There were some prehistoric settlements in the area, notably along the River Stour, including
Longham where a skull thought to be 5,500 years old was found in 1932.
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 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 said that the area was "Devoid of all habitation". As late as 1795, the
Duke of Rutland recorded that "... on this barren and uncultivated heath there was not a human to direct us". During the latter half of the 16th century
James Blount, 6th Baron Mountjoy, began mining for
alum in the area, and at one time part of the heath was used for hunting, although by the late 18th century little evidence of either event remained. No-one lived at the mouth of the Bourne river and the only regular visitors to the area before the 19th century were a few fishermen, turf cutters and gangs of
smugglers. of Invalids' Walk, 1890s
19th century Prior to the
Christchurch Inclosures Act 1802 (
42 Geo. 3. c.
43 ), more than 70% of the Westover area was
common land. The act, together with the Inclosure Commissioners' Award of 1805, transferred into the hands of five private owners, including
James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury, and
Sir George Ivison Tapps. In 1809, the Tapps Arms
public house was built on the heath. In 1812, the first official residents, retired army officer
Lewis Tregonwell and his wife, moved into their new home built on land purchased from Tapps. The area was well known to Tregonwell who, during the
Napoleonic Wars, spent much of his time searching the heath and coastline for French invaders and smugglers.
Rise of beach culture 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 died in 1832, Bournemouth had grown into a small community with a scattering of houses, villas and cottages. After the death of Tapps in 1835, his son Sir
George William Tapps-Gervis inherited his father's estate. He hired the young local architect
Benjamin Ferrey to develop
Bournemouth Gardens along the coastal area on the east side of the stream. Bournemouth's first hotel, later to become part of the
Royal Bath Hotel, opened in 1838 and is one of the few buildings designed by Ferrey still standing In the 1840s Benjamin Ferrey was replaced by
Decimus Burton, whose plans for Bournemouth included the construction of
Bournemouth Gardens alongside the
Bourne stream, an idea first mooted by Granville. The fields south of the road crossing, later
Bournemouth Square, were drained and laid out with shrubberies and walks. Many of these paths, including the Invalids' Walk, remain in the town today. A second suggestion of Granville's, a sanatorium, was completed in 1855 and greatly raised Bournemouth's profile as a place for recuperation. At a time when the most convenient way to arrive in the town was by sea, a
pier was considered to be a necessity. The Holdenhurst parish
vestry was reluctant to find the money, and an attempt to raise funds privately in 1847 only succeeded in financing a small jetty. The
Bournemouth Improvement Act 1856 (
19 & 20 Vict. c. xc) granted greater financial autonomy to the town and a pier was approved that year. A number of wooden structures were built before an cast iron design by
Eugenius Birch was completed in 1880. Under the Act, a board of 13 Commissioners was established to build and organise the expanding infrastructure of the town, such as paving, sewers, drainage, street lighting and street cleaning. of the entrance to the pier, 1890s
Introduction of railways and mass tourism In 1870, the arrival of the railways precipitated a massive growth in seaside and summer visitors to the town, especially from the
Midlands and London. In 1880, Bournemouth had a population of 17,000. In 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 favourite location for visiting artists and writers. Bournemouth became a
municipal borough in 1890 and a
county borough in 1900. The seafront incurred damage when it was
fortified against invasion. The cast iron lampposts and benches along the beach 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
Royal National Lifeboat Institution stationed an inshore
lifeboat at Bournemouth between 1965 and 1972. Coverage for the area has otherwise been provided from
Poole Lifeboat Station. In 1984, the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC), a large conference and exhibition centre, was constructed near the seafront. In 1985, Bournemouth was the first town in the United Kingdom to introduce and use
CCTV cameras for public street-based surveillance.
21st century From 2000 to 2001 the
Tesco bomb campaign hit the town with a plot to extort money from Supermarket giant
Tesco. Visitors to the town plummeted during the campaign, especially after a bomb exploded at an elderly woman's home after she opened a letter sent by the bomber. During the eight months, over seven bombs were found by
Dorset Police, ranging from small letter bombs, to pipe bombs and parcel bombs. The culprit was found to be Robert Edward Dyer, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. In 1998,
the Waterfront complex, which was intended to hold an IMAX cinema, was constructed on the seafront. The concrete and smoked glass building featured a wavy roof design, but was despised by residents and visitors alike because it blocked views of the bay and the
Isle of Purbeck. In 2005, it was voted the most hated building in England in a 10,000-person poll conducted by the
Channel 4 programme
Demolition, and was pulled down in spring 2013. Bournemouth was twice unsuccessful in its bids for
city status, first at the
Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012, and again in the
Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours in 2022. ==Governance==