Hengistbury Head (), formerly also called

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

Head, is a

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, J ...

jutting into the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

between

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

and

Mudeford Mudeford ( ) is a harbourside and beachside parish based on a former fishing village in the east of Christchurch, Dorset, England ( historically in Hampshire), fronting water on two sides: Christchurch Harbour and the sands of Avon Beach. The R ...

in the English county of

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) 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 , ...

. It is a site of international importance in terms of its archaeology and is scheduled as an

Ancient Monument In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The ''Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 ...

. Declared a Local Nature Reserve in 1990, the head and its surroundings form part of the

Christchurch Harbour Christchurch Harbour is a natural harbour in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England named after the nearby town of Christchurch. Two rivers, the Avon and the Stour, flow into the Harbour at its northwest corner. The harbour is gen ...

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

. It is also a

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certa ...

, an Environmentally Sensitive Area and a

Site of Nature Conservation Interest Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI), Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) and regionally important geological site (RIGS) are designations used by local authorities in the United Kingdom for sites of substantive local nature ...

. The name "Hengistbury Head" refers to the whole of the headland area; the elevated portion is called Warren Hill. There has been human activity on the site since the

Upper Palaeolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

. During the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...

, it was heavily

quarried A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...

, and in recent years tourism has become significant – it receives more than one million visitors annually. The various habitats on the Head provide a home for many plants, birds and insects, some of them rare and critically endangered.

Erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

remains a threat to the site, although long-term projects are intended to secure it for the future.

Location

--PD-self--File-Map of Hengistbury Head by Isaac Taylor 1759

Hengistbury Head is a

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...

headland attached to Southbourne, which is a suburb of the town of

to the west; the nearest major settlement is

to the north. It is the most easterly part of the Borough of

, and marks the most easterly point of Poole Bay.

Historically History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

part of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

designated the area a part of Dorset. The northern slope of the hill tailing off towards the sea forms

spit, the sand bar closing

from the south.

Buildings

The spit is home to more 300 privately owned beach-huts, which are some of the UK's most expensive. In 2015 five of the huts were put on the market for a combined asking price of £1 million. On average the huts measure around five by three metres, have no running water, and staying overnight is only permitted from March through October. Despite the relative lack of amenities, the area has become one of the UK's most desirable; huts are rented out for up to £600 a week. The Black House, a local landmark, stands at the end of the spit, opposite Mudeford Quay, site of the

Battle of Mudeford The Battle of Mudeford was a skirmish fought between smugglers and Customs and Excise officers which occurred in 1784 on what is now a car park at Mudeford Quay, Mudeford, Christchurch, England near the entrance of Christchurch Harbour. The batt ...

in 1784. Built in 1848, it was once a boat-builders' house, but is now rented out to holidaymakers. It has served a variety of functions over the years, and is commonly (but inaccurately) associated with the area's smuggling past.

Toponymy

Recorded as Hedenesburia in an early 12th century

deed In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferrin ...

in the Christchurch Priory

cartulary A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll ('' rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the f ...

. In the mid 17th century it was referred to as Hynsebury in

State Papers The term State papers is used in Britain and Ireland to refer to government archives and records. Such papers used to be kept separate from non-governmental papers, with state papers kept in the State Paper Office and general public records ke ...

. The modern spelling of Hengistbury is found on Isaac Taylor's 1759 map of Hampshire. In 1779, the antiquary

Francis Grose Francis Grose (born before 11 June 1731 – 12 May 1791) was an English antiquary, draughtsman, and lexicographer. He produced ''A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'' (1785) and ''A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local Pr ...

mistakenly speculates in a letter to the amateur scientist Gustavus Brander, who resided at Christchurch, that the headland might be named after the legendary Jutish leader

Hengist Hengist and Horsa are Germanic brothers said to have led the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in their invasion of Britain in the 5th century. Tradition lists Hengist as the first of the Jutish kings of Kent. Most modern scholarly consensus now rega ...

