Charminster Life

Charminster Life is for residents, visitors and workers in and around the Charminster area of Bournemouth, Dorset, UK (including BH3, BH8 and BH9 )

Charminster is one of the areas around Bournemouth, in Dorset, that has never had an official boundary and the definition of Charminster varies according to who you talk to. It is widely accepted that the shopping and restaurant area south of the Richmond Arms is Upper Charminster, while the area down the hill and northwards is Lower Charminster.

Neither of these are representative of the original settlement seen on many antiquarian maps.

Prior to 1800, it was an unnamed section of land between Moordown and Littledown and began as a tiny group of cottages near the junction of what is now East Way and Charminster Road. It is commonly believed to be named because one of the original inhabitants of the hamlet originally came from Charminster near Dorchester.

The first detailed census in 1841 shows just three families living at this site, Fletcher the tinker, Burridge the bricklayer and Watton the farm labourer. The population was quite large for just three families, with Watton family alone accounting for twelve people.

The surrounding heathland provided a living for the families. The villagers grazed their animals and were self-sufficient in fuel, cutting turf which was dried and used instead of coal. Honey was extracted from from hives scattered across the heathland.

The route to and from the coast, was a track that, over time, became known as Charminster Lane and, more recently, Charminster Road.

A three acre gravel pit was formed at where West Way Close is now, and another two acre claypit was formed - its edge is now part of Fampoux Gardens.

The Charminster area boasts a number of Bronze Age burial mounds (tumuli) however after more than 2000 years natural wear and tear, most of the prehistoric sites that littered the heathland here were difficult to discern and subsequently built over as the area was developed. Many of these ancient sites were only rediscovered by the Ordnance Survey's 19th Century surveyors. The best local surviving example of the old landscape is still to be found in Queens Park, between the pond and Queens Park Avenue. If you walk along the footpath when the sun is low in the sky, you will, with some effort, be able to pick out several low ridges crossing the golf course. These mark what are believed to be fields that were abandoned after the Black Death.

The development of the Charminster we now recognise started in the 1880s as the Dean Park Estate edged northwards to end at Lowther Road, through the area previously known as East Common whose only previous claim to fame was as the site of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Circus.

The development continued to creep northwards through the 1880's and turn of the century as the Lansdowne Park Estate was constructed in the parcel of land between Iddesleigh Road and Alma Road, and the Malmesbury Park Estate was built between Lowther Road and Richmond Park Road (originally known as Boscombe Farm Road). The Malmesbury Park Estate was divided into several smaller areas including the Devonshire and Rush Corner Estates.

Towards the end of 19th Century, development in the area was consolidated, with houses being built on plots that had already been laid out.

At this time, two new areas opened up for development. Claypit Common (Green Road to Hankinson Road) became the South Winton Estate, and south of this, and significantly for Charminster, Shorthorn Common (Maxwell Road to Alma Road) became the Charminster Park Estate. Charminster Park which was built around an exhausted claypit and brickfield sits centrally in the area, later becoming known as Winton Recreation Ground. These areas now claimed as being part of Winton, by being included in the Winton Urban District Council's boundary.

The period prior to the Second World War saw the development of the Richmond Park Estate between Richmond Park Road and Queens Park Avenue. Its name lives on with the Richmond Park Bowling Club based at Winton Rec.


Other pre-war developments include the Charminster Estate around Charminster Avenue and the Charminster Hill Estate which included Bushey Road. In addition, the 1920s saw a consolidation of housing stock, with infill development dominating around Charminster. A number of important public buildings were sited on the Charminster Hill ridge, including Saint Francis of Assisi church, where various fauna and flora are incorporated into the design, Saint Walburga's School, and Charminster Library, which was known by that name from 1939. East Way was begun, and an infant and junior school were built along its south side - known originally as the Charminster Road School.

When Bournemouth Council built the early council houses in Luckham Road, the estate was named 'Lower Charminster' even though there had never been an 'Upper Charminster'. This led to a natural decision to arrive at the concepts on an "Upper" and "Lower" Charminster.