Add Link

Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is 32 kilometres (20 mi) east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth  adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council. The town had a population of 138,288 according to the 2001 census, making it the second largest settlement in Dorset.

Human settlement in the area dates back to before the Iron Age. The earliest recorded use of the town’s name was in the 12th century when the town began to emerge as an important port, prospering with the introduction of the wool trade. In later centuries the town had important trade links with North America and at its peak in the 18th century it was one of the busiest ports in Britain. During the Second World War the town was one of the main departing points for the D-Day landings of the Normandy Invasion.

Poole is a tourist resort, attracting visitors with its large natural harbour, history, the Poole Arts Centre and Blue Flag beaches. The town has a busy commercial port with cross-Channel freight and passenger ferry services. The headquarters of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) are located in Poole, and the Royal Marines have a base in the town's harbour. Despite their names, Poole is the home of The Arts University College at Bournemouth, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and a significant part of Bournemouth University.

History

The Poole Logboat, a 2,000 year old monoxylon discovered during dredging works in Poole Harbour.

The town's name derives from a corruption of the Celtic word bol and the Old English word pool meaning a place near a pool or creek. Variants include Pool, Pole, Poles, Poll, Polle, Polman, and Poolman. The area around modern Poole has been inhabited for the past 2,500 years. During the 3rd century BC, Celts known as the Durotriges moved from hilltop settlements at Maiden Castle and Badbury Rings to heathland around the River Frome and Poole Harbour. The Romans landed at Poole during their conquest of Britain in the 1st century and took over an Iron Age settlement at Hamworthy, an area just west of the modern town centre. In Anglo-Saxon times, Poole was included in the Kingdom of Wessex. The settlement was used as a base for fishing and the harbour a place for ships to anchor on their way to the River Frome and the important Anglo-Saxon town of Wareham.[4] Poole experienced two large-scale Viking invasions during this era: in 876, Guthrum sailed his fleet through the harbour to attack Wareham, and in 1015, Canute began his conquest of England in Poole Harbour, using it as a base to raid and pillage Wessex.

Following the Norman conquest of England, Poole rapidly grew into a busy port as the importance of Wareham declined. The town was part of the manor of Canford, but does not exist as an identifiable entry in the Domesday Book. The earliest written mention of Poole occurred on a document from 1196 describing the newly built St James's Chapel in "La Pole". The Lord of the Manor, Sir William Longspée, sold a charter of liberties to the burgesses of Poole in 1248 to raise funds for his participation in the Seventh Crusade. Consequently, Poole gained a small measure of freedom from feudal rule and acquired the right to appoint a mayor and hold a court within town. Poole's growing importance was recognised in 1433 when it was awarded staple port status by King Henry VI, enabling the port to begin exporting wool and in turn granting a license for the construction of a town wall. In 1568, Poole gained further autonomy when it was granted legal independence from Dorset and made a county corporate by the Great Charter of Elizabeth I. During the English Civil War, Poole's puritan stance and its merchant's opposition to the ship money tax introduced by King Charles I led to the town declaring for Parliament. Poole escaped any large-scale attack and with the Royalists on the brink of defeat in 1646, the Parliamentary garrison from Poole laid siege to and captured the nearby Royalist stronghold at Corfe Castle.

Beech Hurst in the town centre, a Georgian mansion built in 1798 for a wealthy Newfoundland merchant.

Poole established successful commerce with the North American colonies in the 16th century, including the important fisheries of Newfoundland. The trade with Newfoundland grew steadily to meet the demand for fish from the Catholic countries of Europe. Poole's share of this trade varied but the most prosperous period started in the early 18th century and lasted until the early 19th century. The trade was a three-cornered route; ships sailed to Newfoundland with salt and provisions, then carried dried and salted fish to Europe before returning to Poole with wine, olive oil, and salt. By the early 18th century Poole had more ships trading with North America than any other English port and vast wealth was brought to Poole's merchants. This prosperity supported much of the development which now characterises the Old Town where many of the medieval buildings were replaced with Georgian mansions and terraced housing. The end of the Napoleonic Wars and the conclusion of the War of 1812 ended Britain's monopoly over the Newfoundland fisheries and other nations took over services provided by Poole's merchants at a lower cost. Poole's Newfoundland trade rapidly declined and within a decade most merchants had ceased trading.

