Introduction Victorian Bournemouth (62) outlines the chronology of a controversy that ran through the resort’s early years. Early complaints about the unhygienic condition of the drains had stimulated Bournemouth’s Improvement Act (1856). Nevertheless, medical concern about the drains continued. A group of doctors waged a bitter, public, and personal war against the Improvement Commissioners. They […]
Dangerous market. Bad advice. Uneasy recovery. Introduction Victorian Bournemouth (61) studies the cases where speculators without building experience suffered bankruptcy in the late 1860s. Analysis of their bankruptcies and their social profile raises questions about the investment climate at Bournemouth. Bankruptcies for these people may have had a different social impact to builders in the […]
Problems: economic, commercial, personal Introduction Victorian Bournemouth (60) investigates several bankruptcies involving builders during the town’s second period. In some cases, prosecution occurred because of financial overreach combined with market downturns. On the other hand, personal conflict amongst the individuals involved in the developments may have played a role. Victorian Bournemouth (60): smaller enterprises People […]
Introduction Victorian Bournemouth (59) explores how, while sixteen residents went bankrupt between 1856 and 1866, in the following three years this happened to forty-one people. In 1869, the new Debtors’ Act reduced the inevitability of prison sentences for convicted bankrupts. While this may have increased a willingness to declare, the bankruptcies’ cause perhaps lay elsewhere. […]
Wider footprint. Planning debate. Social zoning. Introduction Victorian Bournemouth (58) uses census listings to discuss how the resort’s built environment extended during its second period. It also considers such subjects as site layout, planning debates, and social zoning. Victorian Bournemouth (58): footprint Areas Only a part of rural Greater Westover in 1841, by 1851 Bournemouth […]
Economic success. Settled residents. More babies. Introduction Victorian Bournemouth (57) traces the town’s civic identity in part to its growing residential population. A repeated production of children by residents suggested a disinclination to migrate since Bournemouth offered them economic success. This growing portion of the population contributed to the town’s civic identity. Further analysis establishes […]
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 […]