Interconnected wealth and privilege

Introduction

Victorian Bournemouth (76) explores those found in the 1861 census who appear to have occupied the hotels and other known holiday venues. Genealogical exploration of identifiable people provides a picture of visitors’ social and economic profiles. This, in turn, enables speculation on the type of society attracted to the Victorian resort at the beginning of its second period. 

Victorian Bournemouth (76): hotel visitors

Belle Vue

At census time, 1861, the Belle Vue accommodated seven visitors. All guests attended alone; no families present. One visitor, a Cornet of Dragoons, may have owned land, but also continued with his army career. Further identification of the other guests has not emerged with certainty, but the occupations preserved in the census suggest some conclusions. The occupations consisted of draper, master mariner, agent, accountant, and a lady’s maid. Apart from the soldier, the others could have visited Bournemouth in the course of their work. The agent, for example, if identified, in later years worked as a bookkeeper and a commercial traveller. Thus, most of these visitors appear to have belonged to the lower reaches of the middling group. The Belle Vue’s visitor list, therefore, may illustrate the existence of a more commercial travel market in addition to the health and holiday tourists.

Bath

Across the road from the Belle Vue, the Bath had nine people staying on this occasion. The list consisted of three young, aristocratic children, accompanied by their maid; a gentleman; a cleric; a male tutor; two sisters, one the widow of a half-pay captain, the other her spinster sibling. These occupations indicate a sharp social separation from the Belle Vue’s visitors. The children belonged to the 8th Duke of Argyle, the eldest of which, Lady Edith Campbell, would later marry the Duke of Northumberland, the long-established Percy family. The list also included Benjamin Attwood, a gentleman. He belonged to a family, based in the Midlands, which had industrial and banking interests, the latter not without catastrophe. Benjamin, however, remained wealthy, becoming a charity donor. Snippets about the other guests confirm that they came from the affluent levels of society. Hence, the Bath accommodated the traditional type of Bournemouth visitor.

Victorian Bournemouth (76): other notable guests (1)

Terrain

In addition to the two hotels, visitor properties at Bournemouth in 1861 no longer only consisted of the villas situated either along Westover Road or Richmond Hill. Constant investment in property development had equipped the resort with many buildings where affluent people might stay during their visit. Lodginghouse keepers now managed several, but many remained available for single families to rent. A near-contemporary map shows these properties spread across the resort, both east and west of the Bourne stream. In all, just over forty visiting parties appeared to stay in Bournemouth at this time, although some may have resided there. Identification for most has emerged. Their social profile matched the Bath’s guests, rather than those at the Belle Vue. Visitors included aristocrats, clerics, and commercial people. Females comprised about a third of those identified. This illustrates that Bournemouth continued to appeal to the affluent part of British society.

Top people

Viscountess Onslow, widow of the 3^rd Earl’s son, and the Earl of Verulam belonged to the aristocracy. Several children but also thirteen servants accompanied the latter at Bournemouth. Other landowners and Parliamentary types appeared. These included the very wealthy landowner, farmer, and M.P. Charles Paget as well as Lady Georgiana Ryder, daughter of Granville Ryder, M.P., accompanied by her sister. The wealthy farmer and proprietor, Woodham Connor, brought in his retinue eight servants. Several people attended from the armed forces: officers or widows. These included Sir Edward Walter, who had, two years earlier, founded the Corps of Commissionaires. Later he resided in Bournemouth. Philip Pedler, an army officer from Poole, visited Bournemouth in 1861 as he had ten years earlier. Other distinguished people included Richard Howell, member of a well-known legal family and Francis Knyvett Leighton master of All Souls, Oxford, who had married into the aristocracy.

Victorian Bournemouth (76): other notable guests (2)

Textile magnates

Silk-maker George Courtauld and his wife stayed at the Belmont. His sister-in-law Ellen Courtauld, wife of Samuel, George’s partner, also stayed in Bournemouth. Their spinster sister Sophia chose Church Glen Villa. Nine servants attended George and Susanna Courtauld, a dozen their sister-in-law, evidence of substantial wealth. The census registered Samuel Courtauld still at Bocking (supported by eleven servants). George Courtauld died less than two weeks after this census, but his brother lived into the 1880s. Their combined estates had a value of almost a million pounds. Edmund Christy, another textile industrialist, also stayed in Bournemouth at this time, supported by six servants. Edmund belonged to a kinship group that included the families of ironmaster Abraham Darby and textile manufacturer Edward Ashworth. A Darby nephew and nieces stayed with the Christy household. In 1851, Christy had visited the Ashworth household. A century later the Christy company would merge with Courtaulds.

Connected society

An auctioneer, 26, his wife, son, and sister-in-law stayed at Bournemouth this census time 1861. A polymath, Rayner Storr, made a success of auctioneering, but, with his social life, he connected with artistic and literary people belonging to his and his children’s generation. He also helped with the local cricket and football clubs near his home. His census entry for 1911 read ‘retired auctioneer, now student and author’. He provides an example of the type of connections that Bournemouth’s affluent visitors might make in their home lives. It also raises the possibility of linkage between families visiting the resort. The Courtauld siblings appear to have agreed a joint holiday. Perhaps they already had connections with the Christy family and its linkages. Though lost now, other Bournemouth visitors of this period may have come as informal groups. The Visitors’ List, kept at Sydenham’s library, would also facilitate networking.

Takeaway

Victorian Bournemouth (76) has found that, except for the Belle Vue’s guests, most of Bournemouth’s visitors in 1861 belonged to the upper reaches of English society. The pattern of 1851 has repeated. They presented a cross-section of privileged people, often sharing social links. Their concentration in Bournemouth could have helped them expand further their networks. Thus, Bournemouth offered not only a chance to relax and recuperate but facilitated the expansion of their social capital.

References

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