Poole Quay was the busy centre of the town's maritime trade

The town grew rapidly during the industrial revolution as urbanisation took place and the town became an area of mercantile prosperity and overcrowded poverty. At the turn of the 19th century, nine out of ten workers were engaged in harbour activities, but as the century progressed ships became too large for the shallow harbour and the port lost business to the deep water ports at Liverpool, Southampton and Plymouth. Poole's first railway station opened in Hamworthy in 1847 and later extended to the centre of Poole in 1872, effectively ending the port's busy coastal shipping trade. The beaches and landscape of southern Dorset and south-west Hampshire began to attract tourists during the 19th century and the villages to the east of Poole began to grow and merge until the seaside resort of Bournemouth emerged. Although Poole did not become a resort like many of its neighbours, it continued to prosper as the rapid expansion of Bournemouth created a large demand for goods manufactured in Poole.

During World War II, Poole was the third largest embarkation point for D-Day landings of Operation Overlord and afterwards served as a base for supplies to the allied forces in Europe. Eighty-one landing craft containing American troops from the 29th Infantry Division and the U.S. Army Rangers departed Poole Harbour for Omaha Beach. Poole was also an important centre for the development of Combined Operations and the base for a U.S. Coast Guard rescue flotilla of 60 cutters. Much of the town suffered from German bombing during the war and years of neglect in the post-war economic decline. Major redevelopment projects began in the 1950s and 1960s and large areas of slum properties were demolished and replaced with modern public housing and facilities. Many of Poole's historic buildings were demolished during this period, particularly in the Old Town area of Poole. Consequently, a 6-hectare (15-acre) Conservation Area was created in the town centre in 1975 to preserve Poole's most notable buildings.

Governance
Council

On 1 April 1997, the town was made a unitary authority following a review by the Local Government Commission for England (1992), and became once again administratively independent from Dorset. The borough reverted to its previous title of the Borough and County of the Town of Poole, which recalled its status as a county corporate before the implementation of the Local Government Act 1888. For local elections, 42 councillors are elected across 16 wards and elections take place every four years. The last election took place in May 2007, resulting in the Conservatives retaining overall control. The Council is made up of 25 Conservative and 17 Liberal Democrat councillors and Poole's Council Leader is Brian Leverett (Conservative). Poole's Sheriff, a position created by the town's charter of 1568 and just one of 15 Sheriffs in the country, is Conservative Councillor Chris Bulteel. The Mayor is Charles Meachin, a Liberal Democrat councillor for Poole since 1996. In 2008, the Audit Commission rated the Borough of Poole one of the top performing councils in the United Kingdom. The council was described as "improving well" and was given a four star overall performance rating. Poole has been twinned with the town of Cherbourg in France since 1977.

Party political make-up of Poole Borough Council

Landmarks
Quay

Poole Quay, once a busy centre of maritime trade, has become increasingly popular with tourists.

Poole Quay is a visitor attraction to the south of the town centre lined with a mixture of traditional public houses, redeveloped warehouses, modern apartment blocks and historic listed buildings. Once the busy centre of Poole's maritime industry, all port activities moved to Hamworthy in the 1970s as the Quay became increasingly popular with tourists. The Grade II* listed Customs House on the quay-front was built in 1814 and now functions as a restaurant and bar. Nearby the Grade I listed Town Cellars, a medieval warehouse built in the 15th century on the foundations of a 14th century stone building, houses a local history centre. Scaplen's Court, another Grade I listed building, also dates from the medieval era. The Poole Pottery production factory once stood on the eastern end of the Quay but the site was redeveloped into a luxury apartment block and marina in 2001, although an outlet store remains on the site [Boats regularly depart from the quay during the summer and provide cruises around the harbour and to Brownsea Island, the River Frome and Swanage. Public artworks along the Quay include Sea Music – a large metal sculpture designed by Sir Anthony Caro, and a life-size bronze sculpture of Robert Baden-Powell created to celebrate the founding of the Scout Movement on Brownsea Island. At the western end of the quay near the mouth of Holes Bay is Poole Bridge. Built in 1927, it is the third bridge to be located on the site since 1834.

