History of Bournemouth
In 1800, the area was largely a remote and barren heathland, used only by smugglers – most notably Isaac Gulliver, now considered one of the founding fathers of Bournemouth – and revenue troops.
There were villages at Kinson, Throop, Holdenhurst (where the oldest dwelling is located)[1] and Iford and a handful of buildings at Pokesdown but the area between these communities was just a wilderness of pine trees, gorse, ferns and heather.
No-one lived at Bourne Mouth and the only regular visitors were a few fishermen, turf cutters and gangs of smugglers who landed their cargoes of spirits, tea and tobacco on the deserted beach.
The Commissioners were Richard Richardson of Lincoln's Inn Fields, John Wickens of Mapperton and William Calpcott of Holdenhurst.
However, they managed to persuade William West, the farmer at Muscliff Farm, to create a petition on their behalf and to present it to the Commissioners at a meeting in Ringwood.
[2] More than half the land sold was bought by two men, William Dean of Littledown House, who paid £639 for 500 acres (2.0 km2) including the West Cliff and what is now King's Park.
Sir George Ivison Tapps, the Lord of the Manor of Christchurch, paid £1,050 for 205 acres (0.83 km2) including the East Cliff and part of central Bournemouth.
[citation needed] 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 (or 'chine') that led out into Poole Bay.
[citation needed] An inn had recently been built near what is now The Square (the centre of Bournemouth), 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.
Twenty-five years after the Tregonwells started work on their holiday mansion, Bournemouth was still only a small community with a scattering of houses and cottages.
It was this more than anything that put the town on the map as the perfect place for people with health problems, especially chest complaints which were far more common in the 19th century than today.
Under the guidance of their surveyor, Christopher Crabb Creeke, the Bournemouth Commissioners quickly launched a programme of work designed to improve the amenities of their town and make it more attractive to visitors.
The tramway system began its closure in 1929 when motorbuses of Hants and Dorset Motor Services were introduced as a tram replacement on the Lower Parkstone route.
Various building works were carried out – such as the Saint Stephen's Road bridge – to stamp the municipal identity on this area of the town; the war memorial was one of them.
Due to an attack by Teredo worm, the wooden piles were removed in favour of cast iron replacements in 1866, but even with this additional benefit just over a year later the pier was made unusable when the T-shaped landing stage was swept away in a gale.
[citation needed] With the addition of a bandstand in 1885, military band concerts took place three times a day in summer and twice daily throughout the winter.
Having demolished the old shoreward end buildings, replacing them with a new two-storey octagonal leisure complex, and reconstructed the pier neck in concrete giving it the bridge-like appearance that it retains today, the work was completed in two years.
[citation needed] As of 2019, the council levies a charge to walk on the pier during peak season – early April until late October.
During World War II a Bournemouth man lost his life when his Royal Air Force training airplane crashed in the United States.
Its replacement, opened two years later, was intended as an indoor bowls centre, but by chance turned out to have superb acoustics, and after the Second World War it became the orchestra's new home.
Before the opening of the BIC, the Winter Gardens welcomed just about every major entertainer of the day, including Maurice Chevalier, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Queen and Morecambe and Wise.
Westover Road's Odeon cinema began life as the Regent in 1929 and retains many of the art deco features of the era.
Recent research has suggested that local residents, especially those of a younger demographic are keen to see a new live entertainment venue, easily accessible to the surrounding areas.
Since the 1990s there have been increasing calls for the town, together with Poole, to attain official city status (as per the example of Brighton & Hove) due to its sheer expanse and regional importance.
Visitors and residents can enjoy stunning, panoramic views of Bournemouth beach, pier and town from the Big Wheel standing more than 100 feet tall.
Bournemouth was the first local council in the UK to install CCTV cameras in public places, introducing them on the seafront in 1985[citation needed].
[dubious – discuss][citation needed] Recently, a new £9.5 million Bournemouth Library was completed in 2003, winning the Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award in the British Construction Industry Awards competition in recognition of its relatively low cost and high fit with client requirements[citation needed].
In recent years the town has attracted a high number of jobs in financial services, with JP Morgan Chase, Liverpool Victoria, Abbey Life and Portman Building Society all opening major offices.
On 28 April 2015, AFC Bournemouth gained promotion to the Premier League [5], marking their first time in the top tier of English football since their founding in 1899.
