Lilliput, Dorset

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View from Evening Hill, Lilliput Poole harbour from hill less brownsea, tree in middel sunney.JPG
View from Evening Hill, Lilliput

Lilliput is a district of Poole, Dorset. It borders on Sandbanks, Canford Cliffs, Lower Parkstone, and Whitecliff and has a shoreline within Poole Harbour with views of Brownsea Island and the Purbeck Hills. Brownsea Island stands opposite Lilliput's harbour foreshore and is famous as the birthplace of Baden Powell's International Scouting Movement. Lilliput itself was host to a number of early scouting camps. During the Second World War at one stage it provided Britain's only civilian air route: Poole Harbour was temporary home to the Imperial Airways/BOAC flying boat fleet, which had its passenger HQ at Salterns Marina. [1]

Contents

Post box in Lilliput Lilliput, postbox and^8470, BH14 15, Crichel Mount Road - geograph.org.uk - 976895.jpg
Post box in Lilliput

Well known residents have included modernist writer Mary Butts, a very young John le Carre [2] and disc-jockey Tony Blackburn. Impresario Fred Karno who popularised the custard-pie-in-the-face comedy routine spent his last years in the village as a part-owner of an off-licence, bought with financial help from Charlie Chaplin, and died here in 1941 aged 75.

Evening Hill is at the edge of Parkstone Bay.

The old post office Lilliput, the old post office - geograph.org.uk - 975234.jpg
The old post office

Development

The area occupying the northern shore of Poole Harbour was often referred to by the Victorians as "Parkstone-on-Sea". [3] Mary Butts wrote about the local landscape and her childhood in one of the old mansions at the turn of the twentieth century in her autobiography The Crystal Cabinet: my childhood at Salterns (1937). [4] Her great-grandfather had been a principal patron of the English romantic poet and artist William Blake, and her Lilliput home housed a large collection of Blake paintings (now in Tate Britain). The autobiography took its title from one of Blake's poems. She adored the area and was critical of the kind of development then taking place in Lilliput and Poole–Parkstone–Bournemouth, [5] which she thought soulless, and far from the "garden city" it could be. Aside from an enclave behind Evening Hill, a local beauty spot with panoramic views over Poole Harbour, [6] modern development started in the later 1920s as more of the older estates were sold for suburban projects. A number of distinctive art-deco homes were built, including the landmark Salterns Court building at the new shopping parade.

Before its development as a residential and recreational area there had been industrial projects at Salterns, [7] [8] which had been the district's local name. Some claim a connection to Jonathan Swift and his novel Gulliver's Travels , and there are local streets which have associated names. The name "Lilliput" probably derives from Lilliput House, an old country mansion built near Evening Hill, which may have been owned by renowned smuggler Isaac Gulliver or one of his relatives. [9]

Lilliput is host to a number of sailing clubs based on the harbour shoreline. A recent proposal for a major redevelopment at Salterns marina, has sparked controversy about who will benefit from this. Despite strong local opposition [10] Poole Councillors approved the scheme in May 2016, with planning chairman Pawlowski claiming "this town needs to protect its economy and to provide jobs ... we should be taking advantage of our harbour to promote and help our area .” [11] [12] [13] An idea of contemporary Lilliput can be gained by following the local circular walk (1c) described by Poole Harbour Trails. [14]

Today

Recent years have seen many new property development projects, especially in water frontage or harbour view locations, and often earlier buildings have been replaced entirely.

Lilliput is home to a hotel 'Salterns Harbourside', the Lilliput C of E Infants First School, and an Anglican church 'The Church of the Holy Angels'. A recent census (2005) indicated the number of electors as 3048 with the largest single group (29%) being 65+yrs of age, the majority of homes are privately owned, and a significant number of homes (22%) are households of one member who is a pensioner; many households (14%) consist of married couples with dependent children; most residents who work are professional people and many work in Poole or Bournemouth.[ citation needed ]

The dilemma of development is described in The Dorset Village Book: "much of Lilliput's woodland has disappeared, the sound of saws rasping through the trunks as prominent as the speeding traffic along the road to Sandbanks. Almost every inch of this beautiful place has been sacrificed to the builders and even parts of the cliff-face have been built on. Who can blame anyone for wanting to come here to live, to enjoy the rich sunsets over Wareham Channel, to smell the sweet cool breezes which waft in from the bay, and to marvel at the view across Poole Harbour and Brownsea Island. To many, this is paradise." [15]

Salterns Court, Lilliput Square Lilliput, Salterns Court - geograph.org.uk - 1436400.jpg
Salterns Court, Lilliput Square

Related Research Articles

Dorset County of England

Dorset is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of 2,653 square kilometres (1,024 sq mi), Dorset borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, and Hampshire to the east. The county town is Dorchester which is in the south. After the reorganisation of local government in 1974, the county's border was extended eastward to incorporate the Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch. Around half of the population lives in the South East Dorset conurbation, while the rest of the county is largely rural with a low population density.

Poole Town in England

Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is 21 miles (34 km) east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council which is a unitary authority. Poole had an estimated population of 151,500 making it the second-largest town in the ceremonial county of Dorset. Together with Bournemouth and Christchurch, the conurbation has a total population of nearly 400,000.

