Every year, thousands of people swarm to the seafront in Bournemouth. Here, we’ve looked back at past summers and shops from that era.
Though we strongly disagree with its ranking as the ninth worst place to live in England, Bournemouth is better known as a seaside resort that draws both residents and visitors each year. Looking back at some of these old photos makes us feel nostalgic for bygone days.
Given that Bournemouth is the largest town in Dorset and offers a plethora of things to see and do, it is understandable why the town has grown to be a popular travel destination. In order to examine how Bournemouth has evolved, DorsetLive has dug through its archives and retrieved old images of occasions, recognizable people, closed businesses, and the town’s appearance in the past.
Toggle down to see this array of photos – feel free to contact us with any memories or old photos of Bournemouth you have.
The largest number of pupils yet from Ansford Community School at Ansford, near Castle Cary, have been taken on a residential visit to Bournemouth. The 106 students, accompanied by their teachers, enjoyed some good weather for a variety of activities including a town trail, pot painting and using the hotel’s leisure facilities in June 1998
The store which was sold in March 1999 to Bournemouth-based Beale’s for almost £5M.
Bakery students at Bournemouth and Poole College of Further Education have revived an old tradition by producing harvest loaves for local churches. More than 40 decorative bread sheaves were baked and distributed by the students for harvest offerings. Lecturer Ian Sterling has encouraged bakery students to learn traditional skills and the college offers a range of courses, including NVQs and diplomas. From left at back are Mr Sterling, the Rev Pamela Schollar of St James the Greater, the Rev Ian Scott-Thomas of St Saviour’s and the Rev Robin Harger of St Stephen’s. At the front are college chaplain James Steven and bakery students.
Popular botanist and TV personality David Bellamy celebrates his honorary title of Doctor of Science at Bournemouth International Centre in 1999
(Image: Bernard Tyrer.)4 of 32
Chairman of Dorset Training and Enterprise Council Gordon Page, centre, presents staff from Age Concern Bournemouth with the Investors In People award in recognition of their ongoing training and support for more than 150 volunteers and 20 staff.
(Image: BUP)5 of 32
Pine Tree Walk (formerly Invalids Walk) located near the Lower Gardens
A couple stroll past empty beach huts on Bournemouth seafront ON Tuesday July 9, 2002
Aerial photograph of central Bournemouth
BOURNEMOUTH INTERNATIONAL CENTRE, AUGUST 24TH 2005.
(Image: Solent News and Photo Agency)15 of 32
Archive shot of Bournemouth Town Centre
Old photo of the beach at Bournemouth
View of thousands of people enjoying the sunshine on Bournemouth beach in summer of 2007
The Dorset LTA’s mini-tennis finals at Bournemouth featured some of the county’s top young players in 2007
Exterior of Beales Store in Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth
Snow settles on the beach at Bournemouth in Dorset as blizzards struck the west of England in March 2009
A 9ft whale spotted swimming near Bournemouth Pier and in Poole Bay
An archive photo of Grange Hotel at Bournemouth before it was redeveloped.
Adventure Wonderland in Bournemouth
Display at Bournemouth Air Show
A woman walks past what is expected to be confirmed as the world’s largest deckchair on Bournemouth Beach on March 22, 2012. The giant chair was built by sculptor Stuart Murdoch, weighs almost six tonnes and measures eight and a half metres tall.
Picture taken in 1958 of British Railways Standard Class 4 locomotive 76010 operating on the Southern Region. It is shown pulling an east bound train out of Bournemouth Central Station.
Enjoying the autumn sunshine in the Lower Gardens at Bournemouth.
Dorset artist Lisa Berkshire was asked by Bournemouth Borough Council to brighten up the wall that runs along the sea front at Boscombe,with a local theme. She painted the land train mural, whilst Year 3 pupils from Pokesdown`s St. James Primary School put themselves in the mural with self portraits as the passengers
Chase and Status perform to a bouncing crowd at 1xtra Live in Bournemouth in 2013
Father Christmas entertains the crowds with one of his many talents, high wiring across the Square at Bournemouth, without a safety net or harness, because he never falls or fails
There was a time when an outing generally meant going by coach to a local seaside resort. If it was a pub excursion, it generally consisted of only men, took in one or two “refreshment” stops en-route and visited a few favourite watering holes on the way homeBut in the 19560s and 60s trips became more ambitious as organisers realised the potential of day trips by air to far more interesting destinations.Today’s picture recalls one such trip which consisted mostly of GAC staff and former employees.It flew out of Staverton, touched down in Bournemouth, and then took off again for Jersey.The man in the aeroplane’s doorway is Gordon Davis and the man next down is Bill Baldwin.
What Bournemouth PIer Approach looked like in the 1890s
(Image: Library of Congress)7 of 32
Crowd Scenes outside Bournemouth Police Station, Thursday 15th August 1963. Members of the public gather outside Police Station after hearing new that the first gang member of The Great Train Robbery has been caught, Roger Cordrey, with his friend, William Boal. They were living in a rented, fully furnished flat above a florist’s shop in Wimborne Road, Moordown, Bournemouth. The Bournemouth police were tipped off by police widow Ethel Clark when Boal and Cordrey paid rent for a garage (in Tweedale Road off Castle Lane West) three months in advance, all in used ten-shilling notes. The 1963 Great Train Robbery was the robbery of 2.6 million pounds from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London on the West Coast Main Line in the early hours of 8th August 1963, at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn, near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire, England. (Photo by Freddie Cole/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
Crowd Scenes outside Bournemouth Police Station, Thursday 15th August 1963. Press and members of the public gather outside Police Station after hearing news that the first gang member has been caught, Roger Cordrey, with his friend, William Boal. They were living in a rented, fully furnished flat above a florist’s shop in Wimborne Road, Moordown, Bournemouth. The Bournemouth police were tipped off by police widow Ethel Clark when Boal and Cordrey paid rent for a garage (in Tweedale Road off Castle Lane West) three months in advance, all in used ten-shilling notes. (Photo by Maurice Tibbles/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
Owner of the Coriander Restaurant Christine Mills, right, and partner Wendy Nelmes with head of tourism at Bournemouth Borough Council Ken Male, left, celebrating at becoming the first restaurant in Dorset to achieve the prestigious Investors in People standard. Pictured in June 2001
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh on Bournemouth Pier in Dorset Wednesday, July 28, 2004.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrives for Sunday service at the Punshon Memorial Methodist church in Bournemouth, with his wife Cherie Sunday, Sept. 28, 2003.
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