Bournemouth, Hampshire
Historical Description
Bournemouth, a municipal borough and a much frequented watering-place in the parishes of Christchurch and Holdenhurst, Hants. It has two stations, East and West Bournemouth, on the L. & S.W.R., 107 miles from London. The town has increased rapidly, and contains many beautiful mansions and villas; it is much recommended by medical men for invalids on account of its mild and genial atmosphere, and for its extensive pine woods, for which this district is justly celebrated. The medicinal properties thrown off by the pine trees are invaluable to those suffering from pulmonary disorders. The water supply is obtained from the neighbourhood of Longham, Dorset, and is of the purest quality. The pier, opened in 1880, is of iron, with pitch-pine floor, and contains handsome and sheltered seats, with central bandstand; there is a landing-stage for steamers and boats; the total cost was £23,000. The harbour of Poole is entered from the Great Bay, west of the Isle of Wight, and is subdivided into the Christchurch, Hengistbury, and Poole Bays, Bournemouth being situated at the centre of the latter bay. The Church of St Peter was originally a mere seaside village church, but it has been so much enlarged and improved from time to time that very little of the original building remains, and it now stands a very fine structure in the modern Gothic style. It contains some elaborate specimens of carving, also many mural paintings, and some beautiful frescoes designed by Mr. Bodley. The living is a vicarage with an endowment of £150 with residence. The Church of the Holy Trinity is a red brick building in the Lombardo Gothic style, erected in 1869; it was enlarged in 1877, and contains a very fine pulpit of alabaster and coloured marble. The living is a vicarage endowed with £150. The Church of St Clement is a stone edifice in the 14th century style, erected in 1872. The living is a vicarage; gross value, £283 with residence. The Church of St Michael is a stone building in the Early English style, erected in 1876. The living is a vicarage endowed with £150 yearly and residence. St Stephen's Church is a very fine structure, erected in 1885; the walls are of brick, faced outwards with Swanage stone, and internally with Bath ashlar work. His Royal Highness Prince Oscar of Sweden was married in this church on 17 March, 1888. The living is a vicarage endowed with £150 and residence. The Church of St Augustine, built partly of stone and red brick, was opened in 1892. There are two chapels of ease, viz.-St Swithin's and St Ambrose. The Catholic Oratory of the Sacred Heart is a stone edifice in the Gothic style, erected in 1875. There are Congregational, Baptist, and Wesleyan chapels, a meeting-house for the Society of Friends, and a Unitarian chapel, which was erected in 1891. The Royal Victoria Hospital was erected as a memorial of the jubilee of Her Majesty's reign; it is a stone building containing 36 beds. The National Sanatorium for Consumption and Diseases of the Chest is a splendid stone building; lighted throughout with electric light, and contains 62 beds; this institution was opened in 1855, and cost about £15,000. The Firs Home for patients in advanced consumption is an admirable institution, and most comfortable in every way. There are several convalescent homes. The Hotel Mont Doré is situated on an eminence near the centre of the town. Adjoining the hotel is a large bath, containing Turkish and other baths, and a very beautiful winter garden has been added. There are about eight other first-class hotels, a considerable number of very fine boarding-houses, two clubs, a public library, a Young Men's Christian Association Institute, and one for young women, three public halls, a theatre, a school of art, a coastguard station, and four banks, while four newspapers are published weekly. The Public Winter Gardens have been re-arranged. There is a large pavilion, where a band plays twice daily. The post office, erected in 1880 at a cost of nearly £3000, is a building of Bath stone in the Classic style. Bournemouth was created a municipal borough in 1890. Acreage, 2415; population, 37,781. There is a park, covering 129 acres, in immediate proximity to the town.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Hampshire | |
| Civil parish | Christchurch | |
| Hundred | Christchurch | |
| Poor Law union | Christchurch |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Cemeteries
The Cemetery, in the Wimborne road, has an area of 25 acres, and contains a mortuary chapel, built in 1878: it consists of nave, chancel, transepts and a tower with spire: the transepts and chancel comprise the consecrated or Church of England portion, the nave being appropriated to the Nonconformists: the total cost was £20,000.
Church Records
The register of St. Peter's dates from the year 1845.
The register of the Holy Trinity dates from the year 1867.
The register of St. Clement's dates from the year 1872.
The register of St. Michael's dates from the year 1874.
The register of St. Paul's dates from the year 1890.
The register of St. Stephen's for marriages only, dates from the year 1902.
The register of St. Augustin's dates from 1893 for baptisms, and 1894 for marriages only.
The registers of St. John date from the year 1889.
The registers of St. Swithun's date from the year 1906.
The register of St. Ambrose's dates from the year 1906.
