Introduction Textile workers reached and left early Victorian Bournemouth, but, by the period’s end, established firms had got their start. The category covered tailors, drapers, a milliner, a furrier as well as many dressmakers. Their comings and goings, but also the beginnings of established firms, perhaps illustrates economic trends during the resort’s early period. Fluidity […]
Introduction Hengist, a Masonic lodge established in Christchurch, moved to Bournemouth in 1851. Analysis of its early members provides insight into the resort’s early economy. The transfer marked an important stage in Bournemouth’s development, not least for the town’s relationship with Christchurch. Hengist Background and arrival The surviving list of Warden Masters suggests that Christchurch […]
Introduction The Belle Vue, a prominent hotel equipped with or connected to an assembly hall, featured often in community activities held at early Victorian Bournemouth. These events taken together illustrate the range of activities that gathered the town’s inhabitants, permanent and temporary. The Belle Vue Boarding house, hotel, community centre At first a boarding house, […]
Introduction Crime and punishment in early Victorian Bournemouth featured in the resort’s press coverage. The early settlement lay within the jurisdiction of Christchurch’s Petty Sessions. Felonies ranged from petty theft to arson, the latter causing much concern to local landholders. Magistrates consisted of local prominent men, for the most part landowners, but also a sprinkling […]