.. Until 1956 part of West Parley parish: W.Moors mentioned in Domesday.
.. West Parley was a Royal Manor as part of the Duchy of York for nearly a
century - until approximately 1540. After the death of Sir Richard Weston in
that year the Manor seems to have ceased to be a single estate and to have been
broken up into farms. The land known as Priory Common was sold to Robert Freke;
then passed to the Cecil family. It remained in the possession of the
Marquesses of Salisbury until 1924 when it was sold to Harry and Job Brewer for
development.
.. By 1633, certain parts of West Moors were divided among several freeholders.
This area was known as "The Waste" showing how poor was the majority
of land in West Moors. However, this area proved useful as it was subsequently
used for the railway and most of the village now covers this land. .. Part of
West Moors included a substantial area of land variously known as Priory
Common, St. Leonard's Common or Cranborne Common - until Henry
VIII/dissolution, owned by Cranborne Priory. Associated with Benedictine Abbey
at Tewkesbury.
.. During the 16th and 17th Centuries, Sturt's Farm and WOOLSLOPE FARM were
built. Sturt's Farm was demolished in 1968 but the name still exists today.
WOOLSLOPE FARM was the last local farm to disappear - Heron Pines Estate
currently (though that name doesn't seem to have survived!) - presumably around
early 1980s (report written in 1983).
.. Before railways - area bleak - rough heathland draining (acid) into Moors
River; Uddens water rather less acid as it has it's origin more fertile area to
NW of village. From the map of 1633: effectively land either side of the Uddens
was split into small fields, each being farmed by such as Woolslope Fm,
Dolman's Fm, West Moors Fm, Gulliver's Fm & Sturt's Fm & these would
have formed the 'locus' for what population 'centres' there were up until the
middle of the 19th century.
BUT, the land immediately adjacent to the present-day Station Road, and all the
land up to and straddling the Moors River, was open moorland, being divided
between West Moors Common & St. Leonard's Common. It is arguable that there
was no 'West Moors' village as such until the coming of the railway caused a
community to coalesce around the location of the halt (later station).
The 1891 OS map (this is the publication date, so survey may have been several
years prior to that date).
This shows West Moors Junction labelled as such - There is a "Railway
Inn" [ apparently also known as the Railway Hotel ] some way to the
*north* of the station, on the eastern side of what is now Station Road - this
puzzles me - there is a large house on this approximate spot - was this the
original inn? (I think this is the vicarage???)
No buildings are shown south of the railway (at this date) - moorland to the
east of the road (where are now plenty of shops, houses etc.) and on the
western side, fields, presumably attached to West Moors Farm.
A School and Church are shown, which I believe was built in 1896 (which is
after the date of this map, which is puzzling - however, looking at the local
web site for the parish, it says that there was a school-room [built 1843]
& school-chapel, so perhaps the map is indicating these?).
In 1869, amongst major landowners, were: - Sir E. Greathed KCB of Uddens House
(and I believe this to be the ownership at the time of the arrival of the
railway), Frederick William Fryer esq. of Clarence House, East Cowes Park, Isle
of Wight (hence the 'Fryer' links locally, including our housing complex), to
the Marquis of Salisbury [ a major 'reforming' landowner of the time ], and Sir
William Hanham.
At the time of the building of the current church and associated school (on
Station Road, north of the railway), the population of West Moors was about
135-150 souls. It was apparently (unless you lived in one of the big houses, or
were one of the local tenant farmers) a fairly poor community - the villagers
earning a living by working on the farms (seasonal work), and in connection
with the maintenance of the various plantations of trees that had sprung up
after the Enclosure Acts at the beginning of the 19th century.
The railway enabled/promoted a steady increase in population, particularly as
wealthier folk from Bournemouth, Poole etc., wanted to move away from those
growing centres to something a little more 'rural'. The railway provided the
means to do this.
1842 (late): land owned by Fryer family conveyed to National Society for a
school.
1843: schoolroom built, with chapel.
1847: Southampton & Dorchester Railway opens through West Moors - halt
only. A new centre of population (apart from the scattered farms, 'Cob'
cottages adjacent to the moor etc.) clustered around the railway. They probably
lived in what were known as "black cottages", so named because they
had mud and tarred walls (as opposed to wattle & daub/furze walls of the
earlier cottagers).
1854: The "Iron Room" hut built - on site of present-day (2008) St.
Mary's Church.
1859: school rebuilt - accommodate 100 children (West Moors, Three Legged Cross
& other outlying villages/hamlets/farms etc., including Fern Down, which at
this time was a scattered collection of 'Cob' cottages) together with residence
for Schoolmistress.
