Poole

For people with Poole as surname, see Poole (disambiguation)

50°43′N 1°59′W

Borough of Poole
Geography
Status:	Unitary district, Borough
Region:	South West England
Ceremonial County:	Dorset
Historic County:	Dorset
Area: - Total	Ranked 285th 64.88 km²
Admin. HQ:	Poole
Grid reference:	SZ009906
ONS code:	00HP
Demographics
Population: - Total (2022) - Density	Ranked / km²
Ethnicity:	98.2% White
Politics and Government
Arms of Poole Borough Council http://www.poole.gov.uk/
Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
Executive:
MPs:	Annette Brooke (LD) Robert Syms (C)
Post Office and Telephone
Post Code:	BH
Post Town:	POOLE
Dialling Code:	01202

Poole () is a large English coastal town, Borough, port and tourist destination, situated on the shores of the English Channel, in the ceremonial county of Dorset. The town has a population of 141,128 and is part of the South East Dorset conurbation. Poole is famed for its large natural harbour, claimed to be the second largest in the world.

Maritime trade has a long history within the town, reaching its apex when the town was granted exclusive rights to fish off Newfoundland by Queen Victoria in the 19th century. During the Second World War the town was one of the central departing points for the D-Day landings of the Normandy Invasions.

The town is one of the principal centres of sailing and yachting in the United Kingdom. Poole is home to the headquarters of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the luxury yacht manufacturer Sunseeker. The Special Boat Service (SBS) also operate out of the harbour.

During the summer months the town serves a large number of tourists who visit the waterfront, the town centre and the nearby Sandbanks beach and Brownsea Island. Other prominent employers in Poole include Barclays Bank, the Bank of New York Mellon, Hamworthy Engineering, Poole Packaging, Penske Cars, Ryvita, cosmetics company Lush, and the clothing company, Animal.

Poole is also home to Bournemouth University, The Arts Institute at Bournemouth and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (despite their names).

Geography

The resort of Bournemouth is to the east of Poole, with Studland and the Jurassic coast to the west.

Poole lies on the northern and eastern sides of Poole Harbour. The oldest part of the town (including the historic quarter of Poole, the Dolphin Shopping centre and Poole Park) lie to the south of the Holes Bay and the north of Poole Harbour. To the west of Poole is Upton. Within the northern boundaries of Poole are the settlements of Broadstone and Merley, with Wimborne lying just across the northern border. Also within the northern boundary is Canford Heath, a new settlement built on an internationally important heathland during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s (what is left of the heath is now protected, although still in private hands). At the eastern edge of Poole, the town abuts Bournemouth and the settlements of Talbot Village, Wallisdown, Kinson, Winton and Westbourne. The administrative boundary of Poole also includes the mainly residential areas of Parkstone, Newtown, Branksome and Hamworthy. The Poole areas of Wallisdown and Talbot Village house students who attend Bournemouth University (the administrative area and main campus of which is located in Poole).

Poole Quay, looking east towards Parkstone

Sandbanks, a peninsula across part of the harbour mouth (to the east of the main town centre), is so popular that it has the highest land value, per sq foot, in the world. There are expensive homes both on Sandbanks and the area stretching east from the Harbour to The Avenue (the eastern boundary of Poole). Poole is twinned with Cherbourg in France.

Harbour and Quay

Main article: Poole Harbour

Poole Harbour (said to be the second largest natural harbour in the world after Sydney) has been a working port for many hundreds of years, though the port has declined as the shallow water cannot take any container ships. Today the port is the home of Sunseeker, manufacturers of luxury yachts, and the departure point for ferries (Brittany Ferries and Condor Ferries) to France and the Channel Islands.

The former Government Poole Custom House on the Quayside of the Harbour and Scaplens Court, now the local history centre

The harbour is noted for its ecology: supporting saltmarsh, mudflats and an internationally important population of wintering waterfowl. The Harbour is home to Brownsea Island, a nature reserve owned by the National Trust and the birthplace of the Scouting movement and first ever Scout Camp.

During the Second World War the quayside and harbour was one of the central departing points for the D-Day landings of the Normandy Invasions. There is a plan to expand the port and enlarge the capacity and facilities so that larger ships, even cruise ships can dock in Poole. This is all part of the rejuvenation of the town, alongside new developments and amenities including the new town bridge (over to Hamworthy), which will be built over the next few years.

History

Early History

The Poole Logboat in Poole Museum. Made from a single oak tree, it is over 2,000 years old.

The Poole Harbour area has been inhabited for well over 2,500 years. The local tribe were the Celtic Durotriges who lived in Dorset in the Iron Age, particularly around Wareham, five miles to the west. The earliest significant archaeological find in the harbour itself is the Poole Logboat, a 10 metre boat made from a single oak tree and dating to 295 BC. At the time the harbour was probably shallower and any settlement would now be under water.

