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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)
Salisbury has several cemeteries and crematoria. One is now closed. The addresses are listed below:

Devices Road Cemetery:


 * Devizes Road
 * Salisbury, Wiltshire SP2 7ND

At the present time there are no new interments in this cemetery.

London Road Cemetery


 * London Road
 * Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 3JB

The Salisbury City Council website for cemeteries and crematoria follows:


 * Salisbury City Council website

Further links to information on cemeteries for Salisbury follow:


 * Wiltshire County Council


 * Devices Road cemetery


 * London Road cemetery

Parishes
Salisbury has its own cathedral, one of the most famous in the UK, and its own Diocese. This website provides links for all parishes in the Diocese. The website follows:


 * Salisbury Anglican Diocese

There are a number of active Anglican churches. Some follow:

St Martin's


 * Church Street
 * Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 2HY
 * Phone: 01722 503123

St Thomas' and St Edmund's
 * St. Thomas' Square
 * Salisbury, WIltshire

All Saints


 * Harnham Rd
 * Salisbury, Wiltshire
 * +44 7925 108856

St Mark's


 * 64 Barrington Rd
 * Salisbury, Wiltshire
 * +44 1722 340368

St George's


 * Lower St
 * Salisbury, Wiltshire
 * +44 7925 108856

St Mary and St Nicholas'


 * 27A West St
 * Salisbury, Wiltshire
 * +44 1722 742393

St Paul's


 * Fisherton St
 * Salisbury SP2 7QW
 * Phone: +44 1722 334005

St Laurence'


 * Stratford Rd
 * Salisbury SP1 3LL
 * Phone: +44 1980 611942

St Francis'


 * 2 Beatrice Rd
 * Salisbury SP1 3PN
 * Phone: +44 1722 333762

Christ' Church


 * 43 Barnard St
 * Salisbury SP1 2BJ

Non Conformists
Other Christian and non-christian groups follow:


 * Baptist
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
 * Jehovah's Witness
 * Methodist
 * Presbyterian
 * Roman Catholic
 * Seventh Day Adventist

Non Christian groups that meet regularly in Salisbury include:


 * Buddhist
 * Hindu
 * Jewish
 * Muslim

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. Salisbury City does not appear to have its own BMD source. The following links provide access for Salisbury:


 * UK BMD for Wiltshire


 * BMD certificates UK

Local Histories

 * A Sarum Chronicle


 * A Salisbury past by Ruth Newman and Jane Howells


 * Salisbury Through Time by Carol Dixon-Smith and Catherine Essenhigh

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