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Books > Victorian and Edwardian Dorset Photographic Memories
Boscombe, the Chine Hotel 1892 (ref. 31377) | Originally built by Sir Drummond Wolfe in the early 18th century and later extended, this luxury hotel with 80
rooms, three acres of gardens and its own well, was immensely popular with the leading stars of the variety theatre
and music halls of the period, who stayed here while appearing in Bournemouth.
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Boscombe, from the Pier 1906 (ref. 55907) | With the turret of the Chine Hotel, which served as a landmark for Channel shipping, prominent in the back-
ground, the elegant row of Victorian houses along Undercliffe Road bears tribute to the enduring popularity of this
eastern suburb of Bournemouth for Edwardian holidaymakers. The delicate ironwork tracery of the pier seating,
and a solitary bathing machine parked by the pier pavilion are further examples of Boscombe`s Victorian origins.
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Boscombe, Boscombe Chine Gardens 1906 (ref. 55912) | The ornamental Yacht Pond at the seaward end of
Boscombe Chine has proved to be an enduring
attraction for juvenile navigators. The chine, which
derives its name from the old English word 'cinn',
a chink or fissure, extends half a mile inland from
Boscombe pier, and contains a substantial number
of the estimated 3 million pine trees in the region,
whose resinous scent perfumes the air.
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Bournemouth, Perambulator 1900 (ref. 45225x) | The Mansion Family Hotel appears
on the extreme left of this picture,
taken from the top of Exeter Lane
across the Pleasure Gardens. Next
door is the National Provincial Bank
branch, with the tailoring and foot-
wear stores of Barnes further along
the parade of shops. The spire of
St Peter`s Church, rising to 202 feet,
was added to the building in 1879.
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Bournemouth, on the Bourne 1900 (ref. 45223) | The Pleasure Gardens with their scented pines and attractively laid out grounds were popular with people of all
ages, at a time when fashion and social mores decreed that the human form should remain covered in public. This
sylvan setting was as equally appealing as the beach for young and old alike, and the waters of the Bourne, tamed
and enclosed, were an ideal place for children to sail their boats.
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Bradpole, the Village 1902 (ref. 48408) | This was formerly the site of a Benedictine priory, founded in the reign of Henry I by Baldwin de Redvers, as a
cell of the Norman monastery of Montburgh. It was dissolved as an alien house in 1411, and none of the original
premises survived. But aspects of the picturesque church of St Magdalene, whose proportions and masonry show
its Saxonand Norman origin appear to indicate that it may have been connected to the priory.
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Bridport, Old Cottages 1897 (ref. 40095) | This seemingly idyllic rural summer
scene on the banks of the River Brit,
with its group of thatched cottages,
lines of washing and vegetable
garden, is brought acutely into focus
by a closer inspection of the gable
end of the nearest building. Part of
the thatched roof on both sides is
missing, exposing the underlying
roof structure. This is probably due
to an earlier fire in the chimneystack
- one of the commonplace hazards
of living in these picturesque
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Bridport, South Street 1897 (ref. 40075) | On the left, with its
porch projecting into the
street, is the 14th- or
15th-century Chantry
House, while just beyond,
a striped barber`s pole
overhanging the pavement
indicates a gentlemen`s
hairdressing salon.
The tower of the 14th-
century St Mary`s Church,
surprisingly positioned
some way from the
town centre, rises above
the graceful Georgian
frontages along this
throughfare. | Add your own Memory
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Broadwindsor, the Village 1902 (ref. 48445) | This sizeable village nestles in a valley close to two notable landmarks: Lewesdon Hill (894 feet) and Pilsdon Pen, at
909 feet, the highest hill in Dorset. Sailors viewing them from off the coast at West Bay dubbed them `the Cow and
Calf`. The church of St John the Baptist, with its Perpendicular tower, stands on a terrace overlooking the village
and boasted a peal of six bells, three of which were cast at least a century before the Reformation.
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Brownsea Island, the Castle 1891 (ref. 29624) | Begun as a blockhouse to
protect Poole Harbour in
the reign of Henry VIII, it
was completed in 1547-
8. The remains of the
blockhouse survive only as
a basement room. It was
expanded over succeeding
centuries, most notably
by Colonel William Petrie
Waugh in the early 1850s.
This building burnt down
in 1896, but was
subsequently rebuilt.
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Charmouth, Village 1900 (ref. 46060) | Two views of this charming seaside village street, taken a decade apart, but in which little appears to have changed.
