Poole has an enormously rich heritage stretching back thousands of years. From humble beginnings, the town centre grew up from the quay as it became one of the South Coast’s most important mediaeval ports.
Prehistory
Poole is rich in archaeological sites dating back to prehistory. Hundreds of stone tools have been recovered in the borough.
Iron Age/Roman
The massive Poole logboat dredged from the harbour is one of the finest examples in Western Europe and has been carbon dated to about 295BC. The logboat can be viewed at Poole Museum.
During the Roman conquest of southern England, a military port was situated at Hamworthy. The Roman forces active in the Poole area were commanded by a future emperor, a Vespasian.
Saxon
Massive oyster shell deposits containing millions of shells lie under Poole and Hamworthy Quays. These seem to represent the discarded waste from an oyster fishery of mid-late Saxon date. In 876 A.D. and 998 A.D., Viking fleets entered Poole Harbour, sacking Wareham, Wimborne, and other settlements.
Norman
In 1248, the crusader knight William Longespee granted his borough of “La Pole” a measure of self-government under the Longespee Charter. He was killed in a battle in Egypt in 1250.
Medieval Poole
Throughout the medieval period, Poole was an important port for trading with most of the maritime nations of Europe. Substantial stone buildings, such as the Town Cellars, date from this period.
Poole Harbour had the reputation of being a nest of pirates. In 1405, the town was attacked by a combined Franco-Spanish force retaliating for the exploits of Harry Paye of Poole, one of the more important sea captains who raided their coasts.
Elizabethan Poole
In 1568, Elizabeth I granted the Great Charter, under which Poole became "The County of the Town of Poole," separate from the county of Dorset. A 1574 census showed Poole had a sizable population of 1,373.
Georgian Poole
Poole has a splendid heritage of Georgian mansions, which can be seen in and around Poole’s Old Town. These were largely the products of the wealth created by the Newfoundland trade. Poole ships sailed to Newfoundland, where salt cod was loaded and taken to Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Back from these countries came valuable goods such as olive oil, wine, and salt.
Victorian Poole
The end of the Napoleonic Wars was the beginning of the end of the Newfoundland trade. The 19th century was a period of decline and political bickering. Gradually, the town regained its prosperity. Trade and industry increased, and residential suburbs spread beyond the Old Town.
20th Century
Poole played its part in both World Wars and, in particular, was one of the points from which Operation Overlord was launched for the invasion of Europe in 1944. After the war, Poole gathered momentum as an industrial and commercial centre and developed its name as home to many cutting-edge industries in the marine, banking, engineering, and tourism sectors.
Modern Poole
Since 2000, Poole has seen rapid development across the town, with considerable investment by hotels, a new Boat Haven, RNLI College, and boat building facilities. Most significant was the building of the iconic Twin Sails Bridge in 2012, which unlocks land for proposed new development. More recent investment has included the £5.5 million refurbishment of Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts, and plans to develop the Town Centre with a new Empire Cinema multiplex complete with an open-air roof top screen plus a new £10 million cruise berth at the Port of Poole to service medium-sized cruise ships as part of the growing UK cruise market.
Many world-class brands call Poole their home, including Sunseeker International, Lush, the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI), LV=, Merlin Entertainment, Fitness First, Animal, Aish Technologies, and major operations of companies such as Barclays, Jordans & Ryvita, and Honeywell Analytics. It has also been recognised by Bournemouth as a hot spot for the creative tech industry.
Poole has two universities: Bournemouth University, home to the internationally renowned Centre for Computer Animation and Arts University Bournemouth, which has been awarded the Gold standard rating by the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). Bournemouth & Poole College has a state-of-the art STEM centre and Marine Technology Centre sponsored by Sunseeker International.
For more information about Poole’s history and development, visit the Poole Museum and Poole History Centre.
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