Hengistbury Head History

<center> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </center> <center> <p><a href="frameindex.htm" TARGET = "_top">Home</a> </center> <center><h1><u><i>The History of Hengistbury Head</i></u></h1></center><BR> <A NAME="Paleolithic"></A> <p><FONT SIZE="5"><U><I>Upper Paleolithic period (pre 6500BC)</I></U></FONT> <p><FONT SIZE="3"> The occupation of Hengistbury Head dates back to 10,000 BC. Some significant finds from this period have been made at Hengistbury Head. This first period of occupation falls into a period known as the Old Stone Age or Upper Paleolithic period. During most of this time the English channel had yet to be completely flooded and Hengistbury Head lay on the edge of a large river valley ( the river Solent ) with the sea many kilometres distant beyond the chalk ridge stretching from the Needles to the Old Harry Rocks (Of course neither of these two structures existed then, they were part of the Chalk ridge). Until the discovery and containment of fire, the succession of ice ages made this area generally too cold for human habitation and visitors were nomadic and occasional. Around the Dorset locality, many finds from the Upper Paleolithic period have been made, but only a few match the quality of those found at Hengistbury Head. These finds probably relate to one or a small number of nomadic hunters that camped on the high ground offered by the Head. Here they were near the grand Solent river and some of its main tributaries (including the Avon and Stour) and must have been close to watering and migration routes for Deer, Bison, Horses and possibly Mammoths . These people probably followed the migration paths of their prey and had several semi fixed camps that they used through the seasons. These people had only stone tools and weapons but they were very skilful in their manufacture. Some prize examples have been found at Hengistbury Head, mainly on the top of Warren hill. These flint, bone and antler tools formed the every day tools these people needed such as scrapers, spear heads and knives. Hengistbury head is one of only 25 sites from this period found in this country. The majority of the finds have been in or near caves. Only 4 non cave sites have so far been identified, including the one at Hengistbury Head. </FONT></p> <A NAME="Mesolithic"></A> <p><FONT SIZE="5"><I><U>Mesolithic period( 6500 - 4000 BC) </U></I></FONT> <P><FONT SIZE="3">As the last Ice age of the Paleolithic period came to an end the climate became warm and moist. This change in climate led a major change in to the type of vegetation that dominated this area and large tracks of previously open tundra turned into dense forest. Most people of that period lived along the coast or along river channels as the development of these thick forests over England made inland penetration both difficult and unnecessary. It should be remembered that Hengistbury was at this time still a fair way inland from the sea and consequently was probably only rarely visited by passing hunters. Occasional finds from this period have been made but they are few and far between. </FONT></p> <A NAME="Neolithic"></A><p><FONT SIZE="5"><I><U>Neolithic period ( 4000 - 2000 BC) </U></I></FONT> <P><FONT SIZE="3">The heavy forestation period of the Mesolithic period lead people to congregate along the coastlines and move away from the typical nomadic hunter gatherer lifestyle. This proceeded through to the Neolithic period which had communities now following a more static lifestyle, as herdsmen and farmers. Gradually they moved inland forming settlements as they went. Great numbers of early Neolithic stone implements have been found on the head although there is currently no evidence for occupation. Towards the end of this period other imported good began to appear in the Christchurch area. Several tools made from non local stones have been found that indicates that trade had developed between the people living in the Christchurch area and with communities in Devon and France. </FONT></p> <BR> <A NAME="bronze_age"></A><p><FONT SIZE="5"><I><U>Bronze age (2000 BC - 600 BC)</U></I></FONT> <P><FONT SIZE="3">Several Tumuli (burial mounds) that date from the early part of this period have been discovered on Hengistbury Head. These tumuli have been found to contain the cremated remains of individuals, thought to be important local individuals. Other items found in the tumuli include various pottery and animal remains. It is believed that part of Hengistbury head was essentially an early bronze age cemetery, at least for the local rich. A great deal of archeologically valuable material has been retrieved from the funeral barrows and the materials discovered are typical of what is known as Wessex culture or early Bronze age. An interesting feature of the barrows on the head that was disclosed by the two main archaeological investigations of Bushe-Fox (1913) and Gray (1922) is that the barrows all contained a scattering of earlier flint tools and weapons. This would indicate that the barrows were built upon land that had been previously occupied, so the cemetery only appeared after the head and vicinity had been settled. Towards the end of this period it appears (from the lack of finds) that the head was either sparsely populated or abandoned completely for a period of several hundred years.