Winton, Dorset

History

The name Winton was derived from Wintoun Castle in Scotland, which was home to Archibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton, a relative of the Talbot family: landowners who started the development of Winton.

At the beginning of the 19th century the area was just rough heathland, with just a track linking ancient Moordown Village to Horseshoe Common. In 1805 this all changed when a new main road through Winton was put in and named Muscliff Road (today it is known as Wimborne Road).

Around 1850, wealthy Scottish philanthropists Georgina and Mary Talbot saw the plight of local workers and set about trying to improve their lives by purchasing land along the road and building four artisan cottages and sinking wells to provide fresh water. They founded Talbot Village.

By 1891 the population of Winton had reached 4,000. On 31 December 1894 Winton became a separate civil parish, being formed from part of Holdenhurst,. In 1901 Bournemouth (which was by then a county borough) increased its boundaries to include Winton and other districts,{{cite book | author-link = Elizabeth Edwards

Landmarks & Buildings

Winton Recreation Ground

The idea of creating a public recreation facility for Winton was first envisaged in 1902. The Earl of Malmesbury gave nearly six hectares of suitable land to Bournemouth Borough Council in 1904. The official opening of Winton Recreation Ground took place in September 1906.

The facilities available at the ground include Richmond Park Bowls Club, tennis courts, cycle track, children's playground, playgroups play building and a cricket pitch.

The cricket pavilion is over 90 years old. It was extended in 1962 and refurbished in 1999.

Winton Banks

This busy road junction in Winton is called Winton Banks because several banks that used to surround this junction. Currently, Lloyds Bank and Santander are the last of the banks surrounding this junction after the closure of Natwest Winton in October 2017.

Continental Cinema

The picture (right) is close to where the Continental Cinema once stood. Opened in 1911 it started life as the Winton Hall and was renamed Winton Electric Picture House the following year. In 1930 it was modernised and renamed Plaza, becoming the first cinema in Bournemouth to show talking pictures. After the war years it was again refurbished and renamed the Continental. In 1978 it changed hands but the cinema took a downturn in the 1980s due to lack of maintenance and it ended its life in 1989 when it was demolished to build a pub.

Peter's Hill

The steep rise in Wimborne Road to the north of Kemp and Wycliffe roads, has been known locally for many years as Peter's Hill, with several stories circulating as to the origin of the name, the least fanciful would seem to be that the spire of Saint Peter's Church in Bournemouth could be glimpsed from the top of the hill. Evidence of the name dates to 1871, soon after Winton was formed, when Henry Vatcher a carter living with his wife two children and two lodgers, gives Peter's Hill as his address on the census.

Winton Library

Winton library was opened in 1907 and became Bournemouth's first permanent purpose-built library. It was built on land provided by landowner Lord Leven with financial support from Scottish-American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It was one of the first public libraries in the country to allow open access to the shelves; and it was here that Flora Thompson read the literature on which she based her literary career culminating in her autobiographical trilogy Lark Rise to Candleford.

The library has undergone a number of refurbishments during its lifetime, the most recent in 2006 when a computer suite was added.

Present day

Today Winton is still popular for shopping. The area has several striking buildings, such as Saint Luke's Church, the old Fire Station on Peter's Hill, the Edwardian library in Wimborne Road, and what was the art-deco Moderne Cinema building, now known as the Lifecentre, having undergone a complete refurbishment maintaining the art-deco theme.

Winton is also a popular area for students of Bournemouth University and The Arts University Bournemouth to live in, given its local amenities, bus connections to the town centre and proximity to Talbot Campus, the university's main site and the AUB campus.

The Sturtons & Tappers furniture store, which opened in Winton in 1906, will close on 27 September 2025. This is due to the owners retiring.

Timeline

• Circa 1850 Philanthropists Georgina & Marianne Talbot purchase land on the main Wimborne Road. The beginning of the development of Talbot Village.

• 1862 Seven almhouses designed by Christopher Crabb Creeke are built for the old and infirm. They are constructed of Portland stone. Talbot Village School erected with room for 68 pupils.

• 1870 St Mark's Church completed at a cost of £5000. The building consists of Portland and Purbeck stone.

• 1894 Winton becomes a civil parish.

• 1897 Winton Urban District Council is formed.

• 1901 Bournemouth extends its boundaries to include Winton.

         Winton gets its own police station. It is established in a building built ten years earlier known as Hamilton towers.
  

• 1902 Horsedrawn carriages are replaced by trams.

• 1903 The first fire station is established. It is staffed by volunteers and the fire engine is a horse drawn pump.

• 1906 Winton Recreation Ground is officially opened.

• 1907 Winton library opens.

• 1911 The Continental Cinema opens.

• 1933 Woolworths open their 513th branch. Closed in 2008.

Politics

Winton is part of two wards for elections to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council; Winton East and Wallisdown and Winton West.

References

• BH Life, January/February 2006 edition
• https://www.geograph.org.uk
• http://www.wintonforum.co.uk, Winton History and Community Notices

References

1. "Winton East ward 2011".
2. Reader, Jane. (19 June 2007). "Pop down (under) to Winton...". Newsquest Media Group.
3. 'Talbot Village, A Unique Village in Dorset 1850 - 1993' by [[Mildred Gillett]]. Bournemouth Local Studies Publications, 40 Lowther Road, Bournemouth. BH8 8NR.
4. "Relationships and changes Winton CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time.
5. "Christchurch Registration District". UKBMD.
6. "Population statistics Winton CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time.
7. (2017-10-26). "Natwest bank close SIX branches in Dorset and the New Forest this month".
8. "Winton Online".
9. [http://www.wintonforum.co.uk/library.html Winton Forum – the history of Winton Library]
10. (2025-09-24). "Furniture store announces final closing date".
11. (2025-07-09). "Furniture shop to close after nearly 120 years in Bournemouth".