Bournemouth
Until the early 19th century the area where Bournemouth now stands was just heathland where cattle grazed. 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. An inn had recently been built at what is now the Square, 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 the first of its pine trees, providing a sheltered walk to the beach. The town was to grow up around its scattered pines.
Bournemouth quickly became a destination for affluent holidaymakers and for invalids in search of the sea air. The railway reached Bournemouth in 1870, which made it more accessible, and increased the number of
Today it is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the South coast. People are attracted to the mild climate, still scented by the pine trees planted so many years ago, the wonderful miles of sandy beaches, the splendid shopping centre and the many attractions on offer.
It is also renowned for its beautiful Pleasure Gardens that have won many national awards, the gardens include flower borders with displays of colourful bedding plants, large pines trees, palms, ornamental shrubs, ponds, aviaries, squirrels and a bandstand with regular concerts etc.
Bournemouth Pier, another Victorian legacy, is a truly splendid pier, with a fairly unique and charismatic facade. Home to a fantastic pier theatre, with shows that run several times a week, there is also a restaurant and, of course, no pier would be complete without, an arcade.
The very first pier in Bournemouth was a simple jetty that was finished in
Bournemouth Pier
visitors. The town grew at a phenomenal rate. St Peter’s Church was soon too small for the growing town and so a new church was built in 1880.
One of Bournemouth’s most prominent Victorians, Sir Merton Russell- Cotes, successfully campaigned to have a promenade built. Sir Merton, who built the Bath Hotel, also donated his art collection to the town, while his wife donated their home, East Cliff Hall - now known as the Russell- Cotes Art Gallery and Museum.
The Bath Hotel, now known as the Royal Bath, has attracted many important visitors during the years, including Oscar Wilde, HG Wells, Richard Harris, Sir Thomas Beecham, Shirley Bassey, and prime ministers Disraeli, Gladstone, Asquith and Lloyd George. Royal guests have been Edward VII and Edward VIII when each was the Prince of Wales and George VI when he was the Duke of York.
By 1890, Bournemouth was recognised by Queen Victoria, who granted it the status of a Borough, complete with its own Mayor. It expanded at an astonishing rate, swallowing up Westbourne, Boscombe Spa and Southbourne-on-Sea, which had once been competing resorts. By the middle of the twentieth century it was one of the major coastal towns of England.
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1856. Yet a mere 6 years later the jetty was replaced, with a longer pier, of wooden construction. Due to infestation by teredo worm, cast iron piles were installed in 1866 to replace the wooden ones. But the structure of the pier was simply not sound and in 1866, the landing stage was blown away, literally overnight, in a gale.
The remainder of the pier was replaced and in use until 1876, when a storm demolished even more of it, rendering it too short to accommodate steamboat traffic. Eventually a new pier, designed by Eugenius Birch, was erected in 1880 at a cost £21,600.
The pier grew in popularity and the structure remained sound, until it was sectioned by an army demolition team in the spring of 1940 as a precaution against German invasion during the Second World War. It re- opened in 1946 and underwent various repairs and upgrades over the coming years, until in 1976, it was discovered that the pier had suffered quite extensive corrosion.
As a result, and at a cost of £1.7m, a major restoration programme began in 1979, which saw the pier neck reconstructed in concrete, giving it the ‘bridge’ like appearance that it retains today.
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