During the last few centuries before the Roman invasion the Celtic people were moving from the hilltop settlements, such as Maiden Castle and Badbury Rings on the chalk downs to the north, and onto the lower vales and heathland around the River Frome and Poole Harbour. It may be this marshy area which gave the local tribe of the area, the Durotriges, "water dwellers", their name. The Durotriges probably engaged in cross-channel trading at Poole with the Veneti, a seafaring tribe from Brittany.

In the Roman invasion of Britain in the 1st century, Poole was one of a number of harbouring sites along the south coast where the Romans landed. The Romans founded Hamworthy, an area just west of the modern town centre, and continued to use the harbour during the occupation. The town's name derives from the Old English pol which was given to people who lived near a small body of water such as a pool or pond. Variants include Pool, Pole, Poles, Poll, Polle, Polman, and Poolman.

11th to 18th centuries

The Longspee charter, the towns first charter, was granted to Poole in 1248 by the landlord of the area, a Crusader, Sir William Longspee.

After the retreat of the Romans, trade in the area diminished, though several small settlements continued to thrive. During the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries the maritime and fishing trade of Poole continued to grow. As such, Poole was given its first charter in 1248 under William Longspee, Lord of the Manor, a knight and crusader. Poole however remained a small fishing town until the time of the Norman Conquest.

In 1405 the French burnt Poole to the ground because local pirate Harry Paye was attacking their trading vessels. Afterwards the town grew rapidly into an important port exporting wool and in 1433 was made Port of the Staple as it had become the biggest port in Dorset. By then the town had trade links from the Baltic to Spain.

The town continued to grow in importance despite the effects of piracy and, in 1571, was made a county corporate. In the 16th, 17th and 18th century Poole became an important salt centre, with large salt warehouses dominating the waterfront The saltmasters mansion, Salterns House still exists in Sandbanks. In the 17th century transatlantic trade and travel developed and at the start of the 18th century the town was beating rival Bristol as the busiest port in England.

19th and 20th centuries

The Ancient Guild of St George Tudor almshouse erected in 1586.

The town grew rapidly during the industrial revolution as urbanisation took place and the town became both an area of mercantile prosperity and of overcrowded poverty. Poole was granted exclusive rights to fish off Newfoundland by Queen Victoria, which improved the importance and wealth of the town. At the turn of the 19th century, nine out of 10 workers in Poole were engaged in harbour activities, but as the century progressed ships became too large for the shallow harbour and the port began losing business to the deep water ports at Liverpool, Southampton and Plymouth. Poole was also the site of technological innovation, when in 1897, the Haven Hotel in Poole was the site of some of Marconi's wireless experiments. Marconi was able to receive radio signals in Poole sent from Alum Bay, Isle of Wight, 20 miles away.

In the 19th century the beaches and landscape of south-west Hampshire and south east Dorset, as well as the Isle of Purbeck district of Dorset, began to attract large numbers of tourists and the villages to the east of Poole began to grow and merge until the holiday town of Bournemouth emerged. Growth accelerated and Poole and Bournemouth (along with Christchurch to the east) have become a large built-up area. Although the three towns are well known as popular holiday destinations, each has its own character.

Despite the growth in leisure activities, Poole retains a part of its industrial heritage. The Town Centre retains many of the older buildings put up by the wealthy merchants, such as the 1761 market house and Sir Peter Thompson's 1746 town house designed by John Bastard (in Market Street). Other historic buildings such as the medieval Wool house, Scaplen's Court and the Tudor Ancient Guild of St George Tudor almshouse erected in 1586 also survive. However, the town suffered greatly from bombing in World War II and much of the Georgian part of the town was redeveloped in the 1960s and 70s.

On April 1, 1997 the town was made a unitary authority, once again administratively independent from Dorset, after a review of the Local Government Commission for England. The Borough's name was changed at this date to Borough and County of the Town of Poole, which recalled its status as a county of itself prior to the implementation of the Local Government Act 1888.

Poole Today

The new Poole Quarter, a 512 housing and flat development adjacent to the town centre.

In recent years a significant building regeneration has taken place in the town, with the demolition of Hamworthy (Poole) power station and the redevelopment of the old town gas gas-works. The latter of which has become part of the new Poole Quarter, a massive multi-million pound housing park adjacent to the town centre, comprising a total of 512 new homes. Other building innovations include the recently renovated arts centre and the new RNLI headquarters. The recent construction boom was acknowledged in 2007, when the Borough of Poole recieved a top award celebrating the best of the British construction industry.

Another building project in the area includes the addition of a second bridge to connect the centre of Poole with Hamworthy. The existing bridge is considered unsuitable for the current traffic flow, as it was constructed in 1926 after the previous bridge, built in 1885 was at the time also considered unsuitable for the growing town. Proposed plans call for a second bridge to be built. As of November 2007, construction has been delayed because of a stalemate between the council and the owners of the land. The £34 million scheme was given approval in 2006 by the Department for Transport.

