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England Hampshire  Bournemouth

Guide to Bournemouth history, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



History
While Bournemouth was relocated a number of times by the British Government in the late twentieth century, it was always historically part of Hampshire, and has been left with its historic county.

Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town on the south coast of England directly to the east of the Jurassic Coast, a 96-mile (155 km) World Heritage Site. Bournemouth is about 94 miles (151 km) southwest of London. The borough borders the neighboring boroughs of Poole and Christchurch to the west and east respectively and the East Dorset District to the north.

The word bourne, meaning a small stream, is a derivative of burna, old English for a brook. From the latter half of the 16th century "Bourne Mouth" seems to be preferred, being recorded as such in surveys and reports of the period, but this appears to have been shortened to "Bourne" after the area had started to develop.

Bronze Age burials near Moordown, and the discovery of Iron Age pottery on the East Cliff in 1969, suggest there may have been settlements there during that period. Hengistbury Head, added to the borough in 1932, was the site of a much older Palaeolithic encampment.

In the 12th century the region around the mouth of the River Bourne was part of the Hundred of Holdenhurst. The hundred later became the Liberty of Westover when it was also extended to include the settlements of North Ashley, Muscliff, Muccleshell, Throop, Iford, Pokesdown, Tuckton and Wick, and incorporated into the Manor of Christchurch. Although the Dorset and Hampshire region surrounding it had been the site of human settlement for thousands of years, Westover was largely a remote and barren heathland before 1800. In 1574 the Earl of Southampton noted that the area was "Devoid of all habitation", and as late as 1795 the Duke of Rutland recorded that "... on this barren and uncultivated heath there was not a human to direct us".

Anticipating that people would come to the area to indulge in the newly fashionable pastime of sea-bathing, an activity with perceived health benefits, Tregonwell built a series of villas on his land between 1816 and 1822, which he hoped to let out. The common belief that pine-scented air was good for lung conditions, and in particular tuberculosis, prompted Tregonwell and Tapps to plant hundreds of pine trees. These early attempts to promote the town as a health resort meant that by the time Tregonwell had died in 1832, Bournemouth had grown into a small community with a scattering of houses, villas and cottages. The town would ultimately grow up around the scattered pines and tree-lined walk to the beach, later to become known as the Invalids' Walk.

The Bournemouth Improvement Act of 1856 granted greater financial autonomy to the town and a pier was approved that year. A number of wooden structures were built before an 838 feet (255 m) cast iron design by Eugenius Birch was completed in 1880. Under the Act, a board of 13 Commissioners was established to build and organize the expanding infrastructure of the town, such as paving, sewers, drainage, street lighting and street cleaning.

The arrival of the railways in 1870 precipitated a massive growth in seaside and summer visitors to the town, especially from the Midlands and London. In 1880 the town had a population of 17,000, but by 1900, when railway connections to Bournemouth were at their most developed, the town's population had risen to 60,000 and it had become a favorite location for visiting artists and writers. The town was improved greatly during this period through the efforts of Sir Merton Russell-Cotes, the town's mayor and a local philanthropist, who helped to establish the town's first library and museum. The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum was housed in his mansion, and after his death it was given to the town. Bournemouth became a municipal borough in 1890 and a county borough in 1900.

The town escaped heavy bombing during the Second World War, but the sea front incurred great damage when it was fortified against invasion. The cast iron lampposts and benches along the front were removed and melted down for munitions, as was much of the superstructure from both Bournemouth and Boscombe piers before they were breached to prevent their use by enemy ships. The large amounts of barbed wire and anti-tank obstacles along the beach, and the mines at the foot of the chines, took two years to remove when peace was finally achieved.

In 1993, the IRA orchestrated a terrorist attack in the town center. The only injuries sustained were minor ones but over £1 million in damage was caused.