1866/67: The Salisbury & Dorset Juction Railway (to link Salisbury with
Wimborne & the south coast through West Moors) opened. With the opening of
the station (1867) & associated goods yard, track maintenance etc., the
population increased again with more pupils for the schools. West Moors then
became an important centre for the distribution of goods and services.
1870-1875: railway profitable, and probably remained so until the opening of
the 'direct' line from Brockenhurst through Christchurch to Bournemouth &
Poole in the 1890s. This means that the 'profitable' part of the line's life
lasted for less than 50 years if that.
1871: First PH opened - corner of Ashurst Road (with Station Road) - possibly a
private house converted/extended. The 'Railway Inn' - this appears on some of
maps I've seen.
1879: plans for link Ringwood - Bournemouth via. West Moors: in the event, the
line was taken down the Avon instead.
1896/7(?): Iron Room moved to other side of Station Road in preparation for
building of Church. The Iron Room was then used as the Church Hall, and later
as a council meeting hall.
1897: St. Mary the Virgin Parish Church started together with parsonage, a
bigger school and school house. The church, with a burial ground, was completed
and consecrated in 1908 (and further extended in 1927).
1898: a small waiting room constructed on the 'down' platform.
1902: re-inforced concrete (German) footbridge erected adjacent to the level
crossing to allow pedestrians to cross when the crossing gates were closed.
(There must have been considerable demand for to-ing and fro-ing for the
L&SWR to fork out for this - especially as this wasn't, by this time, the
'main' line in the area.
early 1900s: PH opened on western side of Station Road called the Railway Hotel
(temporarily the 'Mariner's Rest' after the railway closed, now Tap and
Railway).
1902: Harry and Job Brewer, builders and brick manufacturers from Verwood,
began buying parcels of land in West Moors and the first "villa" type
houses were erected in the 'Edwardian' years leading up to the Great War
(1914). They were built in the roads nearest the railway (so that the men could
go to their offices etc., in Bournemouth, Poole, Ringwood, Wimborne etc.) and
the wives could go shopping! The principal centres of development were in and
around: Ashurst Road, The Avenue, Denewood & Woodside Roads (all north of
the railway) and Moorlands, Glenwood and Moorside Roads to the south. These
areas then formed the nucleus of the present village (though it has
subsequently oozed out along Pinehurst Road and towards the Plantation. The
villas stood in plots of land from half to one acre (to accommodate the pony
for the trap & pony and also to have the cess-pit/similar well away from
the house). Thus, these were owned by well-off people - many for retired state
servants, such as returnees from the Indian Civil Service and army/navy of the
Empire.
1907: the Brewer brothers (see 1902) moved to West Moors and continued to buy
more land over the next 20 years or so (i.e. up to the 1930s). In 1920 they
opened an Estate Agent's office on the corner of Farm Road. (still there).
Large houses continued to be built through the 20s, and in the 30s, smaller
houses and bungalows began to appear along Pinehurst Road. [NB: these were
individual developments - not large clusters or estates - these came along in
the 1960s and later.]
~1907: piped water (as opposed to being supplied by numerous wells) arrives in
West Moors.
1908: CoE church (St. Mary's) consecrated; at same time, a 'Congregational
Church' was built - at the corner of Station Road & Moorlands Road (opp.
Library). [Became UR Church 1972].
1911: Gas came to West Moors (but from where? How generated? There is no record
of a gasworks in association with the railway (as is often the case). )
1914: In this year, Sir Frederick FRYER offered the West Parley Parish Council
(the local council at the time) a piece of land as a site for a village hall in
West Moors. The Great War (1914-1918) prevented the project going ahead
straightaway, but in 1920 an ex-Army hut was erected on the spot now used as
the Memorial Hall car park. A fund was set up to raise money to build a all as
a memorial to those that had been killed in the war. It was completed in 1929.
1919: First regular/public-service 'bus service Bournemouth - Ringwood via.
West Moors. Prior to this time, locals within the village would not have felt
the need of a bus service, as most properties were within easy walking distance
of the station. However, as the village expanded, then there would have been
sufficient traffic from further afield, plus of course Fern Down (later
Ferndown) was now expanding and was some 2 miles away from the station - the
bus would have provided a local link to/from the station as well as connecting
with Bournemouth & Ringwood. The bus initially called just twice a week,
but this increased to 2-per-day.
1920s: rapid growth of West Moors to north of the railway & also along
Moorlands, Glenwood, Moorside, lower Pinehurst & Avon Roads.
1920: Army hut - first 'hall' where Memorial Hall area is now.
1920s: pop. ~2000.
1924: Wooden RC Church built (Pinehurst Road/present location).
1925: Anglican Church (wooden/St. John's) built on Pinehurst Road (was at
Mannington Heath). It may have been built to encourage attendance by the
near-by Gypsy community, but in the event, it was used by villagers in the
lower Pinehurst Road area and associated 'off-shoots'. [ The church was pulled
down in the early 2000s - ********* ]
1927: St. Mary's Church extended.