Coat of Arms and St James

The first Coat of Arms was recorded by Clarenceux King of Arms during the heraldic visitation of Dorset in 1563. The arms were recorded again at visitation in 1623. In both visitation records the colours of the arms were not recorded. The design originated in a seal of the late 1300s and therefore predated the setting up of the College of Heralds in 1484 and also the order of King Henry V in 1417, which disallowed the bearing of arms without authority from the Crown. The wavy bars (black and gold) represented water and the dolphin "the king of the sea", just as the lion represents "king of the beasts". The dolphin was a sign of Poole's maritime interests. The three scallop shells are the symbol of St James and associated with the shrine of Santiago de Compostela reputed burial place of St James, apostle of Jesus Christ. St James is the Patron Saint of the Parish Church in the Old Town of Poole.

The Poole Coat of Arms as used before 1948, depicting the three scallop shells of Saint James of Compostela and the dolphin, the towns official symbol. The colours in this stained glass representation differ from those confirmed in 1948.

The arms were confirmed by the College of Arms on June 19, 1948, with the colours officially recorded for the first time. At the same time the crest, a mermaid supporting an anchor and holding a cannon ball was granted. The crest had in fact been in use since the eighteenth century. Following local government reorganisation in 1974, the 1948 arms were transferred to the present Poole Borough Council. In 1976 the borough council received the grant of supporters, the figures on either side of the shield.

The supporters refer to Poole's main charters: that on the dexter side (left to the viewer) is a gold lion holding a long sword. This represents William Longespee, lord of the manor in 1248 who granted the town's first charter. The other (sinister) supporter is a dragon. This is derived from the royal arms of Elizabeth I, as depicted on the "Great Charter" of 1568. The royal dragon is coloured red, but that granted to Poole was altered to gold for heraldic difference. The dragon holds a silver oar. This is part of the civic regalia of the Mayor of Poole, representing his additional title "Admiral of the port of Poole". Since 1976 the dolphin has been depicted naturalistically rather than heraldically.

The armorial bearings of the arms are blazoned as follows: Barry wavy of eight sable and or a dolphin naiant embowed argent langued gules; on a chief wavy of the third three escallops of the first. Crest: On a wreath of the colours a mermaid proper supporting with her dexter hand an anchor cabled without a beam proper and in her sinister hand a pellet. Supporters: On the dexter a lion or holding a sword erect proper and on the sinister a dragon or supporting an oar argent upon a Compartment per pale of a grassy mound and water barry wavy azure and argent. The Latin motto - "Ad Morem Villae De Poole" means "According to the Custom of the Town of Poole", comes from the town's 1568 Great Charter.

Economy

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Bournemouth and Poole at current basic prices published(pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Year	Regional Gross Value Added[1]	Agriculture[2]	Industry[3]	Services[4]
1995	2,740	4	665	2,071
2000	4,142	2	890	3,250
2003	4,705	2	898	3,804

1. Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
2. includes hunting and forestry
3. includes energy and construction
4. includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured

The principal economy of Poole is the Service sector with a large number of employees working either for the service economy of local residents or for the tourist economy. However, Poole is home to the headquarters of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), the cosmetics company Lush, Ryvita and the luxury yacht manufacturer Sunseeker, all of which are the largest employers in the town. Other prominent employers in Poole include Barclays Bank (who operate a regional HQ), the Bank of New York Mellon who have their corporate trust division in the town, Hamworthy Engineering, Poole Packaging, Penske Cars, Samsung and the clothing company, Animal. Poole is the headquarters for Merlin Entertainments, the worlds second largest theme park operator after Disney.

Culture, recreation, and entertainment

The Lighthouse Arts Centre (pictured), located in the town centre is the largest arts centre in England outside London.

Poole Harbour is a location for watersports because it is sheltered and calm. The Sandbanks / shore road area is popular for windsurfing and kitesurfing, with on-road (charged) parking adjacent to the harbour. Poole Harbour is also 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 has been hosts of the OK World Championships, as well as being organisers of Youth Week and Poole Week, two of the largest dinghy regattas of their type in the country.

Poole is home to its own motorcycle speedway team, the Poole Pirates. The Pirates opened in 1948 in the National League Division Three but rose to the top flight. The current team races in the British Elite league. Poole's oldest football team is Poole Town F.C. who play in the Wessex League Premier Division. Poole Borough F.C. play in the Dorset Premier League. Poole's entertainment sites include Tower Park, one of Englands largest entertainment and dining complexes. In 2008 Poole will have its own Community Radio Station The Bay 102.8. Poole also has restaurants, cafes and historic pubs, many of which are located on the waterfront/Quay. Poole is twinned with Cherbourg in France.

