Geography (4): buildings (1851)

Introduction

Geography (4) tabulates the names of buildings existing in Bournemouth according to the 1851 census. The table shows the names in alphabetical not geographic order.

Geography (4): table

A	B	C	D	E	F
Adelaide Cottage	Clarence Cottage	Granville Cottage	Queen's Arms Inn	The Library	Westover Villas
Albert Cottages	Cliff Cottage	Grocer's Shop	Richmond Lodge	The Lodge	Westover Villa Cottage
Ashley Cottage	Coast Guard	Heath Villa	Rusina Cottages	Tregonwell Arms Inn	Willow Cottage
Bath Hotel	Eagle Nest	Hotel Tap	Sea View	Verulam House	Windsor Cottage
Baths	Essex Cottages	Joy Cottage	Smith's Shop	Victoria Villa	Woodbine Cottage
Belle Vue Hotel	Exeter House	Portman Lodge	Terrace Cottage
Belle Vue Tap	Goddard Buildings	Post Office	The Laundry

Geography (4): discussion

The great debate

Much debate occurred during the early period as to the best layout for buildings. On the one hand, the medical people recommended a scatter of villas. Their siting would take advantage of the prevailing sea breezes. They favoured a rus in urbe design, a settlement posing as isolated buildings. On the other hand, the commercial developers wanted to adopt a layout based on roads. As a result, buildings would stretch along either side, detached, semi-detached, or terraced. Thus, Bournemouth’s design would imitate the great streets of Bath and other established watering-places. The census of 1851 shows two points. First, the medical argument appears to have prevailed. The settlement appears to consist of an array of separate buildings, with little interconnection. Few streets exist, except those providing access to the site. Poole Road ran through the middle, connecting the settlement with that town and Christchurch. Southwards, Terrace Road followed the same line.

Social separation

Second, the town’s design reflected its society. Intended as a resort for wealthy convalescents and their families, the town’s scattered design of villas catered to that group’s traditional housing preferences. Representatives of this group had long demolished villages housing their agricultural labourers because they obscured the view from new palaces they had constructed. Hence, the separation of the buildings also provided a way to maintain social distance from others except on their terms. Housing for Bournemouth’s residents completed this social equation. For the most part, the residents came from working backgrounds, though some perhaps had reached the border with middling people. Working people, building labourers, clustered along Terrace Road, housed in inferior buildings, often without appropriate drainage. Middling people, the shopkeepers, stretched down Poole Hill laying the foundations for today’s Commercial Road. This layout clustered, controlled, and separated the less respectable residents from the most respectable visitors.

Connections

For engagement and further details, go here.