. During the period of what archaeologist

Barry Cunliffe Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe, (born 10 December 1939), known as Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been an Emeri ...

calls "antiquarian romanticism", many prehistoric sites were renamed to link them with historical figures. It was thought at the time that Hengist could be buried at Hengistbury as he was said to have been laid to rest in an unlocated mound. However, 20th century excavations have established that the

tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...

on Hengistbury Head date to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. Linguist

Richard Coates Richard Coates (born 16 April 1949, in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, and educated at Wintringham School) is an English linguist. He was Professor of Linguistics (alternatively Professor of Onomastics) at the University of the West of England, Bristo ...

speculates that the name is derived from Heddin’s Fort.

History

Hengistbury Head is home to a plethora of nationally and internationally significant archaeological sites, with features dating from the Late Upper Palaeolithic to the Roman settlement of Britain, earning the site

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

status. Interest in the site declined throughout the Dark Ages, until extensive development took place in Christchurch around 890 AD, when the Head may have been used as a lookout post. The area was heavily quarried during the

Victorian period In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edward ...

and nowadays receives over a million visitors annually.

Stone Age

Several archaeological digs have revealed that the site was occupied during the

. There is evidence of an open settlement of the

Creswellian The Creswellian is a British Upper Palaeolithic culture named after the type site of Creswell Crags in Derbyshire by Dorothy Garrod in 1926. It is also known as the British Late Magdalenian. According to Andreas Maier: "In current research, t ...

culture on the hill in the middle of the headland dating to around 14,100 years ago. With over 13,000 lithic artefacts it is probably the largest site of the period. Most interesting were several blades typically found at Upper Paleolithic sites across Europe, but rarely seen outside of caves in the UK, where open air sites of this age are extremely rare. People at the Head were heavily involved with the production of blades, further excavations identified 649 tools, dominated by backed blades, endscrapers and burins. At the time the Warren Hill would have overlooked a large river valley that was to become the

. Once the sea had inundated the surrounding valley,

Mesolithic The Mesolithic ( Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymo ...

hunter gatherers A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...

exploited the site.

Pollen analysis Palynology is the "study of dust" (from grc-gre, παλύνω, palynō, "strew, sprinkle" and ''-logy'') or of "particles that are strewn". A classic palynologist analyses particulate samples collected from the air, from water, or from deposits ...

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and ...

from the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay t ...

bed suggest a lightly wooded headland free of close-knit undergrowth during this period, an ideal habitat for

game A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

Bronze Age

Bronze Age Britain Bronze Age Britain is an era of British history that spanned from until . Lasting for approximately 1,700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the period of Iron Age Britain. Being categorised as ...

this was an important seaport. Eleven

round barrow A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...

s sit on the promontory with two more a little further inland. Eleven of the round barrows were excavated; three by Bushe Fox in 1911–12 and eight by

Harold St George Gray Harold St George Gray (15 January 1872 – 28 February 1963) was a British archaeologist. He was involved in the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford and later was the librarian-curator of the Museum for the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History ...

in 1919 and 1922. Two appear to be undisturbed. Numerous finds including Early Bronze Age axes and cremation urns were recovered from these tumuli, which have been consistently found to be between 3500 and 4000 years old. One of the barrows (south of where the thatched barn now stands) contained a high status cremation of a woman of about twenty years in age, accompanied by an incense cup, a

halberd A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. The word ''halberd'' is cognate with the German word ''Hellebarde'', deriving from ...

-style pendant made from

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In M ...

and copper

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductili ...

, and two gold cones that would have covered buttons of an organic material. The burial-goods recovered are similar to those of the

Wessex culture The Wessex culture is the predominant prehistoric culture of central and southern Britain during the early Bronze Age, originally defined by the British archaeologist Stuart Piggott in 1938.Dorset Ridgeway series in particular. An urn from one of the barrows likely to have been made between 1700 and 1500 B.C., has been identified as ''Trevisker ware'', a type widely found throughout Devon and Cornwall which was transported east in lesser amounts, this find being one of the easternmost discovered.