Churches
Church of England
Holy Trinity (parish church)
The church of the Holy Trinity, erected in 1869 from designs by Charles Fergusson esq. of Carlisle, is a cruciform building of diapered red brick, in the Lombardo-Gothic style, and consists of apsidal chancel with small aisles, organ chamber, vestry, clerestoried nave of five bays, aisles, and a tower of brick, containing a clock and 5 bells, chiming the hours and quarters: the stained east window is a memorial to Robert Herley esq, the donor of the site of the church: the pulpit, of alabaster and colored marbles, was erected by the congregation to Captain Maxwell Falcon R.N. in 1872: the reredos, presented in 1910, is in memory of the late Canon Eliot: there are sittings for 1,000 persons, 350 being free.
St Swithun, Gervis Road East
St. Swithun's church, Gervis road east, a chapel of ease to St. Peter's, and erected in 1876-91, at a cost of £10,092, is of Purbeck stone with Bath stone facings, and consists of chancel and nave: the reredos of white marble was the work of Mr. Earp: there are about 600 sittings.
St. Alban, Charminster Road
St. Alban's church, Charminster road, a chapel of ease to St. Augustin's, is a stone building in the Free Gothic style, and was erected in 1909 from designs by Mr. G. H. Fellowes Prynne, at a cost of £12,000: there are 800 sittings.
St. Ambrose, Westbourne
St. Ambrose's, Westbourne, also a chapel of ease to St. Peter's, and erected in 1907 at a cost of £22,000, is of Bath stone in the Perpendicular style, from designs by Mr. C. Hodgson Fowler, of Durham, architect, and will seat 860 persons.
St. Andrew, Malmesbury Park
St. Andrew's, Malmesbury park, a chapel of ease to Holy Trinity, erected in 1892, is an edifice of stone, completed in 1900: the east window is stained, and there is a reredos of oak, both being memorials: the church affords 700 sittings.
St. Augustin, Wimborne Road (parish church)
St. Augustin's church, Wimborne road, erected in 1891-2 as a chapel of ease to St. Stephen's, at a cost of £6,5OO, given by the Rev. Henry Twells M.A. and erected into the church as a separate parish in 1900, is a building of stone, designed by the late Mr. William Butterfield, architect, and consists of nave, aisles, vestry and organ chamber, and has sittings for 500 persons.
St. Clement, St. Clement's Road (parish church)
The church of St. Clement, in St. Clement's road, erected in 1872, is a lofty building of stone, with Bath stone dressings, in the Gothic style of the 14th century, from designs by the late Mr. Sedding, and consists of chancel, nave of six bays, north aisle, side chapel, north porch and a tower, added in 1893: the, entire cost of the building, of the church, the parochial schools, and vicarage house, and the endowment of the living was provided by Edmund Christy esq. late of the Knole, Bournemouth: the reredos of stone and alaster and a stained east window (a memorial to the late Lieut. Christy) were presented in 1883 by Joseph Christy esq, brother of the founder: there are sittings for 600 people.
St. John the Evangelist, Surrey Road (parish church)
The church of St. John the Evangelist, situated in the Surrey road, and just beyond the borough boundary, is an edifice of stone in the Early English and Decorated styles. The nave was begun in 1889 and the chancel added and both consecrated in 1898; the tower and spire were erected and the bells hung in 1906.
St. Katharine, Southbourne (parish church)
The church of St. Katharine, enlarged in 1900, is a building of stone, consisting of chancel, nave and aisles, and affords 600 sittings.
St. Mary's Mission Chapel, Springbourne
The Mission chapel of St. Mary, at Springbourne, in connection with St. Clement's, was opened in 1895, at a cost of £1,500.
St. Michael and All Angels (parish church)
The church of St. Michael and all Angels is a building of stone, with Bath stone dressings, in the Early English style, and was erected in 1876, at a cost of £12,519, from designs by F. Norman Shaw, but the tower in 1901 from the designs of J. Oldrid Scott esq.: a reredos of Caen stone and alabaster with red marble shafts was added in 1884, and a stained east window was erected in 1882, in memory of the late George Durrant, esq. by his niece, Miss Durrant: in 1889 a marble pulpit was placed in the church at a cost of £300, as a memorial of the mission conducted here in 1887 by the Rev. H. Armstrong Hall: there are 860 sittings, of which 460 are free.
St. Paul, St. Paul's Road (parish church)
The church of St. Paul's, at the junction of St. Paul's and Littledown roads, was erected during 1881-7, at a cost; of £6,000: it is of Purbeck stone, with Bath stone dressings, in the Early English style, and consists of apsidal chancel, nave of two bays, north aisle, south porch and a tower with spire at the east end of nave, reconstructed and a spire added in 1903, from designs by Mr. Sidney Tugwell, architect, of Bournemouth, as a memorial to Her late Majesty Queen Victoria: there are sittings for 750 persons, about half that number being free.
