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 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 Two rural kinship networks, detected amongst the dairymen working in Stour valley villages, may offer insights into the societies in which they lived. The terrain and the people Settlements in rural Greater Westover ‘Milk, butter, and farm-house supplies of the very best description, the valley of the Stour abundantly yields.’ Dr A.B. Granville included […]
Introduction Rural poverty affected Greater Westover as it did other parts of the country during the early Victorian period. The defined area of ‘Greater Westover’ consisted of villages lying just to the west of the Stour river as well as the fledgling settlement at Bournemouth. Most of these villages fell within the orbit of the […]