Cemeteries (Civil)
The Bournemouth Government office relating to Cemeteries and Crematoria follows:


 * Bournemouth Council: Cemeteries and Crematoria

Wimborne Road Cemetery


 * Wimborne Rd
 * Bournemouth BH9 2EG
 * Phone: +44 1202 526238

Kinson Cemetery


 * 28 S Kinson Dr
 * Bournemouth BH11 8AB

North Cemetery and Crematorium


 * 27 Strouden Ave
 * Bournemouth BH8 9HX
 * Phone: +44 1202 526238

East Cemetery


 * Bournemouth BH7 6LP

For help in finding specific graves, consider using the following:


 * findagrave: Wimborne Road Cemetery


 * findagrave: East Cemetery


 * Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Bournemouth Cemeteries

Parishes
St Peter's


 * 4 Hinton Rd
 * Bournemouth BH1 2EE
 * Phone: +44 1202 290986

St Saviour's


 * 32 Colemore Rd
 * Bournemouth BH7 6RZ
 * Phone: +44 1202 430078

St Francis of Assisi


 * Charminster Road
 * Bournemouth BH8 9SH
 * Phone: +44 1202 529336

St Barnabas'


 * Mount Pleasant Dr
 * Bournemouth BH8 9JN
 * Phone: +44 1202 430078

St Michael's


 * Poole Rd
 * Bournemouth BH2 5QU
 * Phone: +44 1202 556645

St John the Evangelist


 * Holdenhurst Village Rd
 * Bournemouth BH8 0EE
 * Phone: +44 1202 247588

St Andrew's


 * 53 Bennett Rd
 * Bournemouth BH8 8QQ
 * Phone: +44 1202 397452

St Christopher's


 * Arnewood Rd
 * Bournemouth BH6 5DW
 * Phone: +44 1202 418394

St Thomas' Parish Church


 * 5 Western Ave
 * Bournemouth BH10
 * Phone: +44 1202 519735

St Mark's


 * Talbot Village
 * Wallisdown Rd
 * Bournemouth BH10 4HY
 * Phone: +44 1202 529349

Christ Church, Westbourne


 * Alumhurst Rd
 * Bournemouth BH4 8EL
 * Phone: +44 1202 760952

Non Conformists
Other Christian and non-christian groups follow:


 * Baptist
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
 * Destiny Life Church
 * First Church of Christ Scientist
 * Jehovah's Witness
 * Methodist
 * Presbyterian
 * Roman Catholic

Non Christian groups that meet regularly in Bournemouth include:


 * Buddhist
 * Hindu
 * Jewish
 * Muslim
 * Sikh

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. Bournemouth Town Council does have its own BMD source. The following links provide access for Bournemouth:


 * Bournemouth Borough BMD records


 * ukbmd: Bournemouth


 * freebmd.org: Bournemouth

Local Histories

 * visitbournemouth: History


 * localhistories: Bournemouth


 * Just Bournemouth by Keith Rawlings


 * Bournemouth then and now by John Needham

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Visit Wiltshire; Salisbury map


 * Michelin maps: Salisbury


 * old maps on line: Salisbury


 * vision of Britain: Salisbury Gazetteer


 * Britain Express: Salisbury Gazetteer

Newspapers

 * The Salisbury Journal


 * The Salisbury Post

Occupations
For most of its history, Salisbury was a market town and religious center. The area surrounding the city is a vast fertile lowland, and so agriculture has always provided both the produce, and Salisbury the market to sell that which was produced.

Salisbury holds a Charter market on Tuesdays and Saturdays and has held markets regularly since 1227. In the 15th century the Market Place had four crosses. The Poultry Cross whose name describes its market. The cheese and milk cross indicated that market which was in the triangle between the HSBC bank and the Salisbury Library. There was a third cross near the site of the present war memorial and this marked a woolen and yarn market. A fourth cross called Barnwell or Barnards Cross was situated around the Culver Street, Barnard Street area, this marked a cattle and livestock market. Today only the Poultry Cross remains, to which flying buttresses were added in 1852.

Because of the fame of the Cathedral, as well as the city's proximity to both Stonehenge and Avebury, both World Heritage sites, the major occupation available in the city is tourism and hostelry. It is also close to the Kennet and Avon canal, and narrow-boat holidays have become very important in the tourism industry and provides further employment in the region.

Societies

 * Wiltshire Family History Society


 * genuki, Wiltshire


 * Findmypast Wiltshire


 * Salisbury FHS lectures


 * Salisbury History Society

Archives

 * Wiltshire Archives


 * National Archives; Salisbury


 * Salisbury Cathedral Archives


 * genuki Wiltshire Archives

Web Sites

 * wikipedia; Salisbury


 * Salisbury City Council


 * Wiltshire County Council