For more in-depth historical information, please contact the Poole History Centre at Poole Museum. Poole Museum is temporarily closed for redevelopment.
This list has been created not so much as a formal reference work but as a source of inspiration and fun!
Sea Music
The sculpture on Poole Quay, ‘Sea Music’ was designed by the world-famous sculptor Sir Anthony Caro, who used to holiday in the area.
The Most Beautiful Woman in the World?
Out of all five Miss Worlds from Great Britain, Poole had two winners: Anne Sidney in 1964 and Sarah-Jane Hutt in 1983.
I Spy an Author
Born in Poole in 1931 and famous for his spy novels, David John Moore Cornwell is his real name, but he is better known by his pen name, John le Carre.
Poole’s Theory of Evolution
Co-author with Charles Darwin of the ‘Theory of Evolution’ was Alfred Russel Wallace of Broadstone, Poole.
Beverly Hills II
Poole has been home to: Professor J R R Tolkein, author of ‘Lord of the Rings’ & ‘The Hobbit’; the composer Mantovani; ‘Wakey, Wakey’ band leader the late Billy Cotton; entertainer Roy Castle; and John Lennon’s Aunt Mimi. Augustus John, the artist, lived at Alderney Manor in Poole.
Made in Poole
Poole is famous for the companies it keeps, including:
Poole Pottery - Hand-made Poole Pottery can be found in many leading stores, such as Harrods and Tiffany's of New York. Although no longer locally produced, it remains a collectable item.
Animal - Started in 1987 when a couple of surfers set out to design unbreakable webbing and velcro watch straps for the surf industry. Today, they are one of the UK’s major action sports brands.
Ryvita - Manufacturers of the UK’s most popular healthy eating snack for over 75 years.
Penske Cars – Team Penske is the most successful Indy car race team in the history of motorsport. Since 1973, the cars have been principally designed and parts built in Poole.
Mathmos – Poole is the home of the Mathmos lava lamp; over ¼ million lava lamps are produced each year.
Lush – This distinctive wacky cosmetics company makes hand-made toiletries and cosmetics from natural, cruelty-free products that are sold all over the world. They pride themselves on their success in selling naked products, which reduces the amount of packaging, and in 2009 they sold over 5.9 million unpackaged products, saving 15 tonnes of plastic.
Sunseeker International – Have been successfully manufacturing high-performance motor yachts for the last 50 years. The team of craftsmen started out custom-fitting their own designs of motor boats and now employs upwards of 2,500 craftsmen, engineers, and designers.
Strike it Lucky!
Under Poole Harbour is Western Europe’s largest onshore oilfield, Wytch Farm. It has produced well over 150 million barrels and currently holds the world record for the largest land-based drilling rig and the longest horizontal well at 8km.
Poole at War
The folding canoes known as ‘cockles’ used by the cockleshell heroes were made in Poole.
During the Second World War, Brownsea Island was used as a decoy to protect important munitions factories.
Poole was the third-largest embarkation point, with landing craft leaving Poole Harbour for the Normandy shores.
Poole was an important centre for the development of Combined Operations. A US Coast Guard ensign is displayed in St. James’s Church. A plaque on the quay given by men and women of the United States Coast Guard commemorates the US Coast Guard departing for the Normandy Invasion 6 June 1944, and expresses the appreciation of the kindness of the people of Poole to the crews.
British Overseas Aircraft Corporation
On 3 August 1940, the first BOAC flying boat passenger flight across the Atlantic by a British Commercial Airline took off from Poole Harbour. Poole was home to the southern headquarters of BOAC until the D-Day evacuations.
Radio Fame
Marconi broadcast the first ever radio signals from the Haven Hotel at Sandbanks to the Isle of Wight in 1896.
Saving Lives
Poole is home to the RNLI Headquarters, which trains crews from all over the world. It also has the busiest lifeboat station, which is hardly surprising as Poole Harbour is one of the UK’s leading water activity areas.
Capital Town
Poole was a major partner in the trade with Newfoundland (Britain’s oldest colony) at the height of the cod trade in the 18th century. The salt cod trade brought vast wealth to a group of Poole merchants, which they lavished on the fine Georgian mansions still to be seen in the Old Town.
Silver Screen
• The Oscar winning ‘The African Queen’ features footage shot in Poole Harbour.
• The World War II film ‘Heroes of Telemark’ was filmed on Poole Quay.
• Part of '2001 – a Space Odyssey' was shot at Compton Acres in Poole.
• In 2008 - 'Morris a Life with Bells on' starring Sir Derek Jacobi was shot in Poole, with Sandbanks Beach standing in for the golden sands of California.
• The BBC Drama “The Scolds Bridle” was filmed in Poole – along with “Missing Postman” featuring James Bolan.
• The BBC series 'The Collectors' from the 80's was filmed on location in Poole.
• The main theme music and five more songs from the 1986 Hollywood film 'Down and Out in Beverley Hills' starring Bette Midler, Richard Dreyfuss and Nick Nolte were recorded at Arnie's Shack (now Active Studios) in Penn Hill by the guitarist from the 'Police' Andy Summers.
• Filming in Poole took place in summer 2014 for the second eight-part series of ITV1's Harbour Lives about Poole Harbour and its people.
E.R.N.I.E
The original computer ERNIE used for the Premium Bond draw was designed and made in Poole.
Natural History
Poole is reputed to be the 'largest natural harbour in Europe'. The length of the coastline inside Poole Harbour measures 143km, or just under 100 miles; that’s one kilometre less than the entire coast of Dorset.