St. Peter (parish church)
The church of St. Peter, originally a small village church, has been enlarged at various times, and is now an edifice in a Modern Gothic style, consisting of chancel, with aisles, transepts, chapel, added in 1906 by the late W. Gibson esq, south porch, and a western tower with pinnacles and spire, together rising to a height of 195 feet, and containing 8 bells: the elaborately-sculptured reredos is by Mr. Earp: there are memorial windows to the Rev. George Stopford Ram M.A. vicar 1881-9; to the wife of Benjamin Lancaster esq. and to the Rebbeck family: all the other stained windows are also memorials: the church was enlarged in 1874-9, at a cost of £5,676, and affords 1,250 sittings, of which 400 are free. The churchyard, which is well laid out, contains a memorial to the Rev. Alexander Morden Bennett, the first vicar, d. 1880.
St. Stephen (parish church)
A temporary church having been erected and opened for service in August, 1881; the present church of St. Stephen, erected during the period 1881-97, at a cost of £30,000, under the superintendence of the late Mr. J. L. Pearson, architect, of London, and consecrated 11 Oct. 1901, is designed as a memorial to the late Rev. Alexander Morden Bennett, founder and first vicar of St. Peter's church, and consists of apsidal chancel, clerestoried nave, aisles of six bays, transepts and a tall lead-covered flèche rising above the crossing: the marble font, a memorial to Elizabeth Brackenbury, was provided, at a cost of about £200, by the ladies of the congregation: the marble pulpit was erected at a cost of £400, and there are several stained windows: H.R.H. Prince Oscar of Sweden was married at this church 17th March, 1888: there are about 900 sittings.
Baptist
Baptist Chapel, Lansdowne Road
The Baptist chapel, Lansdowne road, erected in 1875, at a cost of about £4,000, from designs by C. C. Creeke esq. is a building of brick and stone, in the Gothic style, and will seat 650.
Congregational
Congregational Chapel, Guild Hill Road, Southbourne
The Congregational chapel, in Guild Hill road, was erected in 1910, and has 150 sittings.
Richmond Hill Congregational chapel, Richmond Hill
The Richmond Hill Congregational chapel, erected in 1891 at a cost of about £17,000, is a building of stone in the Late Gothic style, from designs by Messrs. Lawson and Donkin, architects, and has a tower with spire about 130 feet in height: there are 1,200 sittings: attached is a lecture hall and school and class room, a manse with grounds and a caretaker's house: the freehold site was given by the late George Durrant esq.
The East Cliff Congregational chapel, Holdenhurst Road
The East Cliff Congregational chapel, in the Holdenhurst road, erected in 1879, at a cost of £5,000, is of brick and stone, and has a tower 90 feet high containing a clock: the chapel was enlarged in 1889, and schoolroom, class rooms, a lecture hall and library, and a house for the minister built, at a cost of about £3,600: sittings are provided for 1,000 persons.
Westbourne Congregational chapel, Poole Road
The Westbourne Congregational chapel, Poole road, erected in 1807-8, at a cost of £4,500, is of stone, and will seat 470 persons.
Methodist
Punshon Memorial Wesleyan chapel, Richmond Hill
The Punshon Memorial Wesleyan chapel, Richmond hill, erected in 1886, at a cost, including site, of £15,178, is a stone building, chiefly in the Early English style, and consists of chancel, nave, a tower with spire and a minister's vestry: there are sittings for about 700 persons: annexed are schools with class rooms.
Presbyterian
St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Exeter Road
St. Andrew's Presbyterian church, Exeter road, erected in 1887, is a building of stone, consisting of nave, aisles and a tower with spire 140 feet in height: the cost, including site, sessions house and class room for Sunday school, was about £12,000, and there are sittings for about 700.
Society of Friends
The Meeting House of the Society of Friends, Avenue Road
The Meeting House of the Society of Friends, in Avenue road, erected in 1871, is of red brick, and will seat, about 90 persons.
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Oratory of the Sacred Heart, Richmond Hill
The Catholic Oratory of the Sacred Heart, Richmond hill, is an edifice of stone, in the Gothic style, dedicated in 1875, the foundation stone having been laid 23rd July, 1872: it consists of chancel, nave, aisles and north porch, and a tower at the east end with spire, and containing an Angelus bell: the High altar, St. Joseph's altar and the Lady altar, each with its reredos, are of Caen stone, richly carved, and in 1903 a new altar, dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, was erected from designs by P. P. Pugin esq. by a lady of the congregation as a memorial to her daughter: the church was considerably enlarged in 1898, from designs by Mr. Pilkington, architect of London, at a cost of £7,000, and will seat about 700 persons.
Unitarian
Unitarian Chapel, West Hill Road
The Unitarian chapel in the West Hill road, erected in 1890, has sittings for 400 persons.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Bournemouth from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Bournemouth)
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Hampshire (County Southampton) is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Bournemouth are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Hampshire newspapers online:
- Portsmouth Evening News
- Hampshire Telegraph
- Hampshire Advertiser
- Hampshire Chronicle
- Aldershot Military Gazette
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitations of Hampshire, 1530, 1575, & 1622-34 is available to view on the Heraldry page.