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Victorian Bournemouth (204)
4th Period

Victorian Bournemouth (204): ‘a fashionable wedding’

The family of bride and heiress, Lena Lance, could have formed the basis of a novel written by Trollope, Hardy or others. Humble origins to substantial wealth in a generation. A rich old man living in a coterie of single women kin to his wife. A sensational court case about forged wills, an uncertain solicitor, and much money. A society wedding sparkling with bling. Marrying into money only a generation older, she escaped Bournemouth’s nouveau riche nervous society for Midland respectability.

Victorian Bournemouth (202)
4th Period

Victorian Bournemouth (202): Oddfellows

The Oddfellows in Victorian Bournemouth evolved from a small lodge in the 1850s to a significant mutual aid society by the 1880s, supporting working people with sick-pay, health-care, and funerals. Their financial model centered on investing membership fees into mortgages, demonstrating their growing social respectability and communal identity amidst changing attitudes towards laborers.

Victorian Bournemouth (201)
4th Period

Victorian Bournemouth (201): Cab! Cab!

In the 1880s, cabmen in Bournemouth united against the Improvement Commissioners to safeguard their livelihoods amid growing tensions. They formed a union, facilitated social gatherings, and established a Slate Fund for mutual benefit. Their collective actions spurred political engagement, ultimately compelling the local authority to reconsider stringent regulations on cab practices.