Bournemouth, Dorset - Undercliff Drive, Boscombe - Nigh postcard c.1950s

Postcard:

Publisher: Nigh

Postally used: No

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• Boscombe /ˈbɒskəm/ is a suburb of Bournemouth, England. Historically in Hampshire, but today in Dorset, it is located to the east of Bournemouth town centre and west of Southbourne.

  Boscombe developed rapidly from a small village into a seaside resort alongside Bournemouth after the first Boscombe pier was opened in 1889.^[3] There are numerous architectural styles within Boscombe, ranging from the elaborate Victorian style of the Royal Arcade, notable examples of Art Deco such as the Motabitz store in Christchurch Road and the modernist 1950s styles of the pier and Overstrand buildings. Alongside these are modern flats developments such as The Reef, The Point and Honeycombe Beach.

  The area upon which Boscombe is situated, between the somewhat older village of Pokesdown and Bournemouth Square, was part of the great heathland which covered much of western Hampshire, and extended well into eastern Dorset. From Norman times it was within the Liberty of Westover. From the beach and cliffs the whole of Poole Bay stretching from Hengistbury Head in the east to Poole Harbour entrance in the west, and on to Studland and Swanage bays to the south can be seen.

  Boscombe was originally an independent settlement, separated from Bournemouth by dense wood and moorland, it was incorporated into the boundaries of Bournemouth in 1876 (against the wishes of Boscombe residents).^[4]

  In 1273 a reference is made to "Boscumbe" suggesting that the name may well have derived from the Old English words meaning a 'valley overgrown with spiky plants' perhaps a reference to gorse.^[5]

  Reference to Boscombe is included in Christopher Saxton's 1574 survey made of possible enemy landing places on the coast of Hampshire; this mentions...

  "Bournemouth within the west baye at Christchurch...We finde more a place called Bastowe within the said Baye". Saxton's map of 1575 shows a Copperas House at Bascomb"

  This refers to the manufacture of copperas or ferrous sulphate which took place in the district, particularly in the last quarter of the 16th century.

  At the beginning of the 19th century Boscombe was described as an extensive common covered with furze and heath, more the haunt of smugglers than anyone else. One of the early landmarks was the 'Ragged Cat', a wayside inn dating back to 1850, later renamed the 'Palmerston' and then 'Deacons', it was renamed back to 'The Ragged Cat' in 2009 before being closed down.

  In 1801 a modest sized house called Boscombe Cottage was built as the residence of Mr Phillip Norris.^[6] The Christchurch Inclosures Act 1802 increased the estate size to 17 acres (6.9 ha). This property became the nucleus of the Boscombe Manor Estate.

  The large estate owned by Mr Norris changed hands several times during the first half of the 19th century. After Norris's death it was acquired by Robert Heathcote, and on his death the estate was put up for auction The estate was purchased by James Dover, in whose possession it remained until 1841; then it was sold to Major Stephenson.^[6]

  Stevenson sold the estate in 1849 to Sir Percy Florence Shelley who bought the Boscombe property mainly with the intention of it becoming a home for his mother Mary Shelley, but she died in London on 1 February 1851. Sir Percy and his wife liked the place, and decided to make it their home, dividing their time between Boscombe and their London house at Chelsea.^[6]

  The house at Boscombe was extensively rebuilt for Sir Percy, and extended to include a 200-seat (later 300 seats) theatre, to the designs of Christopher Crabb Creeke, who later became surveyor to the Bournemouth Improvement Commissioners and was responsible for both the layout of much of central Bournemouth's roads, and for several local buildings. It was long maintained that the heart of Percy Florence Shelley was kept at Boscombe Manor – either stored reverently in a candle-lit alcove, or sewn lovingly into one of Lady Shelley's cushions.^[7]Later, it was supposedly interred in the grave of the poet's mother-in-law, Mary Wollstonecraft, at St. Peter's Church in Bournemouth.^[8]

  It may be noted that the name of Boscombe Manor changed several times over the years. First recorded as Boscombe Cottage, it was then for a time called Boscombe Alcove and then Boscombe Lodge. By Shelley's time it was Boscombe House, and he and his family later renamed it Boscombe Manor. In the present century it was Groveley Manor for many years, taking the name of the school which then occupied it, but now it is known as Shelley Park, most of the building being taken up by the Shelley Manor Medical Centre in Beechwood Avenue.^[6]

  To supplement the existing plantations of pine trees on the estate, Sir Percy added a large number of deciduous trees. There was a drive to the house from the main Christchurch Road, which followed the line of the present Chessel Avenue, and there was a lodge at its entrance. A second entry was from Sea Road, along a roadway flanked with lime trees – the present Percy Road.

  By the beginning of the 1860s Boscombe consisted of the Shelley estate and some cottages, one of which is known to have stood at the top of Boscombe Hill, near the present Drummond Road.

  From 1865 the development and expansion of the area to the end of the 19th century, and beyond, was very rapid. Starting with a proposal by the Malmesbury Estate to develop the 'picturesque Village of Boscombe Spa' to make available building plots for the erection of marine villas to be let on long leases.

  The Spa was related to a natural spring of mineral water containing properties similar to Harrogate which had been discovered near the foot of the hill; this would be available for invalids and could combine the advantages of a Spa with those of sea air and bathing.^[9]

  The scheme was not implemented; instead about 19 acres (77,000 m²) of land was obtained by Sir Henry Drummond Wolff, on part of which he built a house for himself named Boscombe Towers, in 1868, Sir Henry became closely associated with the development of Boscombe Spa for a considerable number of years. Wolff sought to develop 'Boscombe Spa' as a resort to rival Bournemouth and it was he who created the Boscombe Chine Gardens. In order to encourage the taking of the mineral water from the spring at the mouth of the Chine, a small thatched-roof building resembling a summer house was erected over the spring, and for a time this became a fashionable meeting place. The Chine itself was partially laid out and a broad pathway provided. A rustic bridge was constructed across the Chine.^[9]

  The census of 1871 showed that there was a population of 212 people in 19 houses in the Boscombe Estate, and a further 70 people in 9 houses at Boscombe Spa. ^[10] During the 1870s development of Boscombe was such that the population at the census of 1881 had grown to 1,895 – a more than sixfold increase.