Discount Hotels Bournemouth
Historical interest: Bournemouth
    
Bournemouth is a relatively new city compared to the rest of the British Isles,
but its location on one of the best beaches in the south has guaranteed a rapid
rise to prominence in less than two centuries.
At the beginning of the 19th century the area was occupied by grazing cows and
the nearest significant settlement was the historic maritime centre of Poole
to the west.
By the 1830s the area became popular with middle class families retiring to
the seaside for holidays, and the first developments of a resort town began.
By 1840 several villas has been built for rent and a town planner commissioned,
resulting in the Bath Hotel and Westover Gardens. In that year the stage coach
between Southampton and Weymouth began stopping by.
By 1851 the first shops had appeared in Commercial Road and a brick bridge
replaced the wooden one over the Bourne river.
Bournemouth police force was founded in 1856. Local government began in 1856
and the town gained gas street lighting and a piped water supply in 1866. The
first jetty appeared in 1870 and it was replaced with the current iron one in
1880.
Visitors to this resort town increased dramatically after the railway reached
Bournemouth in 1870. The construction of the Mont Dore hotel in 1885 was another
landmark and it was later converted into the town hall. Other additions included
the Winter Gardens (1874), Theatre Royal (1882) and Bournemouth Arcade (1872).
With the rapid rise and influx of visitors came disasters too, such as the
1936 typhoid epidemic. During WWII Bournemouth didn't escape the bombing either,
resulting in more than 200 fatalities.
Following the war, the social and economic character of the town improved dramatically
and as Britain became more prosperous, more and more people headed to the Bournemouth
area for summer vacations, further boosting the town's fortunes. Radical town
planning decisions resulted in moving the town from the jurisdiction of Hampshire
to Dorset in 1972.
In 1992 the University was established from the former Polytechnic college.
Another big step forward was the completion of Bournemouth International Centre
in 1984 allowing Bournemouth to position itself as a major conference and exhibition
destination.
In the mid 1990s Boscombe Cliff Gardens were refurbished. Today Bournemouth
continues to keep abreast of changes and has diversified into the service industries,
among others.
Selection of hotels in this region:
Heathlands Hotel | | The Suncliff Hotel | | Langtry Manor Hotel | | Durley Hall Hotel | | Menzies Carlton Hotel, Bournemouth | | Gresham Court Hotel | | Russell Court Hotel | | Travelodge Bournemouth | | Tralee Hotel | | Carrington House Hotel | | Wessex Hotel | | De Vere Royal Bath | | New Durley Dean Hotel | | Bournemouth Highcliff Marriott Hotel | | The Cadogan Hotel | | Menzies Anglo Swiss Hotel | | Menzies East Cliff Court | | Quality Hotel Bournemouth | | Hilton Bournemouth | | Norfolk Royale Hotel | | The Roundhouse Hotel | |
Click below for a
full list of hotels and online booking
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