Brownsea Island Human settlement in England

Brownsea Island, also archaically known as Branksea, is the largest of the islands in Poole Harbour in the county of Dorset, England. The island is owned by the National Trust with the northern half managed by the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Much of the island is open to the public and includes areas of woodland and heath with a wide variety of wildlife, together with cliff top views across Poole Harbour and the Isle of Purbeck.

Poole Harbour Natural harbour in England

Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour in Dorset, southern England, with the town of Poole on its shores. The harbour is a drowned valley (ria) formed at the end of the last ice age and is the estuary of several rivers, the largest being the Frome. The harbour has a long history of human settlement stretching to pre-Roman times. The harbour is extremely shallow, with one main dredged channel through the harbour, from the mouth to Holes Bay.

Sandbanks

Sandbanks is a small peninsula or spit crossing the mouth of Poole Harbour on the English Channel coast at Poole in Dorset, England. It is known for its high property prices and for its award-winning beach. In 2005, Sandbanks was reported to have the fourth highest land value by area in the world. The Sandbanks and Canford Cliffs Coastline area has been dubbed "Britain's Palm Beach".

Upton, Dorset Human settlement in England

Upton is a town in south-east Dorset, England. Upton is to the east of Holton Heath and Upton Heath, and to the north of the Poole suburb of Hamworthy. It is the second largest town in the Purbeck Hills.

Mary Butts

Mary Francis Butts, also Mary Rodker by marriage, was an English modernist writer. Her work found recognition in literary magazines such as The Bookman and The Little Review, as well as from fellow modernists, T. S. Eliot, H.D. and Bryher. After her death, her works fell into obscurity until they began to be republished in the 1980s.

Poole (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950 onwards

Poole is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Robert Syms, a Conservative.

Penn Hill

Penn Hill is an electoral ward of Poole in Dorset, England, bordering on Branksome Park, Canford Cliffs, Sandbanks, Lilliput and Parkstone. It is effectively part of Parkstone.

Canford Cliffs Human settlement in England

Canford Cliffs is an affluent suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. The neighbourhood lies on the English Channel coast midway between Poole and Bournemouth. To the southwest is Sandbanks which has some of the highest property values in the world, and together Canford Cliffs and Sandbanks form a parish, which has the fourth highest property prices in the world and second highest in the United Kingdom after London.

Parkstone railway station Railway station in Dorset, England

Parkstone railway station serves the Parkstone area of Poole in Dorset, England. The platform sign used to say "Parkstone ".

Branksome Park Suburb of Poole, Dorset, England

Branksome Park is a suburb of Poole in Dorset, which adjoins Branksome, Dorset. The area covers approximately 360 acres (1.5 km2), mostly occupied by housing, and includes Branksome Chine which leads to the award-winning blue-flagged beaches of Poole.

Parkstone Human settlement in England

Parkstone is an area of Poole, Dorset. It is divided into 'Lower' and 'Upper' Parkstone. Upper Parkstone - "Up-on-'ill" as it used to be known in local parlance - is so-called because it is largely on higher ground slightly to the north of the lower-lying area of Lower Parkstone - "The Village" - which includes areas adjacent to Poole Harbour.

Custom House, Poole Listed building in Poole, Dorset, England

The Custom House is a Grade II* listed building in Poole, Dorset, England. It is a Georgian building located in the oldest part of Poole Quay, and is currently used as a restaurant.

Poole Civic Centre

Poole Civic Centre is an Art Deco municipal building in Poole, Dorset. Since 7 October 2019 the building has been a Grade II listed building. Also sometimes known as Poole Town Hall, the civic centre was the headquarters of Poole Borough Council until 2019.

Sea View, Dorset

Sea View is a suburb of Poole, Dorset. The area is anchored by Sea View Road, which links Parkstone towards Canford Cliffs and Sandbanks.

References

  1. ↑ "Poole Flying Boats Celebration (PFBC)". www.pooleflyingboats.com. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
  2. ↑ "John Le Carre". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
  3. ↑ Waters, Jeremy (2014). Parkstone-on-Sea. Poole Historical Trust. p. 7. ISBN   978-1-873535-899.
  4. ↑ Butts, Mary. The Crystal Cabinet: My Childhood at Salterns . ISBN   9780807070383.
  5. ↑ "Extract from The Crystal Cabinet".
  6. ↑ Sunset over Poole, England Timelapse , retrieved 2015-12-06
  7. ↑ "Dorset Life article – Lilliput's industrial past".
  8. ↑ "George Jennings and the Growth of Parkstone". Poole Museum Society Blog. Retrieved 2015-10-12.
  9. ↑ "Lilliput: Chineland". chineland.com. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  10. ↑ "Dorset Lake Residents Association".
  11. ↑ "Bournemouth Echo article and comments".
  12. ↑ "Bournemouth Echo article".
  13. ↑ "BBC News Dorset".
  14. ↑ "Poole Harbour Trails ,Circular Walks". www.pooleharbourtrails.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  15. ↑ "Towns and Villages Around Poole - Lilliput". www.visitoruk.com. Retrieved 2015-10-11.

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