</FONT> </p> <BR> <A NAME="iron_age"></A><p><FONT SIZE="5"><I><U>Iron Age (600BC - 400AD)</U></I></FONT> <P><FONT SIZE="3">The most spectacular feature from this period on Hengistbury head is the massive earthworks on the neck of the isthmus leading up to the head. The design of the earthworks (known as the double dykes) is very reminiscent of similar protective schemes found at Badbury rings and Maiden Castle and date from approximately 100 BC. The defensive advantage of Hengistbury head was that the earthworks were only needed on one side as the head itself provided defensive high ground. It is likely that at this time the sea had advanced to within 500 metres of its current position. An early hand drawn map of Hengistbury head made in the 1700's indicates that at that time the earthworks curved around the head and down to the sea. It is interesting to speculate how far these earthworks actually extended when they were first made over 2000 years ago, one imagines that their true length and form must have been much more significant than that remaining today. </FONT></p> <IMG SRC="images/doubledykes1a.jpg" alt="The Double Dykes" ALIGN="BOTTOM"> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT SIZE="3"><B><I>A view down the iron age defences known as the Double Dykes</I></B></FONT> <P><FONT SIZE="3">Probably due to the close proximity of high grade iron ore in the iron ore doggers that would have been strewn over the south beach, coupled with a ready supply of charcoal raised Hengistbury heads status. It rapidly became a primary trading port importing wine, tools and pottery from as far away as Italy. A great deal of metal working was conducted at the head, not just of iron but of silver and bronze. Many coins have been found, interestingly some of which appear to be forgeries with a bronze base given a dip coating of silver! </FONT> <IMG SRC="images/ironstone2a.jpg" alt="Iron Stone Doggers" ALIGN="BOTTOM" > <P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT SIZE="3"><B><I>Some Iron stone doggers have a layered structure like an onion these doggers are rich in iron, up to 30% by weight</I></B></FONT> <P> <BR> <A NAME="roman_period"></A><p><FONT SIZE="5"><I><U>The Roman Period 43AD - 500 AD</U></I></FONT> <P><FONT SIZE="3">The advent of Roman rule in 43 AD initially had little effect on the trading activities of the head, indeed locally minted coins appear to have remained in circulation for over a hundred years after the Romans had landed. Perhaps because of its remoteness from Roman authority and maybe because it posed no threat to Roman rule it appears that the Head was generally left in peace. However greater effect was felt indirectly as Rome closed its grip on the trading partners of Hengistbury Head. The Roman occupation of Gaul led to a marked decrease of trading from Gaul (France) to English settlements like Hengistbury head and subsequently had an effect upon Hengistburys' trading patterns.</font></p> <P><FONT SIZE="3">Trade from the head declined over the Roman period, probably as trade relocated to centres nearer Roman influence and wealth. Less than 100 Roman coins have been found on Hengistbury head.</font></p> <P><FONT SIZE="3">The ending of the Roman occupation around 450 AD paralleled the final decay and abandonment of iron age habitation of the head. Why this final abandonment occurred is uncertain. Iron ore was in abundant supply and the harbour was still functional. While international trade conducted from the Head had been in decline since the arrival of the Romans, there was still a viable industrial centre on the head. The abandonment was possibly due to intimidation from Saxon and Jutish raiders or more probably due to the relocation of both trade and manufacture to larger centres of population.