1928: RC Church (St. Anthony of Padua) built - replacing a wooden church that
had been on this site since 1924. [ I understood that the 1928 church was also
a 'makeshift' structure, but need to find out more ].
1929: Memorial Hall built/opened - see earlier entries 1914 & 1920.
'late 1920s': Gypsies purchased parcel of land from Lord Shaftesbury in the
Elmhurst & Oakhurst Roads area (needed to vacate area now the cemetery).
1931: Electricity starts to arrive in village - overhead distribution - which
is the dominant means of distribution today, to all but the newest
developments.
1933: Private telephone lines installed - on the Hampreston exchange!
(Hampreston is/was as very small hamlet, so perhaps the exchange was at
Longham, as part of the old Post Office?) [ the railway, especially the station
& signal box would have had their own telegraphic, later telephonic,
communication system.]
1938: A permanent army camp was first set up in West Moors. Ammunition storage
depot. Chosen for location to convenient rail-head & presumably also it's
proximity to (a) the various army training areas in Dorset, Hampshire &
Wiltshire and (b) to the local ports.
1942-1945: During these years of the Second World War, the army camp was used
by the American Army for storing ammunition and petroleum products - played a
key role in the period leading up to the Normandy invasion in 1944 &
subsequent support operations.
1946: German PoWs housed on the WD site.
1956: West Moors becomes civil parish (CP) distinct from West Parley.
1960s: (early) mains foul-water sewerage reaches village [pop.~ 2000] - prior
to this a mix of cess pits (tanker collection) & in some of the more
primitive cottages, the waste was 'soaked-away' at the end of what would have
been very long gardens! At the station, for example, in the early days, the
waste from the station-master's house & station facilities was initially
dug into the SM's garden; then, when this proved impractical (smelly!), a large
tank / soakaway was dug into the grounds into which the deposits were emptied.
'mid 1960s': Gypsies remained (as above) for many years (temporary buildings,
vans, tents?) then the local Council purchased the land from them and houses
were built, thus re-housing them. Until the latter part of the 1970s, the 'King
of the Gipsies' lived in a large house at the end of Oakhurst Road with a
meeting house at the rear. The Meeting House (in Glenwood Road) has been
replaced by a bungalow, but the house still stands.
1965: Library opened on current site (but perhaps not the current building?)
Prior to this time, the County Library was housed in the Memorial Hall from the
1930s, and prior to that, there was a 'reading room' in the "Iron
Room".
1967: Present Pinehurst Chapel (Christian Open Brethren) opened, replacing a
small hut which had been built in 1943.
1971: Oakhurst Primary School opened (for children to the south; those to the
north go to St. Mary's).
1971: "Iron Room" demolished: had been used for church functions.
1971: MoD Fuel Depot, and later (1976) Dorset Fire Service College.
1973: About 100 years after the opening of the first public house (see 1871
above), the Blandford Brewery, Hall & Woodhouse Ltd., bought a piece of
land from Captain F.W.B. FRYER and the FRYER ARMS opened for business in 1973.
The brewery also constructed the road [ ?Woolslope Road? ] running off
Pinehurst Road, leading to the Heron Pines Estate - which was eventually
adopted by the County Council.
1976: Present RC Church completed, replacing the 1928 structure. Given the
tie-up with the dates above and the presumed development of the 'Heron Pines'
estate, I wonder if the church owned a larger parcel of land which they
partially sold off to fund the building of the present church.
1976: (hot/dry summer) - The forest fires in the summer of 1976 endangered not
only the plantation (Forestry Commission) but the Army Petroleum Centre and the
village itself. The worst time was the period 26/27th August, when the fires
almost surrounded the Army camp. The Married Quarters (top end of Pinehurst
Road) were evacuated and the village sealed off. Radio messages warned people
to "keep away from West Moors" and anxious husbands had to wait
outside the village until the danger passed. After the fire had been
successfully extinguished, it was said that only the design and planning of the
petrol tanks which were surrounded by concrete and stone fire breaks had
minimised the risks of a disaster.
1977: West Moors Middle School opened: all children 9 to 13, including those
living in Tricketts Cross & some surrounding villages. After 13, children
go to Ferndown Upper School.
1981: Memorial Hall extended & licensed.
1982 (May): main block of flats opened at Castleman Court, on the site of the
former junction railway station.
1982 (November): Fire destroys Oakhurst Primary School.
1983: pop. ~8000
1984 (spring): Oakhurst school re-opens after fire (see 1982).
1985 onward: development of flats, small bungalows etc., in the station yard
area.
1999: pop. ~8500/9000
Ref: History of West Moors & more!: W.I. 1980s