In the Paradise-on-Sea chapter, explore Bournemouth’s social history, from its wild heathland origins to the elegant Victorian seaside resort that captured the imagination of the 19th century
Improved infrastructure, commercial vicissitudes, enriched society Introduction Victorian Bournemouth (56) consists of an analytical overview for key events during the period 1857-1870. A review of newspapers for Bournemouth’s second period shows the resort improving its infrastructure, experiencing commercial vicissitudes, while its society became enriched. Victorian Bournemouth (56): Infrastructure and Commerce Infrastructure: Commission under the microscope […]
Wider footprint. More businesses, choice, bankruptcies. Introduction Victorian Bournemouth (55) provides an overview of developments in the town’s business structure between 1856 and 1871. It explores the size of its commercial sector and its component parts. Inferences about the business climate but also the nature of consumer demand emerge. Significant changes appear to have occurred […]
Substantial country town. Continuity and change in skill sets and street profiles. Introduction Victorian Bournemouth (54) shows how population levels in mid-Victorian Bournemouth increased during the period 1851-1871, perhaps quadrupling. Deeper analysis of the resort’s demography suggests changes in the population’s nature as well as quantity occurred. Victorian Bournemouth (54): population estimates What was ‘Bournemouth’? […]
Barren heath. Fledgling resort. Queen of watering places. Introduction Victorian Bournemouth (53) consists of a triptych of portraits showing its development as charted by press references between 1837 and 1870. These portraits captured the growing town’s image as people gathered it from the newspapers. The press portrayed a barren heath as the site of the […]
Introduction Local servants, from Poole, Christchurch, and the Greater Westover villages, worked at different domestic duties in the early Victorian Bournemouth local economy. Servants found in the larger vacation villas appear to have accompanied their employers. People local to the area, however, appear to have provided service to retailers, professionals, some lodging-houses, and the hotels. […]
Introduction Servants’ fortunes varied after their working stint at Bournemouth (1851), where data can track them. For some, record linkage enables partial reconstruction of their later life-stages. This analysis studies the later lives of found servants working in the row of sixteen holiday buildings known as Westover Villas. It explores how people comprising this important […]
Introduction Education in Bournemouth and the neighbouring hamlets, during the early period, took different forms, reflecting social variation across the area. Reverend A. M. Bennett applied his organisational talents and drive to establishing National Schools in both town and country. Towards the end of this period, however, some private schools and colleges appeared. Genealogical exploration […]
Introduction Rural shopkeepers trading in Victorian Bournemouth’s hinterland appear to have chosen different survival strategies as the resort town grew bigger. They may have competed with the town’s suppliers for a while, but their opportunity disappeared longer term. In the early Victorian period, their numbers remained level, perhaps sustained in part by the burgeoning resort. […]
Introduction Grocers and bakers made migrant stops at early Victorian Bournemouth, but a couple stayed to form a long standing engagement with the resort. The jobs involved different skills – baking and retailing – but they seemed to overlap on occasion. The varying longevity of these traders offers clues to the nature of early Bournemouth’s […]
Introduction Auction advertisements for house contents, published in local newspapers, provide glimpses into the lifestyle enjoyed by early Victorian Bournemouth’s affluent residents. Analysis suggests that the resort’s early retail trade included affluent as well as middling people. Research method A common historical process Using artefacts to learn about lifestyles and social positions characterises most historical […]