</font></p> <P><FONT SIZE="3">The end of Roman occupation of England saw Hengistbury head return to wilderness and seclusion for several hundred years. </FONT> </p> <BR> <A NAME="middle_ages"></A><p><FONT SIZE="5"><I><U>The Middle Ages and Hengistbury Head</U></I></FONT> <P><FONT SIZE="3">Hengistbury Head probably passed the first few centuries of the first millennium as little more than a lonely promontory, several hundred yards from the sea, visited solely by occasional hunters. Due to the marginality of the soil and its remoteness few people spent time there. The population of the whole of England at this time was only a few million and poor quality farming land like the head must have figured far down their list of preferred sites.</font></p> <P><FONT SIZE="3">The next utilisation of the site did not occur until the 9th century when Alfred the great sought to revitalise the harbour in defence of Wessex against the continental raiders of that time. Alfred constructed a Burgh (defensive settlement) on the site now occupied by the town of Christchurch and no doubt Hengistbury head became a lookout for the defence of Wessex, although no data from this period has yet been found at the head.</font></p> <P><FONT SIZE="3">Hengistbury head is first described as Hedenesburia in the late 11th century in a document granting Christchurch priory domain over "Hedensburia and all that is adjacent". The grantor was Baldwin de Redvers, the Lord of the Manor of Christchurch, Twyneam. </FONT> </p> <BR> <A NAME="16th"></A><p><FONT SIZE="5"><I><U>Hengistbury Head in the 16th century</U></I></FONT> <P><FONT SIZE="3">Hengistbury Head was known as Hynebury or simply Christchurch Head(s) in the 16th century. It only became known as Hengistbury head after the discovery of stone and iron age artifacts at the head. Being inspired by romanticism rather than actual evidence, and distracted by the 11th century reference to "Hedenesburia" gave the gentry of the time inspiration to rename Hynebury after Hengist, hence Hengistbury head. Interestingly Smeaton, in his report on possible harbour improvements (see later) refers to Hengistbury head or Heads and then goes on to describe a dual prominence with a small inlay or bay between them. It would appear that today one of the these headlands has been totally lost and that Hengistbury Head was really Hengistbury Heads (or Christchurch Heads) prior to the 17th century.</font></p> <BR> <A NAME="17th"></A><p><FONT SIZE="5"><I><U>Hengistbury Head in the 17th Century</U></I></FONT> <P><FONT SIZE="3">Christchurch has always been a shallow drying harbour with difficult access. During the mid 1600's Andrew Yarranton outlined a scheme to improve Christchurch Harbour. Yarranton planned to utilise the ready supply of Iron Ore from the doggers at Hengistbury head to build a naval gunnery foundry and, utilising existing boat and ship building facilities, to build a naval dockyard. A fort was planned to aid local defence and he also planned to make the Avon more navigable so goods could be transported further inland with ease. Under the sponsorship of the Lord of the Manor of Christchurch, (who happened to be Lord Clarendon, the Chancellor of Charles II) Yarranton produced a document detailing his proposals. Most of Yarrantons proposals came to nothing.</font></p> <p><FONT SIZE="3">The one major item of Yarrantons scheme that came to being was to cut a deep water channel from the harbour out to the sea, avoiding the treacherous narrow entrance to Christchurch harbour ( locally known as the run). The channel was cut through the Island ( also more formally known as Mudeford spit) approximately half way along about 600 metres from the Head and was in use by 1698. Yarranton utilised the boulders from the head to build a jetty out from the cut. While the cut provided direct access to deeper water avoiding the fast flowing Run and the treacherous sand banks at its entrance, the cut suffered from long shore drift where sand collected against the jetty and narrowed down the cut.</font> <p><FONT SIZE="3">Evidently Yarrantons cut was in use for up to 30 years but was blocked on several occasions, the most severe problems occurring after the great storm of 1703. It was finally abandoned after it was blocked by yet another heavy storm. Yarranton made the rather obvious and severe mistake of building his pier on the northern side of the cut, this caused the pier to capture the long shore drift sand and block the channel, which was only kept clear by the strength of the river flow and dredging. If he had build his pier to the South of the cut things may have been different. Only the line of Ironstone doggers now remain which mark Yarrantons brave attempt.