Poole's Guildhall has played a varied part in the history of the town. A Grade II* listed building, the Guildhall was built in 1761 at a cost of £2,250. The new building included an open market house on the ground floor and a courtroom and offices for the town council on the first floor and has also been used as a Court of Record, Magistrates' Court, Court of Admiralty and a venue for Quarter Sessions. Between 1819 and 1821 the building was consecrated as a Parish Church while the old St. James Church was pulled down and replaced with the present church. During the Second World War the building was used as a canteen and meeting room for American soldiers prior to the invasion of France. The showers and washing facilities installed at this time were later converted into public baths which were used until the 1960s. The building was converted for use as the town museum between 1971 and 1991 but stood empty for the next 16 years. After a renovation project funded by Poole Borough Council, the restored Guildhall opened in June 2007 as a Register Office for weddings, civil partnerships and other civic ceremonies.

Poole Bay and the beaches of Poole and Bournemouth

Poole has several urban parks – the largest is Poole Park adjacent to Poole Harbour and the town centre. It opened in 1890 and is one of two Victorian parks in Poole. Designated a Conservation Area in 1995 and awarded a Green Flag in 2008, the park comprises 44.3 hectares (109 acres) of which 24 hectares (59 acres) include the park's man-made lake and ponds. The park contains two children's play areas, tennis courts, a bowling green, a miniature golf course, an Italian restaurant and an indoor ice rink for children. A cricket field and pavilion at the eastern end are home to Poole Town Cricket Club and water sport activities such as sailing, windsurfing, kayaking and rowing take place on the large lake.[88] A war memorial stands in the centre of the park as a monument to Poole citizens killed during the First and Second World Wars. The park hosts several road races such as the Race for Life and the annual Poole Festival of Running.

Poole's sandy beaches are a popular tourist destination extending 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) along Poole Bay from the Sandbanks peninsular to Branksome Dene Chine at the border with Bournemouth. The beaches are divided into four areas: Sandbanks, Shore Road, Canford Cliffs Chine and Branksome Chine. Poole's beaches have been awarded the European Blue Flag for cleanliness and safety 21 times since 1987, more than any other British seaside resort and in 2000 the Tidy Britain Group resort survey rated Poole's beaches among the top five in the country. Along the seafront there are seaside cafés, restaurants, beach huts and numerous water-sports facilities. Royal National Lifeboat Institution Beach Rescue lifeguards patrol the coastline in the busy summer season between May and September.

Religious sites

The Parish Church of St. James, built in 1819

Poole falls within the Church of England Diocese of Salisbury and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth. Poole has many sites of Christian worship including five Grade II* and five Grade II listed churches, but no notable sites of worship for any other major religious groups. The Grade II* St James' Church is a simplified Gothic Revival style Church of England parish church in the Old Town which was rebuilt in 1820. The previous church on the site was first mentioned in documents from 1142 and had been extensively rebuilt in the 16th century, but in 1819 it was deemed structurally unsafe by a surveyors report. The United Reformed Church hall, also in the town centre, is a Grade II* building built in 1777. The other Grade II* churches are: St. Peters Parish Church in Parkstone which was first built in 1833 and replaced in 1876; St. Osmunds Church, also in Parkstone, is a Byzantine style building, formerly an Anglican church it became a Romanian Orthodox Church in 2005; and the Parish Church of St. Aldhelm in Branksome, built by the architects Bodley and Garner in 1892 in the Gothic Revival style.

Sport and recreation

Poole Harbour and Poole Bay are popular areas for a number of recreational pursuits, including sailing, windsurfing, surfing, kitesurfing and water skiing. The harbour's large areas of sheltered waters attract windsurfers, particularly around the northern and eastern shores. Water skiing takes place in the harbour in a special designated area known as the Wareham Channel. The waters around the harbour, Poole Bay and Studland Bay are also popular for recreational angling and diving.

Poole's wide and sandy beaches are used for swimming, sunbathing, water sports and sailing. The beaches at Sandbanks are often used for sporting events such as the Beach Volleyball Classic, and in 2008 it hosted the inaugural British Beach Polo Championship.