On the high road between Dorchester and Exeter, less than three miles east of Lyme Regis, Charmouth is reputed
to have been one of the Roman stations and the later scene of fierce struggles between the Saxons and Danish
invaders. The stuccoed Regency and Victorian villas lining this straight, climbing street however, bear witness to its
popularity as a resort; and one whose scenic beauty was much admired by Jane Austen.
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Chideock, Village 1903 (ref. 50489) | Situated in one of the most
picturesque valleys in this part
of the county, and spelled as
Cidihoc in the Domesday Book, this peaceful view of the village street lined with well-built cob and sandstone cottages precedes the arrival of the motor vehicle, and the transformation of this thoroughfare into the busy A35. On the left is the mainly Perpendicular church of St Giles, restored in 1883 by Crickmay,who also built the chancel.
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Christchurch, the Priory 1900 (ref. 45040) | The Church, seen across the combined waters of the Avon and Stour on their way to the sea, is a commanding
feature of the scenery. Roger Flambard, the Bishop of Durham and the king`s trusted adviser, began this largely
Norman building towards the end of the 11th century. After his death in 1128, further construction was undertaken
in the 13th and 14th centuries, culminating in the building of the west tower in the 15th century. In the Dissolution
of the monasteries by Henry VIII, the Priory was destroyed, but the church was handed over to the parish.
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Crichel House, House and Park 1904 (ref. 52752) | The original house, owned by the Napier family, burnt down in 1742, and the wealthy Humphrey Sturt, who
had married an heiress, inherited the estate in 1765. He at once embarked on a programme of rebuilding and
extension, doubling the size of the house, and moved the entire village of More Crichel except for St Mary`s
Church, a mile away to the south in order to landscape the surrounding park. The displaced inhabitants were
rehoused in a new village at Newtown, in the parish of Witchampton.
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Crichel House, White Farm 1904 (ref. 52753) | These goats and cattle, watched
over by their proud custodian,
are representative of a fashion
indulged in by many major
landowners during the 19th
century for breeding and raising
unusual animals on their extensive
properties. Humphrey Sturt in
particular, had many ideas for the
advancement of agriculture, not
only here but also on Brownsea
Island in Poole Harbour which he
brought under cultivation.
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Kingston Lacy, the House 1899 (ref. 43720) | The old lords of Kingston
were the Norman nobles,
the Lacys, but this palatial
Restoration house was built
in 1663-5 for Sir Ralph
Bankes, the son of the
former attorney general
Sir John. It was extensively
modified and augmented
between 1835-46 by
Sir Charles Barry, at the
behest of W J Bankes, the
friend of Lord Byron, who
had amassed a superb
collection of paintings and
wished to show them to
their best advantage.
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Lulworth, Castle Inn 1903 (ref. 49145) | An Edwardian gentleman in his straw boater gazes down on this little group of thatched cottages surrounding
the creeper-clad Castle Inn, whose turnover must have benefited enormously from the hordes of day trippers
visiting this local beauty spot during the summer months. The carefully tended vegetable garden ascending the hill
behind shows how important self-sufficiency was in these remote hamlets, in the days before motor vehicles and supermarkets.
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Lulworth, the Village 1903 (ref. 49143) | The village street curves around the foot of Bindon Hill as it approaches the cove, with the Cove Hotel next to
the thatched cottages on the left. Behind is the church of the Holy Trinity, rebuilt in 1869-70 by the Weymouth
architectJohn Hicks.
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Lulworth, 1894 (ref. 34581) | The entrance to this circular natural basin is barely discernible from the sea, guarded as it is by two projecting
spurs of resistant Portland and Purbeck strata. Inside, the constant action of the waves has eroded the nearly
vertical and contorted beds of chalk and Hastings sand, to create this 500-yard lagoon. As well as the small
local fishing boats pictured here, it was also a popular destination for the Victorian paddle steamers from nearby
Weymouth, which had specially strengthened bows to enable the vessel to be run up onto the beach and
disembark passengers.
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Lyme Regis, Broad Street 1900 (ref. 45243) | With the waters of Lyme Bay visible beyond the Hillcliff grocery store further down
this steeply-sloping street, the pleasing 18th-century façades of the shops and
buildings frame this scene of late Victorian activity. On the right, a lady emerges
from the entrance of one of the town`s drapers, with its window displaying a
selection of parasols and blouses.
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