</font> <IMG SRC="images/yarranton1a.jpg" alt="The Long Rocks" ALIGN="BOTTOM"> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT SIZE="3"><B><I>The Long Rocks are only visible at low tide and are the only memorial to Yarrantons planned modifications to the harbour</I></B> </font> <P><FONT SIZE="3">Locally the line of the old jetty is known as Clarendons Jetty or the Long Rocks. Whether Yarrantons cut actually caused the closure of the original exit is doubtful, in any event things rapidly returned to the original natural state with the two rivers flowing out through the Run and Yarrantons cut filled in by the wind and sea. Today there is no indication of the cut save the Long Rocks. Clarendons Jetty must have used many hundreds if not thousands of tons of the Iron ore doggers from the Head. One would expect that they were collected in the easiest manner available and were probably stripped off one small area of the foreshore, exposing the friable base of one of the heads to the action of the sea at that point. Smeaton, in a report 90 years later, indicates that severe erosion was being experienced by the head. Currently the manmade damage to the head is solely attributed to John Holloway and the Hengistbury Mining Company (see later) but possibly the first blow was delivered over 150 years previously by the building of Clarendon Jetty.</font> <P><FONT SIZE="3">Through probably not related to Yarrantons scheme but dating from the same period, is the Black House at the north end of the Island (Mudeford spit), a place known as Gervis Point. The Black house was a centre for shipbuilding with several ships over 100 tons being built.</font> <IMG SRC="images/blackhouse1a.jpg" alt="The Blackhouse" ALIGN="BOTTOM"> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT SIZE="3"><B><I>The Black House at Gervis Point on Mudeford Spit. Ship up to 100 tons<BR> used be built along the right hand wall of this building<BR CLEAR="LEFT"> It has lain derelict for years but has now found a new use as holiday flats</I></B> </font> <P><FONT SIZE="3">The Black house mirrored its contemporary across the Run, the Haven House tavern. Incidentally the current Haven House tavern is actually is an impostor dating back a mere 150 years or so. The original haven house Inn on Mudeford Quay was the building now known as the Dutch House. </FONT> <BR> <A NAME="18th"></A><h2><I><U>Hengistbury head in the 18th century</U></I></h2> <P><FONT SIZE="3">After the demise of Yarrantons scheme the harbour reverted to being a small fishing port and the Head (or Heads) no doubt, reverted to a desolate piece of marginal grazing land. However in 1733 The Walpole government passed the Excise and Customs Bill. This severely restricted the import of a whole range of items into the country, and imposed punitive levies on items such as Brandy, wine, silk and lace. The local fishing and farming fraternity ( and just about everyone else for that matter!) took to smuggling or aiding and abetting the smugglers. The smugglers became known rather more pleasantly as Free Traders. Hengistbury Head due to its anonymous and remote location played a central part in this smuggling. Bizarrely the ancient defensive rampart, the Double Dykes, were put to use by the smugglers as they provided almost perfect cover for trains of wagons used to take away the casks of Brandy and wine. A great deal of contraband was landed either off the seaward side of the head or brought up through the Run and landed off at the Wickhams or through Mother Sillers Channel in Stanpit marsh. The contraband landed off the Wickhams or off the seaward side of the Head was generally then taken by cart up through what is now Bournemouth ands offloaded of various farms, taverns and private houses as the entourage went by. The contraband offloaded at Mother Sillers channel usually made its way to the Ship In Distress at Mudeford. Mother Sillers channel is named after one the landladies of The Ship in Distress, namely one Hanna Siller, a notorious smugglers assistant who had started her vintners career at the original Haven House tavern on Mudeford Quay.</font> <p><font size="3">Smuggling was to continue off Hengistbury head until the mid 1850's. The most dramatic event of these times occurred in 1784 when the so called Battle of Mudeford took place. This involved the planned interception of a smuggler off Hengistbury Head (or Christchurch Point as the contemporary description describes it). The smugglers where evidently under the command of "Slippery Rogers", the grandson of the former mayor of Christchurch. </font> <p><font size="3">Long boats were being unloaded on the beach as the coast guard cutter arrived on the scene, a battle ensued that cost the life of one of the coast guards. As a result many smugglers were driven into hiding or fled abroad. One smuggler was hanged for the murder of the coast guard although it is highly unlikely that the individual executed fired the fatal shot.