderney and Bourne Valley, and is represented by Councillors Toby Johnson, Rachel Maidment and Tony Trent, in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch Council. Until the early part of the 20th century Branksome had its own council, the Branksome
Urban District Council In England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local gove ...
. This council's former headquarters were made into an Elderly Persons' dwelling in 1987 and called Bob Hann House after Robert George Hann, Mayor of Poole 1968/69, who was Chairman of the Poole Borough Housing Committee from 1973 until his death in 1986.


Places of worship

The parish church of Branksome is St Aldhelm's Church which falls within the
Diocese of Salisbury The Diocese of Salisbury is a Church of England diocese in the south of England, within the ecclesiastical Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of Dorset (excepting the deaneries of Bournemouth and Christchurch, which fall within t ...
. Other places of worship include:
Gateway Church
*Dorset Islamic Cultural Association


Medical

Heatherview Medical Centre
is located near to the Sainsbury supermarket off Alder Road in
Alder Hills Alder Hills is a suburb in Dorset that crosses the boundaries of Bournemouth and Poole. It is south of Wallisdown, east of Alderney and north of Parkstone. History In July 2019, a huge heathland fire occurred in the area. It was reported th ...
. The local clinical commissioning group i
NHS Dorset CCG


Industrial heritage

*Sharp, Jones and Co - Pipe Manufacturers *Bournemouth Gas Works *Railway Viaducts *Electricity Sub Station *Old clay work ponds


Notable residents

* Lord Ventry – Airship Pioneer. Owned a large house and land in between Poole Road and Lindsey Road.


References


External links

{{Commons category, Branksome, Dorset
Branksome Library

Branksome Recreation Ground

Branksome Parish Boundary

Bishop Aldhelm Primary School
Areas of Poole