Southbourne was the creation of Thomas Armetriding Compton, an enterprising young physician, who set up general practice in Bournemouth in 1866 and could see the area's potential as a health resort. Prior to his arrival the clifftop land here had been part and parcel of
Tuckton Farm, Southbourne being founded precisely where the piggeries had stood. This area of clifftop land was purchased by Compton in 1871 and was later developed by the Southbourne-on-Sea Freehold Land Company, founded in 1882 with Compton as principal shareholder. Some older properties did exist on the outskirts of the area. Around 1766, for instance, Edmund Bott had built a
Georgian mansion to the east of
Pokesdown village, commanding views of
Christchurch Harbour; he named it Stourfield House. One of the most celebrated inhabitants of Stourfield House was
Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, a notorious eccentric who used to set places for her pet dogs at the dinner-table. Stourfield House later became a care home, mainly for servicemen who had been injured in the
Great War. Today only the front steps survive, leading to a block of flats in Douglas Mews; the steps are marked by a
Blue Plaque. The original, extended building was demolished in 1990. Southbourne also had a short-lived pier. It was built by Compton's company in 1888 at a cost of £4,000 and was 300 feet long. There were regular boat-trips between the pier at Southbourne and the pier at Bournemouth. The pier, promenade and nearby sea wall built by Dr. Compton (to rival the resort at Bournemouth) were heavily damaged by storms in December 1900 and January 1901. A buyer for the pier was unable to be found and it was eventually demolished in 1909 due to public safety concerns. On 11 July 1910, Britain’s first international aviation meeting was held on a specially laid out
aerodrome consisting of a mile of grassland between Tuckton and the "Double Dykes" near
Hengistbury Head. Aviators from around the world competed in a variety of contests, including spot landing, altitude tests, and speed trials (both for the fastest and slowest circuit).
Charles Stewart Rolls, co-founder of
Rolls-Royce and pioneer
aviator was killed on the second day of the meeting, while attempting a precision landing. The event was Britain’s earliest fatal flying accident involving a powered aircraft. The site is marked by a memorial on the sports fields of
St Peter's School. ==Today==