</font> <P><FONT SIZE="3">During this period, as the smuggling continued apace, a scheme emulating and exceeding Yarrantons original 17th century ideas were put forward. In 1762, John Smeaton ( who incidentally designed the first practical and durable lighthouse) placed proposals forward to enhance Christchurch harbour and aid navigation from Christchurch to Salisbury via the river Avon. He favoured a cut through Mudeford Spit, as had Yarranton. </font> <p><FONT SIZE="3">Smeaton though, understood the nature of long shore drift and laid plans to build the southern jetty before the northern one and also to ensure that length of the Northern jetty was mush greater than that of the northern one. Smeaton planned to use the iron ore doggers from the head and to supplement these with cheap low quality stone from Portland. Had Smeatons scheme gone ahead then it is likely that the catastrophic damage done by iron ore extraction, in the 1850's would have been pre-empted by Smeaton. The extra one hundred years of heavy erosion would have probably spelt extinction for the head. The whole of the coastline between the Old Harry Rocks and Hurst Castle would now be dramatically different. Smeaton estimated the cost the engineering works at about £6000. Whether the financial cost was deem too high is unknown but, for whatever reason, Smeatons plans were abandoned. </FONT></p> <BR> <A NAME="19th"></A><h2><I><U>Hengistbury Head in the 19th century</U></I></h2> <P><FONT SIZE="3">The smuggling continued and arguably was at its height in the early 1800's. It was not until the 1850's that the government gained the upper hand and smuggling became a rarity rather than the norm.</font> <P><FONT SIZE="3">As smuggling ended other uses for the Head came to the fore. A local Coal merchant by the name of George Holloway found a way of mitigating the loss of profit on returning empty coal barges. He gained mining rights from the Lord of the Manor who claimed foreshore rights (although these are normally attributed to the crown) and exploited the iron ore doggers found at the head. These were initially used as ballast on the barges back to Southampton. They were then transferred to the larger coal ships trading from Cardiff ( again as ballast) and finally delivered to the blast furnaces of Merthyr Tydfil and the Rhondda in South Wales. </font> <p><FONT SIZE="3">Essentially Mr Holloway was simply adding a layer of efficiency to his main activity as a coal merchant. Unfortunately his dredging of the waters off the head coupled with the removal of the easily won iron stone doggers off the southern beach led to a massive destabilisation of geological forces that maintained the Head at a steady but slow erosion rate. Suddenly the sea was able to batter the base of the cliff and carry away the sand. In addition to the removal of the sea and beach iron ore deposits, an open cast mine was set up approximately half way along the head. </font> <IMG SRC="images/quarry1a.jpg" alt="Iron Stone Quarry" ALIGN="BOTTOM"> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT SIZE="3"><B><I>A permanent scar on the landscape of Hengistbury Head<BR> is the Northern end of the Iron stone quarry. Safety was a secondary factor in the mining activities and many people were killed or maimed here </I></B> </font> <IMG SRC="images/quarrylake1a.jpg" alt="Quarry Lake" ALIGN="BOTTOM"> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT SIZE="3"><B><I>The southern aspect of the quarry has been turned into a scenic<BR> lake, although it is too acidic to support much aquatic life,<BR> many insects and birds visit this artificial enhancement to the Head</I></B> </font> <P><FONT SIZE="3">The gains from the reef, the quarry and the beach were shipped out via Holloway's Dock, a small quay set up in what is now marsh land at the joint of the head with the Island. </font> <IMG SRC="images/holloway1a.jpg" alt="Holloways Dock" ALIGN="BOTTOM"> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT SIZE="3"><B><I>Holloway's Dock as it is now viewed from the Head</I></B></font> <P><FONT SIZE="3">Holloway had a small entrance canal cut into his dock. This canal used to be perfectly straight but over the years has now accrued the odd kink. </font> <IMG SRC="images/holloway3a.jpg" alt="Holloways Canal" ALIGN="BOTTOM"> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT SIZE="3"><B><I>The exit of Holloway's canal into Christchurch harbour. At the<BR> time the picture was taken the bridge was damaged and unusable</I></B> </font> <P><FONT