The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse is an regional arts centre, containing a cinema, concert hall and theatre. According to the Arts council of England it is the largest arts centre in the United Kingdom outside London.

Poole Park

Poole has a large public park, located adjacent to Poole Harbour and the towns sports complex and swimming centre. The Park is one of only two Victorian Parks in the Borough of Poole and the only one containing buildings. The park comprises 109.5 acres of which 60 acres are water. The Park has a lake, as well as a large fountain and two children's play areas. There is a monument to Poole citizens lost during the First and Second World Wars. In 2006 the park was redeveloped at a cost of £2 million. The redevelopment included a new restaurant, indoor ice rink and cleaning of the lake.. Poole Park also hosts several road races such as 'Round the Lakes' on Boxing Day organised by Poole Athletic Club.

• 
  Entrance to Poole Park, with the civic centre behind
• 
  Poole Park Lake
• 
  Poole Park Lake, looking north
• 
  Poole Park Lake, looking north-west

Poole Museum

Poole Museum, opened after renovation in July 2007, is home to artifacts from the town's history.

Poole Museum (formerly the Waterfront Museum) has been renovated at a cost of £1 million. Following a refurbishment and extension funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund the museum opened in July 2007. The extension, designed by architects Horden Cherry Lee, includes a balcony with views over the Old Town and Harbour. The museum includes the Poole Logboat, as well as a detailed history of Poole from the Iron Age to the present day. The museum also has a floor devoted to the history of Poole Pottery and some of the company's significant products are on display. Entrance to the museum is free.

Transport

Bus and Coach

The majority of local bus services in Poole are provided by Wilts and Dorset who are based at the town’s bus station. Other services are run by Transdev Yellow Buses and Roadliner. There are limited services provided by First. Coach services to London and other destinations are operated by National Express.

Rail

Poole has four railway stations on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth within the Borough. These are, from east to west, Branksome near the border with Bournemouth, Parkstone, Poole in the town centre and Hamworthy serving Hamworthy and Upton. Poole railway station has the most frequent service and is served by express and semi-fast services to and from London Waterloo and also a local stopping service between Wareham and Brockenhurst.

Ferry

Poole is a cross channel port for passengers and freight with up to seven sailings a day in the peak summer season. Services to Cherbourg in France are operated by Brittany Ferries who provide a year round service. A seasonal service to the Channel Islands and St Malo, France, is run by Condor Ferries. From November 2007 Brittany Ferries will also operate a weekend freight service to Santander in Spain.

Schools

Further information: List of schools in Poole

Poole has a school system comprising first schools (ages 4-8), middle schools (8-12), combined schools (ages 4-12) and secondary schools with sixth form colleges (ages 12-16/18). Two of the secondary schools are selective grammar schools (Poole Grammar for Boys and Parkstone Grammar for Girls) and one is for ages 13-18 Upper school - Corfe Hills School. The only 4-11 primary school is in Bearwood and the local secondary school is the 11-18 Oakmead Technology College in neighbouring Bournemouth.

When Poole became a unitary authority in 1997 it regained control of its schools. There are also special schools and independent schools such as Canford School within the borough boundaries. The campuses of The Bournemouth and Poole College are in Poole and the main campus of Bournemouth University is in Poole at Wallisdown.

Population

• 1901, 19,500
• 1911, 38,886
• 2006, 136,900

Notable people and former residents

• Robert Baden Powell, founder of the scouting movement.
• Greg Lake of the band ELP.
• Daniel Webb, footballer playing for A.F.C. Wimbledon.
• Jamie Redknapp, footballer, lives in Sandbanks
• David Cornwell aka John le Carré, was born in Poole.

Places of interest

• Poole Museum
• Sandbanks
• Brownsea Island
• Tower Park
• Poole Bay
• Compton Acres Gardens
• Poole Pottery
• Poole Harbour

Gallery

• 
  Historic Old Poole - close up of Market Street
• 
  Historic Old Poole - St James Church
• 
  Historic Old Poole - Thames Street and Poole Museum and Local History Centre
• 
  Historic Old Poole - View from the Old Town Hall down Market Street
• 
  Historic Old Poole - The Old Town Hall
• Welcome to Poole Sign near Sandbanks Beach
  Welcome to Poole Sign near Sandbanks Beach
• 
  The Sunseeker boat-building factory on the Poole waterfront (the larger of the three yachts is a Sunseeker)
• 
  The Town Centre - Barclays Bank offices (background) and the Dolphin Shopping Centre (left)

External links

• Bournemouth and Poole Tourist Information Site
• Borough of Poole Council
• Canford Heath community web
• The definitive guide to Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch
• Information about Port of Poole
• Map of poole
• Welcome to Poole - community and business directories
• Website about Hamworthy, including Hamworthy park
• Poole Athletic Club
• Poole local and tourist info for work rest and play