1802 Enclosure Act of Christchurch, Hampshire

The Christchurch Enclosure Legislation Gave Birth to Bournemouth

Jun 30, 2009

How the enclosure of an area of Hampshire heath land paved the way for the creation of a large seaside town on the south coast of Dorset.

At the beginning of the 19th century, an area of around twenty square miles between Christchurch in Hampshire and Poole in Dorset was simply heath land with only a few rough tracks and roads. The land was mainly used by commoners to graze their cattle and cut turf for fuel. It also provided a way for smugglers to transport contraband from boats landing on the coast. Running through this heath was the Bourne stream.

Also at that time, the population was increasing and as it did, the need for food producing land increased with it. So, a number of private Enclosure Acts were created to permit the cultivation of common land. One of those was the Christchurch Enclosure Act of 1802, described as “an Act for dividing, allotting and enclosing certain commonable lands and waste grounds within the Parish of Christchurch, and the Parish or Chapelry of Holdenhurst”.

The Christchurch Enclosure Act and Duties of the Commissioners

Common land belonged to the Lord of the Manor although certain people known as commoners had rights over it. The Lord of the Manor of Westover involved in the Act of 1802 was Sir George Ivison Tapps who owned the Hinton Admiral estate. Three Commissioners were mentioned in the Act: Richard Richardson of London, John Wickins of Mapperton and William Clapcott of Holdenhurst.

The main duties of the Commissioners were to raise enough money to cover the cost of the Act and carry out the responsibilities laid down within it. To achieve these goals, they parcelled up certain areas of the enclosure land. Some parcels were set aside for laying down roads, some for providing gravel and clay to build those roads and some put up for sale.

Five other plots of enclosure land were set aside and preserved so that the commoners could continue to have somewhere to graze their cattle and cut fuel. These five areas of land are still held in trust for the people of Bournemouth by the local authority today and form five areas of parkland within the town.

The Planting of the Bournemouth Pines

The duties of the commissioners were completed in 1805 by which time some five thousand odd acres of land had passed into private hands with no restrictions as to their use. Sir George Ivison Tapps of Hinton Admiral and William Dean of Holdenhurst ended up owning more than half of that acreage between them.

Nothing much happened with the land during the next five years. Although various, now privately owned, areas of heath were cleared and planted up with the pines that Bournemouth has become so famous for. Apparently, the planting of these trees helped improve the quality of the air and added a certain amount of beauty to the otherwise rather bleak landscape.

The Birth of Bournemouth

In 1809 a wayside inn, the Tapps Arms was built by the river Bourne to provide refreshment for travellers on the newly laid road from Christchurch to Poole. A year later, Captain Lewis Tregonwell and his wife rode out one day and fell so in love with the beauty of the area where the Bourne met the sea that they bought a plot of land and built a house thereby giving birth to Bournemouth.

The copyright of the article 1802 Enclosure Act of Christchurch, Hampshire in Modern British History is owned by Elaine Findlay. Permission to republish 1802 Enclosure Act of Christchurch, Hampshire in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.