SIZE="3">The spoil from the open cast mining activity was dumped along the north eastern side of the head and is and area now known as the Batters. </font> <IMG SRC="images/spoil1a.jpg" alt="Mining Spoil The Batters" ALIGN="BOTTOM"> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT SIZE="3"><B><I>The Batters. The spoil from the mine was simply dumped on the North Western end of the Head and remains there today, overgrown and unnoticed. </I></B> </font> <P><FONT SIZE="3">After the removal of the iron ore doggers from the sea and from the beach, rapid erosion of the head took place. Several reports were issued to the admiralty from sea farers who found the previously sheltered anchorage's in Christchurch bay were becoming exposed to the prevailing westerly winds. Possibly due to these detrimental effects upon the environment Holloway's dredging off Hengistbury head was halted. The extraction of iron from the sea had ended by 1856 although further extraction from other places continued until the 1870's. The erosion of the head continued unabated and apparently unnoticed (or at least uncared for) for the next fifty years. </font> <P><FONT SIZE="3">While Holloway was busily mining the Hengistbury Iron ore others were developing schemes for Christchurch harbour. </font> <P><FONT SIZE="3">Reports were made by William Armstrong and John Silvester, but Christchurch Council, after having commissioned these reports, had neither the resources or the willingness to carry them through. The final set of development plans for Christchurch harbour was set forward in 1885 by the Christchurch and Wimborne Railway Company, no doubt intending to develop the rudimentary facilities set up by Holloway's Hengistbury mining company. This scheme was by far the grandest, planning a 1000 yard (approx. 800 meter) breakwater to protect the harbour entrance. A major dock would have been set up by Long Field, to the North East of the Head. A railway line from Wimbourne was planned to link up to this dock. However in the end the backers of this scheme withdrew their support and the scheme folded. </font> <p><FONT SIZE="3">Just about 50 meters east of the Sail Training Centre, and only accessible via a narrow path through the reed beds, is a small landing stage, currently used as a fishing platform. Once I imagined that this place could have been the beginnings of the failed harbour scheme, but really the clue to its previous use is given away in the local name for the deep water channel that runs by it. It is called the "Lime Kiln Channel". </font> <p><FONT SIZE="3">Cement is a relatively new invention and did not exist before the 20th century. Buildings prior to this date used lime based mortar. Production of the mortar was a major industry. In fact most small ports and canal docks served a nearby lime kiln that produced the Quicklime required to make the mortar. Lime based mortar is made by adding water to Quicklime (referred to as slaking) and then adding sand or gravel to the "slaked lime" as we do today with cement. This was (and is) a potentially dangerous operation as a great deal of heat can be generated during the slaking process. All through history there are stories of builders who have been badly injured or even killed because they tried to short cut the slow and careful procedure needed to add the water to the Quicklime. Quicklime and the associated lime based morter date back to the depths of antinquity and the use of lime based mortar in the construction of brick dwellings was universal before the middle of the 20th century. Quicklime is manufactured by heating chalk or limestone to more than 700 deg centrigrade in a lime kiln. Due to the difficulty in transporting and storing Quicklime, it was was usually manufactured at coastal ports where access to the raw materials of coal and limestone (or chalk) was relatively easy. Consequently one of the industrial products produced at Hengistbury Head was Quicklime. Old Lime kilns still exist there today, and although they are overgrown with scrub and full of sand they would probably still be capable of producing Quicklime with a little refurbishment. </font> <p><FONT SIZE="3">. No doubt John Holloway and the Hengistbury Mining Company would have also had a hand in producing the Quicklime or at least providing the raw materials. The little fishing platform and Holloways Docks would have been ideally placed to provide the raw materials and then ship the resultant Quicklime up the river to Christchurch and over the heath to the rapidly expanding new town of Bournemouth. </font> <IMG SRC="images/secretdock1a.jpg" alt="LimeKiln Channel Dock" ALIGN="BOTTOM"> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><FONT SIZE="3">.