Some of the world’s finest oysters and mussels are bred in Poole Harbour.
Poole Harbour is a designated RAMSAR site and hosts nationally and internationally important numbers of various species of birds. For more information, visit Birds of Poole Harbour.
Poole Harbour’s Brownsea Island is home to one of the few colonies of red squirrels in England.
Bourne in Poole
Bournemouth University is actually situated in Poole, and the home of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is now the Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts.
Smuggling tales
One of the most famous and daring smuggling incidents The Custom House Raid took place in Poole in 1747. 60 armed smugglers broke in to regain a contraband cargo of tea that had been seized. Even earlier, in 1405, the quay was attacked by Spanish raiders seeking vengeance for the spoils of Harry Paye, the infamous Poole pirate. His memory is kept alive every year with a charity fun day by the Pirates of Poole, supported by Poole Tourism.
Scouts
The first scout camp was on Brownsea Island in 1907. Scouts from across the world came to celebrate the centenary of the Scouting movement with a special camp on the island in 2007.
History of Poole
Poole gets its name from a corruption of the Celtic 'pwl'.
By the early 13th century, it was a town of importance, and charters such as the Longspee of 1248 and the Montacute of 1371 confirmed its status.
The office of sheriff was created by the Great Charter of Queen Elizabeth I, and Poole is one of the few towns still to have a sheriff.
The King Charles Inn is named after King Charles of France, who fled to Poole in 1830.
An Iron Age boat (c295 BC) was discovered in Poole Harbour.
The Boat House in Hamworthy has items from the ship Mauritaina. Only open to the public during Dorset Heritage Week by appointment only.
Brownsea Island has been called various names, including Bruncksey, Brouneckesey, Brankesey, and Branksea, before finally settling on Brownsea. Between 1927-1961 Mrs Bonham-Christie, a recluse, owned the island and would not allow visitors.
The Chines
Branksome Chine: in the 18th century, Branksome Chine is said to have been a regular route for smugglers as they headed inland to the Kinson Area. It also has a link with a great literary character: John Betjeman, former Poet Laureate, once wrote, ‘walk the asphalt path of Branksome Chine/In resin-scented air like strong Greek wine’
In 1932, a solarium opened in one of the buildings where the restaurant is situated. It was the only one of its kind in Britain at the time and offered'sunshine’ all year round. The sunbathing took place under ultra-violet lamps and drinks were served by waitresses!
They came from Poole.....
Blue Plaques in Poole
Marconi – Haven Hotel, Sandbanks
Augustus John – Lord Nelson, Poole Quay
Henry Lamb – Hill Street Car Park, Poole
WW2 and D-Day - Alcatraz Restaurant, Poole High Street
Flying Boats and WW2 - Salterns Hotel
Flying Boats - Harbour Heights Hotel
Mantovani - Burton Road, Canford Cliffs
Victor Watkins The First Kings Scout - Indian Restaurant, York Road, Broadstone
Sir Peter Thomspon, Native of Poole - Market Close, Poole
I didn’t know that
Tony Blackburn, who began his career with Radio Caroline and became a well-known radio DJ, was born in Lilliput, Poole.
As a boy, Winston Churchill fell from a bridge in Branksome Dene Chine.
Capt Simpson built a concrete house (Simpson’s Folly) on the coast at Shore Road. He only lived in it for nine days, then it became unsafe and had to be blown up.
Edgar Wright was born in Poole, and after attending Bournemouth University, he went on to direct Spaced and co-write and direct Shaun of the Dead with Simon Pegg.
David Croft, one of the writers of 'Dad's Army', was a member of Poole's Civil Defence Corps when he was 17!
On 21 June 1988, a dramatic fire ripped through the BDH factory on West Quay Road, setting off a series of explosions that blew 45-ggallon chemical drums hundreds of feet into the air. Nearby traffic lights melted in the heat, and more than 100 firefighters tackled the blaze. In the largest peacetime evacuation in the UK, up to 5,000 people and their pets were removed to safety overnight.
Poole Sports
Rodney Pattisson won two gold medals for sailing at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics as the best yachtsman in the world in the Flying Dutchman class.
Sam Rockett was the first Briton home in the 1950 International Cross-Channel race (winning £250 for his successful crossing) and subsequently advised and trained many other hopeful swimmers.
Three later Poole swimmers have crossed the Channel: Samantha Druce (the youngest to do so), Marc Newman, and Eddie Ette.
Jeanne Bisgood of Parkstone Golf Club was the English Ladies Amateur Golf Champion in 1951, 1953, and 1957 and made eight appearances for the English national side, notching up the first ever win over America in the 1952 Curtis Cup.
Freddie Mills, the boxer, was born in Poole in 1919.
Mrs Dingwall the famous race horse trainer, had stables at Sandbanks and trained over seventy winners on the beach at Sandbanks.
Poole Pirates
Speedway racing has taken place at the Poole Stadium every year since April 1948, and the club is one of the best-supported sides in the world. Poole made speedway history in October 1948 by becoming the first club side in the world to tour Sweden. They flew from Northolt to Stockholm for a three-match tour, at a time when even the English football side rarely played outside of the British Isles. The Pirates made return tours to Sweden in 1953 and 1955 and also rode in Denmark in 1955. The Pirates even ventured behind the Iron Curtain in 1959 when they made a five-match tour of Poland, making a host of friends, and returned there again for another five-match tour in 1969.
