Pokesdown
Encyclopedia
Pokesdown is a small area of Bournemouth
, a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Dorset
. It lies just east of the suburb of Boscombe
and west of Southbourne
.
. In 1926 more urns were found around Harewood Avenue, and between Lascelles Road and Kings Park entrance.
There is some evidence, also, that people of the Iron Age were present in the locality. For instance an axe head of the period was found near St. James' Church.
In Norman times the area was part of the Liberty of Westover. A community formed in the shape of an agricultural settlement, the Pokesdown Farm, together with a small number of cottages for the farm workers situated adjoining the present Herberton Road, near its junction with Sunnyhill Road. The farm was on sloping ground running down from the heathland to the Stour River valley. Most of Pokesdown was on the higher plateau, which formed a tiny pan of the great heath. Life at the edge of the heath was not without benefits. Turf could be cut for fuel for fires and was free to all local inhabitants under the custom known as Turbary
. There were also some grazing rights and honey was an important by-product of the bees which frequented the gorse and heather.
During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the district began to grow in association with the nearby Stourfield House
.
Pokesdown railway station
was opened in 1886 and quickly became the heart of the area. Many other communal places sprang up around the station including the laundry and fire station.
In 1895 Pokesdown became an urban district
, the boundaries were defined as running from the sea front to Wollstonecraft Road, and just east of Crabton Close Road, along south of Christchurch Road to Warwick Road, along the railway, which was crossed to take in Clarence Park, and so over part of King's Park to beyond Harewood Avenue. It then re-crossed Christchurch Road and the railway, running alongside the line to Cranleigh Road, after which it turned towards Southbourne Road, between Irving and Watcombe Roads. It then turned into Belle Vue Road and along Clifton Road to the sea front. Thus it included the Shelley, Portman, Stourwood and Stourfield Estates.
Eventually Pokesdown became more and more influenced by the phenomenal expansion of Bournemouth, so that ultimately in 1901 the district became incorporated into the then newly formed County Borough
.
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
, a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. It lies just east of the suburb of Boscombe
Boscombe
Boscombe is a suburb of Bournemouth. Located to the east of Bournemouth town centre and west of Southbourne, It developed rapidly from a small village as a seaside resort alongside Bournemouth after the first Boscombe pier was built in 1888...
and west of Southbourne
Southbourne, Dorset
Southbourne is a suburb of Bournemouth. It is the most easterly part of the borough, between Boscombe and Christchurch, Dorset. The area was previously known as Stourfield....
.
History
Evidence of human occupation in the area dates back to the Bronze Age. In 1909 when Lock's Field was being developed into what is now Hillbrow Road, Herbert Druitt of Christchurch obtained permission from the owner, Mr. F. Eicock, to excavate two barrows on the site, and a notable Bronze Age cremation cemetery was found. A number of urns were recovered, some of which were sent to the British MuseumBritish Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. In 1926 more urns were found around Harewood Avenue, and between Lascelles Road and Kings Park entrance.
There is some evidence, also, that people of the Iron Age were present in the locality. For instance an axe head of the period was found near St. James' Church.
In Norman times the area was part of the Liberty of Westover. A community formed in the shape of an agricultural settlement, the Pokesdown Farm, together with a small number of cottages for the farm workers situated adjoining the present Herberton Road, near its junction with Sunnyhill Road. The farm was on sloping ground running down from the heathland to the Stour River valley. Most of Pokesdown was on the higher plateau, which formed a tiny pan of the great heath. Life at the edge of the heath was not without benefits. Turf could be cut for fuel for fires and was free to all local inhabitants under the custom known as Turbary
Turbary
Turbary is the term used to describe the ancient right to cut turf, or peat, for fuel on a particular area of bog. The word may also be used to describe the associated piece of bog or peatland and, by extension, the material extracted from the turbary...
. There were also some grazing rights and honey was an important by-product of the bees which frequented the gorse and heather.
During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the district began to grow in association with the nearby Stourfield House
Southbourne, Dorset
Southbourne is a suburb of Bournemouth. It is the most easterly part of the borough, between Boscombe and Christchurch, Dorset. The area was previously known as Stourfield....
.
Pokesdown railway station
Pokesdown railway station
Pokesdown for Boscombe railway station is a railway station serving the Pokesdown, Boscombe and Southbourne areas of Bournemouth in Dorset, England...
was opened in 1886 and quickly became the heart of the area. Many other communal places sprang up around the station including the laundry and fire station.
In 1895 Pokesdown became an urban district
Urban district
In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
, the boundaries were defined as running from the sea front to Wollstonecraft Road, and just east of Crabton Close Road, along south of Christchurch Road to Warwick Road, along the railway, which was crossed to take in Clarence Park, and so over part of King's Park to beyond Harewood Avenue. It then re-crossed Christchurch Road and the railway, running alongside the line to Cranleigh Road, after which it turned towards Southbourne Road, between Irving and Watcombe Roads. It then turned into Belle Vue Road and along Clifton Road to the sea front. Thus it included the Shelley, Portman, Stourwood and Stourfield Estates.
Eventually Pokesdown became more and more influenced by the phenomenal expansion of Bournemouth, so that ultimately in 1901 the district became incorporated into the then newly formed County Borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
.