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 Retail analysis provides clues as to the nature of visitors who came to Bournemouth during its early period. Comparison with a sample of other contemporary watering places adds further insight. Bournemouth’s retail economy a microcosm of other spas The comparative sample consists of 15 watering places. They range in size between Bath and Brighton, […]
Introduction An established media property, Dr A. B. Granville, answered an invitation to visit the fledgling Bournemouth in 1841. A respected society medical man, well-published, his reputation flowed through a network featuring the royal family and aristocracy. He gave a positive speech about the site’s convalescent qualities. The press reported this. Later, he devoted a […]
Introduction A recent post highlighted infrastructure problems in early Victorian Bournemouth. Details came from letters written to the press. Deeper analysis of one letter raises an interesting consideration about how to see Bournemouth at its outset. One place in several places Economic factors often explain the origin of settlements. Medieval foundations might begin when a […]
Introduction. George Conway no doubt squirmed in his seat when the court learned of his role as one of two star-crossed lovers. The elderly defendant in a breach of promise case had found himself an object of criticism not only from the plaintiff’s family but also his own. The court found it amusing, as did […]
Introduction During Bournemouth’s early period, infrastructure problems arose. They consisted of bad drains and roads as well as issues of design and layout. Some thought this happened because land proprietors and property developers lacked coordination. A deeper problem, however, a fault line at the site’s modern origin, may have contributed to the situation. A stinking […]
Non-stop promotion Introduction Marketing early Victorian Bournemouth discusses how constant promotion acted as a corner stone for its quick success. Soon after the Marine Village began, the area had a name, a positioning and a place on social calendars. Bourne had become Bourne Mouth, then Bournemouth. It appealed not only to wealthy invalids but also […]
Growth. Society. Strife. Introduction Early period in Victorian Bournemouth provides an historical outline of the resort’s development from the late 1830s to 1856. It covers progress of the commercial sector, social matters, but also disruptions. At the beginning came building activity, uncoordinated, frenzied. By the end, the town acquired an Improvement Commission, established by Parliamentary […]