Poole Harbour is one of the largest centres for sailing in the UK with yacht clubs including Lilliput Sailing Club, Parkstone Yacht Club and Poole Yacht Club. Parkstone Yacht Club hosted the OK Dinghy World Championships in 2004, the J/24 National Championships in 2006 and the J/24 European Championships in 2007, and are the organisers of Youth Week and Poole Week – two of the largest annual dinghy regattas of their type in the country.

Poole Stadium is a greyhound racing venue and home to the Poole Pirates speedway team.

Poole's oldest football team is Poole Town F.C., a semi-professional team who play in the Wessex League Premier Division – the ninth tier of the English football league system. Established in 1880, the team has had erratic success at their level; they have never risen above non-League levels but once reached the third round of the FA Cup They played at Poole Stadium until 1994 and have since settled at Tatnam Farm, sharing the school playing field with Oakdale South Road Middle School. Poole's other football teams are Hamworthy United, who formed in 1970 and also play in the Wessex Premier League, and amateur team Poole Borough F.C. who play in the Dorset Premier League. Poole is one of the largest towns in England without a professional football team.

Poole's motorcycle speedway team, the Poole Pirates, were established and began racing at Poole Stadium in 1948 in the National League Division Three. The team now races in the top tier of league racing (the Elite League) which they last won in 2008. Poole Stadium is also a venue for greyhound racing; race nights occur three days a week throughout the year.

Culture

The 'Beating of the Bounds' is an ancient annual custom first carried out in 1612, which revives the traditional checking of the sea boundaries awarded to Poole by the Cinque Port of Winchelsea in 1364. The Admiral of the Port of Poole (the mayor) and other dignitaries, and members of the public sail from the mouth of the River Frome to Old Harry Rocks to confirm the Mayor's authority over the water boundaries of the harbour and check for any encroachments. As there are no physical landmarks that can be beaten at sea, traditionally children from Poole were encouraged to remember the bounds of their town by taking part in the 'Pins and Points' ceremony involving the beating of a boy and pricking of a girl's hand with a needle. In modern times, the acts have been symbolically carried out.

The Lighthouse Arts Centre in Poole is the largest arts centre in England outside London

The Animal Windfest is an annual three day long festival of water-sports held at Sandbanks. The event features the UK windsurfing freestyle final, the second round of the British kiteboarding championships and other amateur competitions and demonstration events. First held in 1998, the festival attracts approximately 10,000 people each year. Poole's Summertime in the South is an annual programme providing various events on Poole Quay and Sandbanks from May until September. During June and July, live music, street entertainment and a large firework display take place on Poole Quay every Thursday evening. In August, the entertainment moves to the beaches at Sandbanks.

Poole's Lighthouse is the largest arts centre complex in the United Kingdom outside London. Built in 1978, the centre contains a cinema, concert hall, studio, theatre, image lab and media suite and galleries featuring exhibitions of contemporary photography and modern digital art. The venue underwent an £8.5 million refurbishment in 2002, paid for by the Arts Council England, the Borough of Poole and private donations. The centre's concert hall has been the residence of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's main concert series since their former base at the Bournemouth Winter Gardens closed in 1985. Situated in the centre of the Old Town, Poole Museum illustrates the story of the area and its people and the collections reflect the cultural, social and industrial history of Poole. Displays include the Poole Logboat and a detailed history of Poole from the Iron Age to the present day. The museum has a floor devoted to the history of Poole Pottery and some of the company's products are on display. Entrance to the museum is free.

Transport

The main transport features in Poole and Dorset

The A350 road is Poole town centre's main artery, running north from Poole Bridge along Holes Bay and on to the A35, and as a single carriageway to Bath and Bristol. To the east, the A337 road leads to Lymington and the New Forest. The A35 trunk road runs from Devon to Southampton and connects to the A31 on the outskirts of the town. The A31, the major trunk road in central southern England, connects to the M27 motorway at Southampton. From here the M3 motorway leads to London, and fast access may also be gained via the A34 to the M4 north of Newbury. A second bridge is planned to be built to connect Poole and Hamworthy as the existing bridge is unsuitable for the increasing traffic flow. The £34 million project was given approval by the Department for Transport in 2006 but construction was initially held up due to a stalemate between the council and the land owners and delays by the Department for Transport in approving a £14 million grant. Negotiations between the council and the land owners were settled in August 2009 and the government grant was eventually provided in March 2010. Construction is expected to begin in the summer with completion by early 2012. A road link to Studland and the Isle of Purbeck across the narrow entrance of Poole Harbour is provided by the Sandbanks Ferry.

