History of Bournemouth

The history of Bournemouth and human settlement in the surrounding area goes back for thousands of years. Bournemouth is a coastal city on the island of Great Britain in Dorset, England, United Kingdom.

Before Inclosure

In 1800, the area was largely a remote and barren heathland, used only by smugglers – most notably Isaac Gulliver, now considered one of the founding fathers of Bournemouth – and revenue troops. 'Bourne Heath' was also known as Wallis Down in the north and Little Down in the south and east, and was part of the Great Heath of central Dorset which extended as far as Dorchester. To the east was Christchurch, to the west was Poole and to the north east was the River Stour. There were villages at Kinson, Throop, Holdenhurst (where the oldest dwelling is located) and Iford and a handful of buildings at Pokesdown but the area between these communities was just a wilderness of pine trees, gorse, ferns and heather. The area now called central Bournemouth and the Pier Approach was 'Bourne Mouth' – the mouth of the Bourne Stream. No-one lived at Bourne Mouth and the only regular visitors were a few fishermen, turf cutters and gangs of smugglers who landed their cargoes of spirits, tea and tobacco on the deserted beach.

The eastern part of the heath was called the Liberty of West Stour (later, the Liberty of Westover). It was divided into six tythings: ' Muscliff', ' Muccleshell', ' Throop', ' Holdenhurst', ' Iford' and 'Tuckton & Wick'. These areas were common land used by the inhabitants for livestock and by the poor for wood and turves.

The western and southern parts of the heath had once been a hunting estate 'Stourfield Chase' but by the late 18th century only a small part of this was maintained: the 'Decoy Pond Estate' (now known as 'Coy Pond' and being wholly in the neighbouring historic town of ''Poole'') comprising several fields around the Bourne Stream and including a cottage known as Decoy Pond House, which stood near where The Square is today.

Christchurch Inclosure Act 1802

Until 1802 the area was common land. The Christchurch Inclosures Act 1802 and the Inclosure Commissioners' Award of 1805 transferred hundreds of acres into private ownership for the first time. To implement the Act, three Commissioners were appointed to divide up the land and allot it according to an individual's entitlement. They were also empowered to set out the roads and to sell plots of land to pay for their work in creating the award. The Commissioners were Richard Richardson of Lincoln's Inn Fields, John Wickens of Mapperton and William Calpcott of Holdenhurst. Their clerk was William Baldwin of Ringwood.

Whilst the landed gentry were well represented with the Commissioners, the ordinary commoners who used and depended on the common land were concerned that they would lose all rights and would have nowhere for their animals and nowhere from which to collect wood and turves. However, they managed to persuade William West, the farmer at Muscliff Farm, to create a petition on their behalf and to present it to the Commissioners at a meeting in Ringwood. The result was that five areas of land, totalling , were set aside for the benefit of the occupiers of certain cottages "in lieu of their Rights or pretended Rights or customs in cutting Turves". These five areas are today known as ' Meyrick Park', ' Queen's Park', ' King's Park', ' Redhill Common' and 'Seafield Gardens' and are held in trust by the Five Parks Charity.

More than half the land sold was bought by two men, William Dean of Littledown House, who paid £639 for including the West Cliff and what is now King's Park. Sir George Ivison Tapps, the Lord of the Manor of Christchurch, paid £1,050 for including the East Cliff and part of central Bournemouth. Sir George decided to plant thousands of pine trees on his land. It was the valuable medicinal properties of these trees, combined with the invigorating sea air, that the town owes its origin.

In 1809, a new building appeared on the heath. Originally called the Tapps Arms after Sir George Tapps, and later the Tregonwell Arms. It stood where Post Office Road meets Old Christchurch Road. The pub was a favourite haunt of smugglers and later became Bournemouth's first post office. It was demolished in 1885.

When retired army officer Lewis Tregonwell visited in 1810, he found only a bridge crossing a small stream at the head of an unspoilt valley (or 'chine') that led out into Poole Bay. An inn had recently been built near what is now The Square (the centre of Bournemouth), catering both for travellers and for the smugglers who lurked in the area at night. Captain Tregonwell and his wife were so impressed by the area that they bought several acres and built a home, which is today part of the Royal Exeter Hotel. Tregonwell also planted pine trees, providing a sheltered walk to the beach. The town was to grow up around its scattered pines. Twenty-five years after the Tregonwells started work on their holiday mansion, Bournemouth was still only a small community with a scattering of houses and cottages.

Growth and development as a resort

In 1835 after the death of Sir George Ivison Tapps, his son Sir George William Tapps-Gervis inherited his father's estate and started developing the seaside village into a resort similar to those that had already grown up along the south coast such as Weymouth and Brighton. Sir George employed Christchurch architect Benjamin Ferrey to plan the Gervis Estate. The Westover Villas were commenced in 1837. Ferrey included hotels in his design for Bournemouth. The first two hotels opened in 1838. One was the Bath Hotel, which went on to become the Royal Bath, although the original building was much smaller and less grand than the current facility. The other was the Belle Vue Boarding House, which stood where the Pavilion is now and later became the Belle Vue and Pier Hotel. The 1830s also saw the beginnings of Bournemouth Gardens.

Bournemouth also acquired its first church in 1838; before this people had to travel to Poole, Holdenhurst or Christchurch for Sunday worship. The first church was converted from a pair of semi-detached cottages which stood in The Square roughly where Debenhams is today. A pointed turret was added to the roof and fitted with a bell. During the week the building was used as a schoolroom.

In 1840, Bournemouth was officially referred to as a single word.

By 1841, there were still only a few hundred people living in Bournemouth but that was soon to change. In that year the seaside village had an important visitor, a physician called Augustus Bozzi Granville