Southbourne is 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 ...

, in the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

area of

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 ...

, 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. It is situated between Boscombe and

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

. The area was previously known as Stourfield. Strictly, Southbourne refers to the area near to the coast; areas further inland are West Southbourne, Tuckton and

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

. It was historically part of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

until 1974.

History

Southbourne was the creation of Thomas Armetriding Compton, an enterprising young physician, who set up general practice in Bournemouth in 1866 and could see the area's potential as a health resort. Prior to his arrival the clifftop land here had been part and parcel of Tuckton Farm, Southbourne being founded precisely where the piggeries had stood. This area of clifftop land was purchased by Compton in 1871 and was later developed by the Southbourne-on-Sea Freehold Land Company, founded in 1882 with Compton as principal shareholder. Some older properties did exist on the outskirts of the area. Around 1766, for instance, Edmund Bott had built a Georgian mansion to the east of

Pokesdown Pokesdown is a suburb of Bournemouth, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole districts, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It lies just east of Boscombe and west of Southbourne, Dorset, Southbourne. History It is believed that Pokes ...

village, commanding views of

Christchurch Harbour Christchurch Harbour is a Harbor, natural harbour in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England named after the nearby town of Christchurch, Dorset, Christchurch. Two rivers, the River Avon, Hampshire, Avon and the River Stour, Dorset ...

; he named it Stourfield House. One of the most celebrated inhabitants of Stourfield House was Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, a notorious eccentric who used to set places for her pet dogs at the dinner-table. Stourfield House later became a care home, mainly for servicemen who had been injured in the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Today only the front steps survive, leading to a block of flats in Douglas Mews; the steps are marked by a

Blue Plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

. The original, extended building was demolished in 1990. Southbourne also had a short-lived pier. It was built by Compton's company in 1888 at a cost of £4,000 and was 300 feet long. There were regular boat-trips between the pier at Southbourne and the pier at Bournemouth. Unfortunately the pier, promenade and nearby sea wall built by Dr. Compton (to rival the resort at Bournemouth) were heavily damaged by storms in December 1900 and January 1901. A buyer for the pier was unable to be found and it was eventually demolished in 1909 due to public safety concerns. On 11 July 1910, Britain’s first international aviation meeting was held on a specially laid out

aerodrome An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes inc ...

consisting of a mile of grassland between Tuckton and the "Double Dykes" near

Hengistbury Head Hengistbury Head (), formerly also called Christchurch Head, is a headland jutting into the English Channel between Bournemouth and Mudeford in the English county of Dorset. It is a site of international importance in terms of its archaeolog ...

. Aviators from around the world competed in a variety of contests, including spot landing, altitude tests, and speed trials (both for the fastest and slowest circuit).Bournemouth’s flying circuses , Dorset Life - The Dorset Magazine
/ref> Charles Stewart Rolls, co-founder of

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

and pioneer

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

was killed on the second day of the meeting, while attempting a precision landing. The event was Britain’s earliest fatal flying accident involving a powered aircraft. The site is marked by a memorial on the sports fields of St Peter's School. In 1894 Southbourne 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 ...

, being formed from part of Christchurch, on 30 September 1902 the parish was abolished and merged with Bournemouth. In 1901 the parish had a population of 799. 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 the unitary authority of

Today

Southbourne is considered a more relaxed area for tourists keen to escape the busier areas of Bournemouth town centre, although the number of guest houses in the area has declined in recent years. The main area of Southbourne is Southbourne Grove, a long shopping street with largely occupied by independent shops. Another local centre is Southbourne Crossroads, which is further east towards

. Seafield Gardens is a public open space which has, since 2001, won a

Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

; it offers various outdoor facilities, including

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

. It also features a watertower. The easternmost part of the area is called

. Southbourne's primary attraction is its sandy

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a Not-for-profit organi ...

, which is considered quieter compared to the more crowded beach along the coast at Bournemouth. Between the clifftop coastal road and the promenade and beach is the Fisherman's Walk Cliff Railway, a

funicular railway A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ends ...

that provides access to Southbourne beach. In recent years there has been an increase in the construction of apartment buildings and holiday homes near the sea, examples including the ''Saltaire Building'' which was constructed in the early 2000s.

References

External links

View of Southbourne at Wikimapia
{{Bournemouth Areas of Bournemouth Former civil parishes in Dorset