Talbot & Branksome Woods, Bournemouth

Today, Talbot and Branksome Woods is a large residential area to the north west of the centre of Bournemouth, with wide tree lined avenues, large detached villa style houses, and gardens full of colour from the rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and magnolias.

Today’s gardens betray the area’s history as a remote heathland, which for many years was used only by smugglers, customs officers and by the few local commoners for fuel. The pine trees, which dominate the area and give it its name, also reflect a period from 1810 when Sir George Tapps planted pines trees across a swathe of the heathland around Bournemouth. This planting, initially with Scots pine and then the more drought resistant Maritime pines, helped give the town its early reputation as a health resort. This together with the coming of the railway started the development of Bournemouth and drove its need for hotels and large villas to accomodate the influx of wealthy Victorians.

The Inclosure Act of 1802, which allowed the common land to be enclosed, initiated the creation of the large estates around Bournemouth. And it was when the Branksome Estate and the Talbot Woods Estate were developed for residential housing at the end of the 19th century and in the early years of the 20th century, that the current avenues and roads were laid out and many of today's houses built.

The aim of this website is to provide a repository for information about The Woods; its history and character, and to provide a local resource for all the residents of the area. For the purposes of the website, The Woods cover the same area as that covered by The Talbot and Branksome Woods Residents Association.

The website is currently under development and over the coming months the various sections described on the left will be set up. A great deal of information has been collected to date and this will be made available to everyone via these sections. However, some of the detail needed to create a complete picture of the area is held only by individual residents and so I would encourage anyone who could provide any help or information, to email me using the address below.

Graham Paine