History of Bournemouth and its neighbourhood for the period 1836-1856.
Introduction Migrants and their families achieved success by making important contributions to early Victorian Bournemouth’s economy and society. Several kinship groups came from the hinterland framed by the towns of Wimborne and Cranborne and the Allen and Crane rivers. Study of the Joy family, based in Hinton Martel, a village lying at the centre of […]
Introduction Immigration provided the majority of early Victorian Bournemouth’s residential population. Although sited in Hampshire, almost as many people came from Dorset as from Bournemouth’s home county. In particular, the rural hinterland separating Wimborne from Cranborne proved a fertile departure point for Bournemouth’s immigration. The stream of immigrants from Dorset to Bournemouth occurred at a […]
Introduction Property people during Victorian Bournemouth’s early period began with gentlemen investors but by its close professional financial institutions had appeared. Along the way, builder-developers featured to no small extent. Two social features ran through this process: a range of social types; the existence and influence of kinship groups. Respectable commerce Professionals Bournemouth’s Victorian historian, […]
Introduction Middling people at early Victorian Bournemouth may have taken social action together but did not always share the but did not share the same characteristics. Profile analysis suggests that any differences may have more to do with differences in background than rank. Merry-making and money Merry-making At the end of 1845 Christmas ‘merry-making’, held […]
Introduction Bankruptcy caught Samuel Bayly, one of early Victorian Bournemouth’s leading citizens, during 1856. The event attracted considerable press attention, coverage listing Bayly’s creditors as well as the amounts he owed. Publicity therefore inflicted damage to their reputations in addition to the missing money. Genealogical analysis adds texture to the press accounts, while further press […]
Introduction Town upgrade plans at early Victorian Bournemouth resulted in an angry public meeting held late in 1856. The first Improvement Commissioners had announced a new rating assessment in order to fund the building programme. An early instance of the resort’s community action saw ratepayers formulate their response. The meeting’s press report highlighted both the […]
Introduction Wealthy tourists populated early Victorian Bournemouth’s Westover Villas during 1851. A trade directory for 1849 observed that only a ‘few poor fishermen’ had dwelt on the Bournemouth site. Now ‘aristocracy’ frequented it to a great deal. In July 1838, the Dorset County Chronicle talked about ‘this picturesque and beautiful spot, already the residence of […]
Introduction A cricket team emerged in the settlement during the summer of 1852. It perhaps reflected an embryonic sense of Bournemouth’s cultural identity, but it may have had more to do with the settlement’s commerce. A curate’s egg of a season Beginnings At the end of May 1852 newspapers reported the appearance of a cricket […]
Introduction A man of all people, Dr E. V. Mainwaring featured often in early Victorian Bournemouth’s press clippings as a physician and community member. Until his early death, E. V. Mainwaring had made a broad contribution to Bournemouth’s social and cultural development by having a foot in two camps: society doctor for wealthy vacationers, promoter […]
Introduction Healthcare for early Victorian Bournemouth’s invalids and convalescents began with its excellent climate, but other assistance came from medics, bathing and visiting quacks. Several of the larger households recorded in 1851 contained nurses amongst other servants. Medics, resident and transient, offered professional healthcare Three doctors In addition to providing healthcare to invalids and other […]