Town in Dorset, England
Bournemouth
Jekyll and Hyde was written in a Bournemouth villa, in a seaside town whose story began in 1810 with one captain's land purchase.
Key information
- County
- Dorset
- Nation
- England
- Known for
- Seven miles of sandy beach, a Victorian pier, the chines and the Bournemouth Air Festival
- Famous people
- Mary Shelley (buried here), Robert Louis Stevenson, J. R. R. Tolkien
- Football clubs
- AFC Bournemouth, known as the Cherries
About Bournemouth
The town that grew out of a heath
Before 1810 there was no Bournemouth to speak of: just heathland, pine and a small stream, the bourne, running down to the sea. The name simply means the mouth of that stream. Then Captain Lewis Tregonwell, a retired army officer, bought land there. His house, now part of the Royal Exeter Hotel, was completed in 1812, and he began planting pines. Visitors followed him and villas followed the visitors. By Victorian times the town was a fashionable health resort. Doctors recommended its mild climate and resin-scented air, especially to people with chest complaints. The pines are still everywhere, and they gave the town its leafy look.
Where Dr Jekyll was born
Robert Louis Stevenson lived in Bournemouth from 1884 to 1887, chasing better health. From 1885 he occupied a house called Skerryvore, and there he wrote Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, published in 1886. Skerryvore was destroyed in the Second World War, but its site is now the Stevenson Memorial Gardens. The town has a second literary claim. Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, is buried in St Peter's churchyard. Her son moved the remains of her parents, Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, there so the three could lie together. J. R. R. Tolkien was a regular holidaymaker here and died in Bournemouth in 1973.
Seven miles of sand and a very Victorian pier
The beach is Bournemouth's main attraction: around seven miles of sand, backed by cliffs and cut by wooded ravines called chines. Alum Chine, Durley Chine and Branksome Chine all lead down to the water. Bournemouth Pier opened in 1880 and was designed by Eugenius Birch, the engineer behind several of Britain's best-known seaside piers. Beach huts line the promenade, and fish and chips are eaten, as tradition requires, while keeping a wary eye on the gulls. The free Bournemouth Air Festival began in 2008 and filled the seafront and the sky above the bay with aircraft; its last edition was in 2024.
A Victorian museum with a seaside view
The Russell-Cotes Museum sits on the East Cliff. Merton Russell-Cotes, a hotelier, had it built in 1901 as a gift for his wife Annie, and filled it with art and curiosities from their travels. It is a glorious mix of Victorian taste and sea views, and it shows how much money the resort once attracted. The Lower Gardens run from the town centre down to the pier, following the little stream that gave Bournemouth its name. Together with the Upper and Central Gardens they make a green ribbon through the middle of town.
The orchestra that started with a seaside band
Bournemouth has a serious musical pedigree. In 1893 Dan Godfrey founded the Municipal Orchestra, which grew into the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and is now one of Britain's best-known orchestras. It began as entertainment for holidaymakers in the Victorian resort. Since 1979 its home has been the Lighthouse in neighbouring Poole.
The Cherries' great escape
AFC Bournemouth are nicknamed the Cherries, and for decades they were a modest lower-league side playing at Dean Court, now called the Vitality Stadium. In 2008 the club was in deep financial trouble and started the League Two season on minus 17 points. Survival alone was an achievement. Then came the rise under manager Eddie Howe. The club climbed through the divisions and reached the Premier League in 2015, a story that still seems barely believable at one of the smallest grounds in the top flight.