Local bus services are run by Wilts & Dorset who are based at the town’s bus station and have served Poole since 1983. Wilts & Dorset operate networks across Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Salisbury, in addition to operations on the Isle of Purbeck and the New Forest. Other services are run by Bournemouth based Transdev Yellow Buses, Roadliner, Shamrock Buses and Damory Coaches. Poole is connected to towns and villages along the Jurassic Coast by the First X53 service, which runs along a route of 142 kilometres (88 mi) to Weymouth, Bridport, Lyme Regis, Seaton and Exeter. Poole bus station is the terminus of National Express Coaches which have frequent departures to London Victoria Coach Station. There are also direct services to the West Country, the Sussex coast, Bristol, Birmingham, the Midlands, the North West, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The National Express Flightlink service serves Heathrow Airport and connects to Gatwick and Stansted Airport.

Poole railway station is served by London Waterloo to Weymouth express and semi-fast services.

Poole has four railway stations on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth. These are – from east to west – Branksome near the border with Bournemouth, Parkstone, Poole railway station in the town centre and Hamworthy. Services to Waterloo are operated by South West Trains and depart from Poole station every half an hour, express services depart every hour. Plans for a £50 million redevelopment of Poole railway station have been delayed since 2006 due to contractual issues between land owners Network Rail and developers the Kier Group. The plans include a new railway station, a hotel, a new pedestrian bridge, business offices and a transport interchange for taxis and coaches.

Poole is a cross-Channel port for passengers and freight with up to seven sailings a day in the summer season. Ferry services from Poole Harbour to Cherbourg are provided by Brittany Ferries who operate two ferries from Poole: the Normandie Vitesse and the Cotentin. The Barfleur had provided a daily year-round service to Cherbourg since 1992 but this was withdrawn at the beginning of 2010 after Brittany Ferries claimed it had been a loss making service since 2003. The Normandie Vitesse provides a high-speed daily passenger service to Cherbourg between May and September; the Cotentin freight ship covers the Poole-Cherbourg route year-round and runs a weekend service between Poole and Santander, Spain. The Condor Ferries catamarans Condor Express and Condor Vitesse run seasonal services to Guernsey, Jersey and St. Malo, Brittany. Bournemouth International Airport in Hurn, on the periphery of Bournemouth, is the nearest airport to Poole – 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from Poole town centre. Ryanair, easyJet, Thomson Airways and Palmair operate from the airport and provide scheduled services to destinations in the UK and Europe.

Education

Poole has sixteen first schools, eight middle schools, seven combined schools, eight secondary and grammar schools, five special schools, two independent schools and one college of further education. Canford School, is an independent boarding school and although located in Wimborne, it is administered by Poole local education authority. Poole’s two grammar schools maintain a selective education system, assessed by the Eleven Plus exam. Poole High School is the largest secondary school in Poole with 1,660 pupils. The Bournemouth and Poole College attracts over 16,000 students a year and is one of the largest further education colleges in the country and the leading provider of academic and vocational education in Dorset. It has two centrally located main campuses in Poole and Bournemouth. In 2008, the college announced plans to refurbish and redevelop its campuses at an estimated cost of £120 million. However, the project stalled in 2009 when the Learning and Skills Council, which had promised to provide 80% of the money, ran out of funds.

From the 2007 General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results, Poole was ranked 18th out of 148 local authorities in England based on the percentage of pupils attaining at least five A* to C grades at GCSE level including maths and English (54.5% compared with the national average of 46.8%). Parkstone Grammar School was the most successful secondary school in Poole for GCSE results in 2007: 100% of pupils gained five or more GCSEs at A* to C grade including maths and English. Canford School also achieved 100% and Poole Grammar School was the next best performing school with 98%. Poole High School achieved 39% and the worst performing school was Rossmore Community College where only 19% of students achieved five or more A* to C grade results. Poole’s grammar schools were also the best performing for A-level results. Poole Grammar School was the 60th most successful school/sixth form in the country in 2007: each student achieved on average 1071.4 points compared to the national average of 731.2. Parkstone Grammar School students averaged 1017.9 points.

