Bournemouth has changed radically since the early 19th century. Until then it was predominantly heathland and its main residents were grazing cattle.  In 1810 Lewis and Henrietta Tregonwell, a couple grieving the loss of their baby son, visited the region and fell so in love with Bourne Chine that they built a home there.  Bournemouth quickly became a place where the wealthiest people in society came to escape from the world and the town grew.

The working classes lived in distant artisans’ quarters at Winton and Springbourne and there were no shops – tradesmen were expected to call from Poole or Christchurch.

In the early days the town’s infrastructure was poor with inadequate roads and inefficient sewers. The arrival of Christopher Crabbe Creeke, Surveyor of Nuisances for the Bournemouth Commissioners – brought roads around the chines, lined with grand villas, and improved drains.

Developers such as Henry Joy replaced many of the old villas with shops and apartments, retailers like Beale opened up and the arrival of a railway allowed everyone to enjoy a cheap day at the seaside.

By 1890 Bournemouth was recognised by Queen Victoria, who granted it the status of a Borough, a move that gave citizens more control of their destiny. An Undercliff Drive was laid out along the beach, a Pavilion was built and drives and golf courses were laid in local parks. The efforts of local people secured hospitals, schools, libraries and houses.

Bournemouth expanded at an astounding rate, swallowing up Westbourne, Boscombe Spa and Southbourne-on-Sea, which had once been competing resorts. The outlying artisans’ areas were quickly included within its expanding boundaries. Many of the town’s middle-class suburbs were established during the 1920s and 30s at Talbot Woods, Ensbury Park and Richmond Park. The transport system consisted of trams, trolley buses and diesel buses.

In the course of its expansion, Bournemouth took in ancient settlements at Kinson, Ensbury, Muscliff, Holdenhurst and Wick, as well as the Iron Age port at Hengistbury Head.

Timeline
• 1810:  Tregonwell fell in love with the area and built a home here
• 1820:  Marchioness of Exeter leased a house from Tregonwell and it became known as Exeter House – giving its name to Exeter Street.
• 1836:  Sir George Tapps Gervis creates Bournemouth’s first seaside resort, with villas for families to hire during the summer
• 1837:  First settlement of Bournemouth
• 1840:  A little village had been established and Stagecoach began to call at Bournemouth on its way from Southampton to Weymouth
• 1845:  Church of St Peter’s was consecrated
• 1851:  First shops arrive in Commercial Road. The town’s population is around 695.
• 1855:  A wooden jetty was built
• 1856:  Bournemouth’s first police force was founded
• 1856:  local government began when an Act of Parliament set up  a group of men responsible for paving, cleaning and lighting the streets.
• 1861:  Population has reached 1,707
• 1861:  A wooden pier was built
• 1864:  Gas street lighting arrives
• 1866:  Piped water supply arrives
• 1870:  Volunteer fire brigade formed
• 1870:  Railway constructed
• 1874:  The Winter Gardens were laid out
• 1880:  Wooden pier is replaced with an iron pier
• 1880s: Pleasure Gardens were drained and laid out
• 1881:  Population has reached 16,859
• 1885:  The Mont Dore Hotel was built as a health resort where guests were given spring water from the Auvergne
• 1891:  Population has reached 37,000
• 1901:  The first electric trams ran
• 1901:  Population has reached 59,000
• 1921:  The Mont Dore Hotel became the Town Hall
• 1922:  Foundation of the Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum – the Russell Cotes donated their house and all its furnishings and works of art to the town.
• 1929:  Bournemouth Pavilion was built
• 1934-1936:  Electric trams were replaced by trolley buses
• 1936:  A typhoid epidemic struck the town
• 1939-1945:  219 people were killed by German bombing during World War II
• 1984:  Bournemouth International Centre was built
• 1989:  The Royal Bournemouth Hospital was opened
• 1992:  Bournemouth University was founded
• 2003:  Castlepoint shopping centre opened. Population has reached 164,000