ABSTRACT
Bournemouth in the late Victorian age was one of the three large towns of the distinct region of Wessex, the others being Southampton and Portsmouth.' In 1901 the recently established county borough had a population of almost 60,000, and by 1931 had almost doubled again to 116,000. Yet Bournemouth district in the mid-nineteenth century had had a population of just 695. The phenomenal growth ofBournemouth started between 1871 and the formation of the borough in 1891. The economic development that explained this rapid rise requires examination. The railway did not come directly to Bournemouth until 1870. Before that, from 1862 passenger trains had run only to Christchurch. There were grumbles by Bournemouth hoteliers in the 1870s that there was an uncomfortable six-hour journey from London on wooden seats for an exorbitant fare of twentyeight shillings. This, it was alleged, caused a shortage of summer visitors. Nonetheless the town developed economically in the last three decades of the century.