Bournemouth University was designated as a university in 1992 and despite its name, the university’s main campus (the Talbot Campus) and buildings are in Poole and smaller campus is situated in Bournemouth. Media courses are the university's strength, and recent teaching quality assessments have resulted in ratings of 'excellent' for courses in the areas of communication and media, business and management, catering and hospitality, archaeology and nursing and midwifery. The Arts Institute at Bournemouth is a university-sector institution in Poole at Wallisdown. The institute offers undergraduate, foundation degree, postgraduate and further education courses in contemporary arts, design and media.

Public services

Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is the trauma centre for East Dorset

Home Office policing in Poole is provided by the Poole and Bournemouth Division of Dorset Police which has two police stations in Poole: on Wimborne Road in the town centre, and on Gravel Hill in Canford Heath. Dorset Fire and Rescue Service provides statutory emergency fire and rescue services for Poole and are based at Poole Fire Station in Creekmoor which opened in 2008. The former fire station on Wimborne Road was demolished in 2008 and was replaced with a new joint fire and police divisional headquarters which opened in 2009.

Poole Hospital is a large NHS Foundation Trust hospital in Longfleet with 789 beds. It opened in 1969 as Poole General Hospital, replacing Poole's Cornelia Hospital which had stood on the site since 1907. The hospital is the major trauma center for East Dorset and provides core services such as child health and maternity for a catchment area including Bournemouth and Christchurch. Specialist services such as neurological care and cancer treatment are also provided for the rest of Dorset. The South Western Ambulance Service provides emergency patient transport.

Waste management and recycling are co-ordinated by Poole Borough Council in partnership with Viridor Waste Management. Locally produced inert waste is sent to landfill for disposal. Recycle waste is taken to the recycling plant at the Allington Quarry Waste Management Facility in Kent for processing. Poole's Distribution Network Operator for electricity is Scottish and Southern Energy. Drinking and waste water is managed by Wessex Water; groundwater sources in Wiltshire and Dorset provide 80% of drinking water, the rest comes from reservoirs fed by rivers and streams.

Media

Poole has one main local newspaper, the Daily Echo, which is owned by Newsquest. Published since 1900, the newspaper features news from Poole, Bournemouth and the surrounding area. Issues appear Monday through Saturday with a daily circulation of 32,441. For local television, Poole is served by the BBC South studios based in Southampton, and by Meridian Broadcasting (formerly Television South) with studios in Fareham. Radio stations broadcasting to the town include Wave 105, Heart Dorset & New Forest (formerly 2CR FM), Fire 107.6 and The Bay 102.8. Limited BBC Local Radio coverage to Poole and the rest of Dorset is provided by the Hampshire based BBC Radio Solent. Plans for a BBC Radio Dorset station were abandoned in 2007 following financial cutbacks by the BBC.

Notable people

The town has been the birthplace and home to notable people, of national and international acclaim. Former residents include Robert Baden Powell the founder of the Scouting movement, British radio disc jockey Tony Blackburn, the artist Augustus John and The Lord of the Rings author J. R. R. Tolkien lived in Poole for four years during his retirement. Alfred Russel Wallace, the 19th century explorer, naturalist and co-founder of the theory of evolution by natural selection, moved to Poole in 1902 when he was 78 years old and is buried in Broadstone cemetery. Notable people born in Poole include Greg Lake of the band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, the author John le Carré, the writer and actor David Croft, and James Stephen, the principal lawyer associated with the British abolitionist movement. Edgar Wright the director of films such as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz was born in Poole and out of the five previous British winners of the Miss World title, two have hailed from Poole; Ann Sydney and Sarah-Jane Hutt. Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham Hotspur F.C. manager, and his son Jamie Redknapp, a former England national football team player, own homes in Sandbanks.