Wick, Bournemouth
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Wick is a village on the south bank of the River Stour 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 north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, just short of the Stour's entry into
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 ...
. Along with the nearby village of Tuckton, it originally formed a
tithing A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or ...
in the Hundred of
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 ...
, before becoming part of the Civil Parish of Southbourne in 1894. The latter was incorporated into the Borough of Bournemouth in 1901.


Etymology and early settlement

The village name derives from the Old English ''wīc'', meaning "dairy farm". The village is mentioned in the ministers' accounts for the Manor of Christchurch in 1301, at which point the king (as
Lord of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...
) could claim the second-best sheep from every customary fold in Wick (there being at that time six folds), while the tenants in return were allowed pasture in the "demesne arable land" outside the ditch of
Hengistbury Hengistbury Head (), formerly also called Christchurch, Dorset, 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 te ...
. There are two references to a "Manor of Wick" in the Christchurch Cartulary, a series of charters drawn up by the monks of
Christchurch Priory Christchurch Priory is an ecclesiastical parish and former priory church in Christchurch in the English county of Dorset (formerly in Hampshire). It is one of the longest parish churches in the country and is as large as many of the Church o ...
. The first comes in 1331 in a survey of splotgabulum, a type of land tax payable to the clergy. From this, we learn that the Manor of Wick contained 276 acres of arable land, a messuage taxed at one shilling per year, and a
dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot (Scots Language, Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house Domestic pigeon, pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or b ...
which had grown dilapidated during the reign of
Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...
, and had fallen down. The second reference comes in 1406 when we read that, on 13 October that year, a large fish ("''uni magno piscis''"), 18 ft. long, had been washed up at "La Bournemowthe" and taken to the Manor of Wick, where it was cut into forty pieces. Four days later, Canon John Leye ventured across from the
Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
and was handed four portions of the fish as
tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...
. This, incidentally, is the earliest known reference to
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 ...
as a toponym.


Listed buildings

Wick today contains a number of Grade II listed buildings, among them Riverside Cottage, a high-pitched thatched cottage adjoining Wick Ferry, and Wick House, a substantial red-brick property almost opposite - probably built in the late eighteenth century for Richard Hughes, a noted informant on local
smugglers Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...
and the owner of Tuckton Farm. He put the property up for sale in 1784, when it was described as a "modern ... dwelling house in good repair", but there were no takers. The property was successfully auctioned in 1792 when it was purchased by the Sloman family, who eventually over-reached themselves by purchasing several breweries in Somerset; in 1891, John Sloman the Third was adjudged bankrupt with debts of £11,487 13s. 1d. By this point, Wick House had been put into trust, and thus remained occupied by the Slomans until it was sold and divided into four maisonettes in the 1950s. Further down towards Wick Green, there are more listed cottages including two whitewashed brick and slate properties, 'Quality' and 'Tranqility' (sic): the former was used as a retreat by the music-hall star Ella Shields in the 1930s, while the latter housed a tea-room and village shop, run by a Mrs. Knaggs, into the 1950s. Not far from these properties, in the middle of Wick Green itself, are two grass-choked flagstones covering a well, which was used by villagers into the 1930s.


Ecology

Wick Fields form an important part of the
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 ...
Nature Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...
and constitute a
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
(SSSI). Hengistbury Head, Wick Fields and adjacent land were declared a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) on 18 May 1990 under Section 21 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The meadows here have not been improved for agriculture and are therefore regarded as ‘ancient grassland’, rich in flowering plants and rushes. An increase in birds has been reported here, including the rare
Dartford warbler The Dartford warbler (''Curruca undata'') is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe and northwestern Africa. It is a small warbler with a long thin tail and a thin pointed bill. The adult male has grey-brown upperparts and is d ...
and the
Cetti's warbler Cetti's warbler (''Cettia cetti'') is a small, brown bush-warbler which breeds in southern and central Europe, northwest Africa and the east Palearctic as far as Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. The sexes are alike. The bird is named after ...
. Other birds include the
song thrush The song thrush (''Turdus philomelos'') is a Thrush (bird), thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has four recognised subspecies. Its distinctive Birdsong, song, w ...
,
skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially ...
,
kestrel The term kestrel (from , derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover ...
,
barn owl The barn owls, owls in the genus '' Tyto'', are the most widely distributed genus of owls in the world. They are medium-sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons. The ter ...
and
little owl The little owl (''Athene noctua''), also known as the owl of Athena or owl of Minerva, is a bird that inhabits much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, the Palearctic east to Korea, and North Africa. It was introduced into Britain at t ...
. The
otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...
is seen here occasionally, as is the now 'uncommon' water vole. A herd of Galloway cattle graze the land; these cattle are ideally suited to the harsh conditions of the coast and estuary and help manage the land by chewing and trampling down any overgrowth.


Wick Ferry

There has been a passenger-ferry from Wick across the Stour to Christchurch since about 1815, when it was set up to give employment to a farm labourer named Marshall, who had become unfit for farm work after being kicked in the thigh by a horse. It was operated by punt until 1947 when outboard engines were added to the ferry-boat, after which crossings began to be made in half the time.McKinstry, p. 148. The service was discontinued for a short period in 1957.


References


Bibliography

McKinstry, Alex, ''The Village of Tuckton, 35,000 B.C. - 1926'' (Christchurch: Natula Publications, 2015). Popplewell, Lawrence, ''Wick: The Last Village on the Dorset Stour'' (Bournemouth Local Studies Publications, 1995, 3rd edn.).


External links

Wick Ferry terminal, Christchurch, Bournemouth, United Kingdom circa 190

{{authority control Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
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 ...
Areas of Bournemouth