Branksome () is a suburb of

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

, in the

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It was created in 2019 and covers much of the area of the South Ea ...

district, in the ceremonial county of

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England. The area consists of residential properties and also a number of commercial and industrial areas. It borders

Parkstone Parkstone is an area of Poole, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It is divided into 'Lower' and 'Upper' Parkstone. Upper Parkstone – "Up-on-'ill" as it used to be known in ...

, 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 Branksome and Parkstone. History In July 2019, a huge heathland fire occurred in the area. It was ...

to the north east,

Branksome Park Branksome Park is a suburb of Poole in Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the ...

(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 unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

, 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 is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

and woodlands. With the development and growth of nearby

and later

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. The

Branksome Urban District The Branksome Urban District was an urban district in Dorset, England. It was created in 1894 and absorbed into the municipal borough of Poole in 1905. References See also * Branksome, Dorset Branksome () is a suburb of Poole, in the Bo ...

was created by the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...

and absorbed into the

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

in 1905 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 Pool ...

, 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 Bournemou ...

, 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 Bourne ...

and

Canford Heath Canford Heath is a suburb, an area of heathland, and an electoral ward in Poole, Dorset. It is 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 th ...

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

, 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. 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 under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

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. 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 History The first known meeting of the Liverpool Victoria Friendl ...

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 South Western Railway Limited, trading as South Western Railway (SWR), is the British state-owned train operating company that took over the services of the South Western Railway (2017–2025), operator of the same name from FirstGroup and MTR ...

trains, calling at

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 wes ...

between Weymouth and

London Waterloo Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a major central London railway 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 Undergroun ...

. However the closure of the

Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR, also known as the S&D, S&DR or SDJR), was an English railway line Joint railway, jointly owned by the Midland Railway (MR) and the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) that grew to connect Bat ...

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 Morebus (stylized as more) is a trading name of bus operator Go South Coast primarily used in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, and the wider Dorset area. Operations in the area were formerly part of the ''Wilts & Dorset'' brand, phased ou ...

services m1, m2, 15, 16, 17, 20 and U2.

National Express Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...

coaches call at Branksome, Poole Road with services to

London Victoria Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a London station group, central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, London, Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named afte ...

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

and

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...

Education

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

Politics

Branksome lies partly within the UK Parliamentary constituency of

and partly within

Bournemouth West Bournemouth West is a parliamentary constituency in Dorset represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Jessica Toale, a member of the Labour Party. Constituency profile The constituency includes the western portion ...

. The unitary authority ward is Alderney and Bourne Valley, and is represented by Councillors Adrian Chapmanlaw, Rachel Maidment and Tony Trent, on Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch Council. From 1894 to 1905 Branksome was an urban district,

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. On 30 December 1894

became a separate

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

from

Kinson Kinson is a former village which has been absorbed by the town of Bournemouth, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. The area became part of Bournemouth on 1 April 1931. There were two ...

. On 9 November 1905 the parish was abolished and merged with Poole. In 1901 the parish had a population of 8095. It is now in the

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...

of Poole.

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 the historic county of Dorset (which excludes the deaneries of Bournemouth and Christchurch, ...

. 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

. 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. * Charles Packe – Member of Parliament. Lived in Branksome and buried in the Packe family mausoleum

References

External links

{{Commons category, Branksome, Dorset
Branksome Library

Branksome Recreation Ground

Branksome Parish Boundary

Bishop Aldhelm Primary School
Areas of Poole Former civil parishes in Dorset