Welcome
To a fresh railway website, first established in 2021 after a long gestation. It centres on the small east Dorset town of Wimborne and its hinterland. Its chronology spans from just before the railway age to the present day. It supports a long-running, in-depth historical study of the district’s railways, their infrastructure and operations. Crucially, it reaches out to potential contributors and will present emerging research. Along the way, it aims to provide enjoyment for its creators, contributors and audiences.
Introduction
Prior to the railway arriving, east Dorset was part of a predominantly rural county with small market towns and ports. Longer-distance transport was largely by coastal shipping, navigable rivers, horse-drawn coach services and horse-back. The eventual railway network would significantly affect the settlement pattern and increase the population in and beyond the district during and even after the life of the local lines. The study is covering these wider social and economic impacts.
In the early railway years, many proposed lines targeted Wimborne – as a node on through routes and even a start-and-end point. It subsequently emerged as a convergence point for the few routes constructed through it. From the early 1800s, the rapidly-developing resort of Bournemouth and its conurbation have since dominated east Dorset and neighbouring south-west Hampshire, the surrounding district morphing into a largely residential hinterland. It also lost its railways, leaving the coastal main line as the only link to the wider region and the rest of the country.
The history of the district railways is perhaps surprisingly complex, but we offer a chronological outline on the History page and as the website develops, we will deal with various sub-plots.
In many ways, the railway story in and around Wimborne is unexceptional for similar market towns with rural hinterlands. Yet for a few decades in the mid-to-late 19th century the town became a ‘backwater frontier’ for regional railway development. By the 1870s it formed one of the busiest traffic points in Dorset, only to be steadily eclipsed in importance by its upstart neighbour Bournemouth (then in Hampshire), while still playing a supportive role. On this basis alone, it makes an interesting case study of railway growth, climax and decline.
This is the first time such in-depth treatment has been directed to the railways around Wimborne, although they have featured in broader studies over many decades. Besides those justifications, Wimborne is where this study’s two collaborators grew up – sufficient excuse for a dose of self-indulgence!
Navigation
For greater clarity and ease of navigation, we have kept the number of basic pages on the site low, but each page will lead on to other pages and themes that expand the story in many directions. The reader can therefore move from the general background to more specialist themes.
There are three broad thrusts to the website:
- Engagement – involving potential contributors and posing enquiries.
- Presentation – of the study’s findings and outputs as they emerge.
- Methods and resources – showing how and where the knowledge can be found.
We anticipate most audience interest in the first two areas, but the study’s academic leaning dedicates the third area to its scope, methodology and the sources underpinning and justifying its findings. Anyone wanting to delve more deeply into any theme – for personal interest and/or to support the study – can therefore follow the trail of investigation.
Contacts and enquiries
We welcome correspondence on matters raised on the website and on other historical information on the district’s railways. We have a dedicated email address for enquiries and contributions – Please use this to make initial online contact with the study directors.