Victorian Bournemouth (224) examined the resort’s Horticultural and Chrysanthemum Society, tracing its development and social impact. An annual Chrysanthemum Show provided the society’s focus. The society served as a networking hub for the privileged but also helped working people, or ‘cottagers,’ improve their lives by growing vegetables.
Victorian Bournemouth (223) studied the Springbourne and Malmesbury Park Ratepayers’ Association to examine the political and social identity among working people during the 1890s. The vocabulary used in their meetings indicates the presence of a strong, local culture. The members’ reaction to their exclusion from new secondary schools due to high fee levels suggests an interest in education as a means of advancement. During this period, local union organisers also focused more on education. Furthermore, in the year the Association was founded, Bournemouth experienced its first industrial strike.
Victorian Bournemouth (222) has examined the collective behaviour of the resort’s inhabitants. Beneath the infrastructure provided by the Corporation and the town’s economy, there flourished various forms of human activity. Future articles will provide a more comprehensive understanding by analysing individual groups and associations.
Victorian Bournemouth (221) has considered the main themes explored in the first quarter of articles published covering the resort during the 1890s. It has discussed how the decade involved change in many areas and levels. The new civic status of a borough required councillors and mayors to handle matters and adopt procedures in ways comparable to similar towns. The social profile of these men changed from that characterising the Improvement Commission in that men of leisure gave way to meritocrats, albeit of humbler origin. The continuing process of shaping Bournemouth’s image appears in the model of civic heroism propounded within magistrates’ obituaries. Presenting the town in a positive way to the new audience of institutional and personal investors applied these skills in the new discipline of Corporation Stock issues.
Victorian Bournemouth (220) analysed how the resort’s civic leaders introduced it to the dazzling yet perilous realm of Corporation Stock. With support from the government and the Bank of England, towns took encouragement to venture into this dangerous area. However, unsuspecting civic leaders risked stumbling if their town’s image of prosperity wavered. This could lead to a drop in stock prices and an increase in interest rates, making future issuance more difficult. Leveraging Bournemouth’s history of successful marketing, the town’s Councillors perhaps had less to fear from this financial trap compared to managers of other towns.
Victorian Bournemouth (219) has considered how obstacles of various nature interrupted the Council’s administration during its first decade. As the resort had hatched from its early seclusion, its commercial success attracted the attention of numerous regional and national agencies. These agencies often acted as impediments, sometimes causing complete halts rather than mere delays. Furthermore, within the resort, individuals had significant opportunities to obstruct and influence the Council’s decision-making process.
Victorian Bournemouth (218) examines the social backgrounds of men on the Malmesbury Park and Springbourne Ratepayers’ Association committee. Despite advocating for manual labourers’ issues, their elevated social status made them popular with voters, community stakeholders, and the establishment, allowing them to become prominent local politicians and even mayors, thus forming a second wave.
Victorian Bournemouth (217) has distilled characteristics of contemporary civic heroism by analysing obituaries published to eulogise many of its councillors. An image of purity and selfless dedication emerges, a historical revisionism in counterpoint to reported actions. It represents a parochial example of the ‘Great Man of History’. The obituaries represent a collective effort to equip Bournemouth’s explosive civic success with instant mythology.
Victorian Bournemouth (216) has provided an overall review of 1895, the year when Merton Russell Cotes became the mayor at bay. Appointed perhaps as an alternative to divisive political interests occupying the Council, his unilateral behaviour, descending at times into self-interest, proved fatal to his survival. Furthermore, despite claiming otherwise, his reactionary stance on the social aspects of Bournemouth’s commercial development perhaps constituted a much larger obstacle than overriding procedures within the chamber. The experiment of appointing a mayor without public representation appeared to fail.
Victorian Bournemouth (215) has reviewed the profiles and activities found for the borough’s first decade. Commonalities and differences appeared. At the heart of this analysis lies the finding that almost all the mayors hailed from humbler backgrounds compared to the elevated social positions they reached in Bournemouth. In a new position, the magistrates had to learn the best way to manage affairs during their years. Analysis of their business and civic records suggests that while religious and community participation seemed mandatory, each found a way to build a proprietary reputation.