Arrival of lodging-houses

Introduction

Victorian Bournemouth (99) surveys the estate of venues used for holiday purposes during the early 1860s. It matches data on venue arrivals collected for 1864 with other sources that contain information on these buildings and their occupants. Although established venues served this market throughout the year, private lodgings may have helped to absorb some of the high volume arriving during the summer.

Victorian Bournemouth (99): background

Early accommodation practice

The design of the original marine village indicates assumptions made about holiday travel amongst affluent people, the project’s original target customer. Amongst the earliest buildings featured the Bath Hotel and a string of villas running north from it. These had many rooms as well as servants’ quarters. Thus, the earliest customer offering seems to have consisted of full catering (the hotel) or self-catering (the villas). Nevertheless, after a short while, lodging-house keepers had emerged. A letter published in the local press complained about their aggressive and venal customer relations. The same writer also referred to jerry-built houses constructed to act as managed holiday venues. According to the 1861 census, lodging-house keepers had arrived even at some of Westover villas. This suggested that internal re-arrangement had translated the former family villas into separate units. By the resort’s second period, therefore, the holiday accommodation market consisted of hotels, managed lodgings, and self-catering.

Holiday venue terrain during the early 1860s

According to a Boundary Commission report (1868), Bournemouth had 450 buildings. The listings’ analysis for 1864 shows that just over 160 venues accepted at least one arriving party during the year. Thus, the ‘holiday business’ perhaps concerned about a third of the built environment. Only four hotels existed, however, so most buildings will have consisted of houses available on a managed or self-catering basis. The directories for 1859, 1861 and 1865 listed around 40 people having the occupation of lodging-house keeper. This suggests that venues run by a such individuals accounted for perhaps no more than a quarter of all properties involved in the holiday trade. The rest ran on a ‘self-catering’ basis, the venues consisting either of entire houses or apartments. An advertisement placed by W. E. Rebbeck early in 1864 listed properties available for holiday-lettings made that distinction. Thus, keepers of lodging-houses formed only part of the market.

Victorian Bournemouth (99): lodging-houses

Surveying the lodging-house sector

The 1864 listings’ analysis produces a rough categorisation of properties. Apart from the hotels, of which the Bath and Belle Vue had the most arrivals, three clusters of venues appear according to annual arrival volume: 50-100, 20-50 and less than 20. Use of directories and the census helps to categorise the buildings contained in the visitor listings. This suggests that lodging-house keepers operated more in the middle category. They took, on average, 20-50 arriving parties a year. Parties consisted of one or more individuals. The largest category, therefore, remained those properties aimed at parties bringing their own servants. Some of the buildings may have consisted of apartments, but changes in the configurations may have often happened. South Cliff Villa in 1864 recorded the highest number of arrivals for a single property. This suggests it operated as a self-catering unit. The 1861 census, however, listed a lodging-house keeper as present. 

Occasional lodging-houses

According to the 1864 listings’ analysis, the Bath Hotel and the Belle Vue received about 10-15 visiting parties each week through most of the year, except for high winter. The larger lodging-houses, however, for example South Cliff, showed a different pattern. While they also took parties throughout the year, their arrivals increased during the summer peak period. Out of season, therefore, they may have incurred vacancies, even though they perhaps offered discounts for longer stays. In the summer peak, however, they appear to have switched over to shorter stays at full price. Nevertheless, they could not have accepted all the increased volume. Furthermore, the analysis shows that, for the peak period, the number of properties operating in the market increased from about twenty to forty. Thus, the accommodation business featured not only full-time lodging-house keepers, but those who ‘cherry-picked’ by operating only in the summer peak.  

Victorian Bournemouth (99): managing the demand

Bayly, Tuck, and Ingram

In 1864 around a dozen parties stayed at three properties: Springfield Cottage, The Stores, and Willow Cottage. For the most part, their guests consisted of families having different configurations of parents, young children, and teenagers or young adults. Most of the guests arrived during the summer peak months. Some Bournemouth tenants managing lodging-houses appear to have changed their address, sometimes more than once. Nevertheless, the occupants of these properties listed in 1861 may have remained residents during 1864. The households belonged to Samuel Ingram, Peter Tuck, and Samuel Bayly. The first two had already played a prominent part in constructing Bournemouth, belonging to the colony’s meritocracy. Samuel Bayly, once similar, had the Belle Vue and other property. Bankruptcy occurred, however, so, in 1864, he may have seen guests as necessary revenue. The others may have operated as ‘occasional lodging-house keepers’, opening their properties when opportunity or necessity arose.

Helping-out

As commercial men, Ingram and Tuck perhaps appreciated the additional income brought by a few guests, but their role may have consisted of helping relatives or friends already in the hospitality business. In 1851, Peter Tuck’s sister-in-law resided in his house, listed as a lodging-house keeper. He had business and kinship connections with James McWilliam who by 1864 had married into a nexus of families, members of whom now and again kept a lodging-house. Alfred Coles, a chemist lived at Branksome Place in 1861. Several guests stayed at this address in 1864. Alfred’s sister-in-law kept 11 Westover Villas in 1859, her husband listed at 4 Richmond Terrace during 1865. Hence, these private residents who appeared to play a temporary role in the visitor market may not have done so on their own account. Instead, they absorbed ‘spill-over’ volume that relatives had won but could not accept because of booking clashes.

Takeaway

Victorian Bournemouth (99) has provided a brief analysis of the holiday venue business category during the early 1860s. By now, most guests stayed in lodging-houses or apartments of varying configurations. People having the occupation of lodging-house keepers, however, may have concentrated on one sector of the market. The accommodation system also seems to have included part-time lodging-house keepers who entered the market in the summer months on their own account or perhaps to help friends and relatives harvest surplus demand.

References

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