<B><I>The fishing platform 50 metres east of the Sail Training centre<BR> Sitting on the edge of Lime Kiln Channel</I></B> </font> <BR> <A NAME="20th"></A><h2><I><U>Hengistbury Head in the 20th Century</U></I></h2> <P><font size="3">At the beginning of the 20th century (1909) the first significant archaeological finds were made on the North Eastern lowlands of the head. These finds, coupled with the potential sale of the head to developers by the then owner Sir George Meyrick led a local antiquarian Herbert Druitt to try and save the head for posterity. He tried to raise interest from the National Trust but to no avail. He then approached the Society of Antiquities in the hope of performing a last excavation to try and save the archaeological history of the head from developers. Luckily the Society of Antiquities took heed of Herbert Druitts warnings and mounted an excavation under the direction of JP Bushe-Fox starting in 1911. </font> <p><FONT SIZE="3">Shortly into this excavation it was realised that the nature of the finds being made were very significant and this weighed heavily against proposed developments. A scheme for 80 residential properties to be built west of the Double Dykes was dropped as was a scheme to construct a golf course on Warren Hill. However some preparation work was done for both of these schemes, mainly involving the ploughing of both areas. A great deal of antiquarian value must have been lost at this time, just as Mr Bushe-Fox was performing a detailed analysis that at times must have been only a few metres away from the ploughing. </font> <P><FONT SIZE="3">During World War One the Sir George Gray sold the head to Mr Gordon Selfridge. Due to the constraints imposed by the war development planned by Mr Selfridge was delayed. Selfridge planned to build a huge mansion on Warren Hill. As part of this scheme a nursery garden was planted in the lee of the head west of the open cast mine. This exists today, although it has deliberately been left to go wild and now forms a bird sanctuary. Mr Bushe-Fox published his report in 1915 although other excavations took place through to 1924. Finally Selfridge abandoned the scheme for his residence on the head and in 1930 sold the head to Bournemouth Borough Council. From then on the Head has been designated a public open space and recreational area. </font> <p><FONT SIZE="3">During the period since the closure of the open cast mine in the latter part of the 19th century there had been a catastrophic loss of headland due to erosion with almost half of the head having been washed away. All of the spoil from the head ended up being dumped by long shore drift at the far end of the Island. It was prevented from piling up against the quay by the river exit known as the run. Consequently a long spit built up off the head stretching at time for over a mile from the Black House down to opposite Steamer Lodge. A Cyclic event set up where a storm would trigger the formation of a lagoon which would then slowly fill with sand. This happened a number of times over then years until in 1935 Bournemouth Council took positive action to save the head and built a breakwater out from the eastern tip of the head towards the Beer pan rocks, (these rocks probably mark the original extent of the Head before the mining activity). </font> <p><FONT SIZE="3">At the same time and arguably more environmentally detrimental, the Council build an access road to the head. This brought many visitors to the head along with a new set of environmental pressures. Since then, to aid the visitors and also reduce the damage from trampling, a number of paths have been built. A visitors centre along with a cafe has been built and the low level path from the head to the north end of the Island has been tarmaced although only approved vehicles are allowed to use this narrow road. A Land or Noddy train runs from the visitor centre to the Island, although the walk is much prettier. Two large car parks exist along with some parking along the access road (The Broadway). Generally, today, in summer the area is saturated with vehicles. Many people utilise the beaches on the seaward side although there is a low level of usage of the harbour side of the head except at the north end of the Island where there are a set of moorings. The Island itself, once a mass of huge dunes has been colonised by a great number of huts and now resembles a small shanty town. Because of the beauty of the surrounding area these little huts change hands often for tens of thousands of pounds. </FONT> <br><br> <p><a href="frameindex.htm" TARGET = "_top">Home</a>