Victorian Bournemouth (239) has surveyed the category and social profiles found for female drapery assistants working at Plummer, Roddis, and Tyrell during the 1890s. In most cases, the girls came from respectable backgrounds, yet proved willing to work for a living. Their social profile suited them well to assist well-heeled customers drawn by the new super-stores.
Victorian Bournemouth (209) introduces the series covering the final decade of the resort’s early history. It touches on the fundamental changes that occurred in the civic, commercial, and community zones. The inhabitants had reached a new level of civic and social maturity.
From 1830 to 1856, Bournemouth developed from a remote outpost to a settlement founded by the Gervis Tapps family. Rapid growth caused sanitation crises, prompting the 1856 Improvement Act. This established formal governance, providing a vital foundation for the town’s continued expansion.