Author Archives: Leigh Hatts

Bournemouth Council has published a very good report on the history and architecture of Churchill Gardens in Boscombe. Churchill Gardens: Conservation Area Appraisal sets out how to restore the square’s heritage features. It should be added that the now public … Continue reading →

“Britain’s worst tram accident since 11 were killed in Dover in 1917,” said the Evening Standard this week in reporting the Croydon tram disaster. At Croydon seven people have died which is the same number of fatalities resulting from the … Continue reading →

A review of Tate Britain’s Paul Nash anniversary exhibition can be found on the Bournemouth Coast Path site.

It is good to hear that Ye Olde George Inn at Christchurch has reopened. The pub is part of the history of Bournemouth as well as Christchurch. Here in 1802 ‘waste grounds’ were put up for auction by the Enclosure Commissioners. Common land … Continue reading →

The Bournemouth Civic Society has criticised the decision to demolish St Peter’s Hall. The building, in Hinton Road opposite St Peter’s Church, is now due to be replaced by student accommodation and a cafe. Civic Society chairman Ken Mantock says: “We are … Continue reading →

JD Wetherspoon has announced that it is to close its Sir Percy Florence Shelley pub in Boscombe. The pub, with its interesting pictures on the walls, has been an important local recognition of poet Shelley’s son who lived in Boscombe … Continue reading →

The Durrells which began on ITV last Sunday night appeared to give a glimpse of Bournemouth in the 1930s. The family was in the town when they decided to move to Greece but sadly ITV shot the Bournemouth scenes in … Continue reading →

Today, Easter Tuesday 29 March 2016, is the 150th anniversary of John Keble’s death. As this year, Easter was early in 1866 and Keble’s death came on Maundy Thursday. John Keble, the hymnwriter and author of The Christian Year who … Continue reading →

Today, Friday 26 February, is the anniversary of the death in 1930 of Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val y de Zulueta. His Eminence was baptised in old St. James’s Spanish Place in 1865 and made his first communion at The Sacred Heart in … Continue reading →

Bournemouth historian John Walker has died suddenly. The Bournemouth Daily Echo has an obituary and I have added a tribute.