Iron Age

Double Dykes, Hengistbury Head - geograph

Iron Age Britain The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric I ...

around 700 BC, a settlement on the Head was established; also around this time, the headland was cut off from the mainland by the construction of two banks and ditches called the ''Double Dykes'', similar to those found at Maiden Castle. The earthworks consisted of an inner bank three metres high, with a ditch three and a half metres deep. An outer ditch six metres wide and two metres in depth is now obscured due to wind-blown deposits of sand and a gradual silting process. These defences turned Hengistbury Head into a fortified settlement area which seems to have grown over succeeding centuries until it became an important port. The Iron Age port at Hengistbury Head forms a final site in a small chain of fortified earthworks, starting from

Hambledon Hill Hambledon Hill is a prehistoric hill fort in Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale five miles northwest of Blandford Forum. The hill itself is a chalk outcrop, on the southwestern corner of Cranborne Chase, separated from the Dorset ...

, and also including Hod Hill,

Spetisbury Spetisbury () is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour and the A350 road, southeast of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the civil parish had 224 households and a population of 555. Spetisbury v ...

Rings, Buzbury Rings,

Badbury Rings Badbury Rings is an Iron Age hill fort and Scheduled Monument in east Dorset, England. It was in the territory of the Durotriges. In the Roman era a temple was located immediately west of the fort, and there was a Romano-British town known as ''Vi ...

and Dudsbury Camp. John Lavender of the local Red House Museum noted evidence of small iron-ore smelting hearths on Warren Hill, while green vitreous slag has been also found on the Head. In his 1911 to 1912 excavations, Bushe-Fox found evidence for working of lead, copper and silver; two

ingots An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedure of s ...

discovered at this time revealed that raw materials would have been imported to the area. One ingot was of nearly pure copper, while the other, which weighed 8.6 kg, was roughly 50/50 copper-silver

with around one percent gold. Argentiferous (i.e. silver-bearing) copper was refined to produce silver at the Head. There are also indications that gold was worked at Hengistbury. One excavation produced part of a

torc A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some had hook and ring closures and a few had ...

, twisted together with a small gold bracelet and another fragment in a manner suggesting it was scrap; a different site produced a streaked

touchstone Touchstone may refer to: * Touchstone (assaying tool), a stone used to identify precious metals * Touchstone (metaphor), a means of assaying relative merits of a concept Entertainment * ''Touchstone'' (album), a 1982 album by Chick Corea * T ...

indicating use in gold testing. Thousands of bronze coins have been found from the pre-Roman period, the vast majority having been struck by the

Durotriges The Durotriges were one of the Celtic tribes living in Britain prior to the Roman invasion. The tribe lived in modern Dorset, south Wiltshire, south Somerset and Devon east of the River Axe and the discovery of an Iron Age hoard in 2009 at Shalfl ...

. The abundance of coins, together with various hearths and smelting artefacts found within a close proximity suggest that the Durotrigan finds were minted here.

International trade centre

The advanced level of

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

in the area, coupled with its ease of access from the Continent, meant that Hengistbury Head became a significant Late-Iron Age port; trading worked metal of iron, silver, and bronze in return for figs, glass, tools and other goods.

Armorica Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; br, Arvorig, ) is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic Coast ...

n coins and pottery uncovered here show links to the Brittany peninsula.

Amphorae An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...

used for the transportation of North Italian wine have been found in such quantities (more than all other sites in the south of England put together), that it is clear that the Head was a main port of entry into the country. However, no similar amphorae have been unearthed in Armorica, hinting at a more direct trade route between Hengistbury Head and Italy. Most of these vessels date from before 50 B.C., while later styles are absent despite being common in other parts of Britain, indicating the wine trade seems to have declined at about the time

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

began his Gaulish campaigns.

Roman occupation to Medieval period

After the Roman conquest, the south-east of England started to develop into a more urban economy, while the socio-economic system of the south-west remained little changed. Hengistbury would still have served as an important hub for the Dumnonii of Cornwall and Devon, and the Durotriges of Wiltshire and Dorset; since transport by water was more efficient at the time, and the Head offered both a coastal route, and freshwater options via the Stour and Avon rivers. No evidence of Saxon use has been found at the Head. The area was not substantially reoccupied until

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bo ...

decided to rebuild the

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

as a defence against raiders. He built the town that later became

, on the north side of the harbour. Access to

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

up the River Avon made this a more strategic place. The Head may have been used for harbour defence at this time. In the 11th century, some of the iron-ore rich stones found at the Head were used in the construction of Christchurch Castle. These reddish-coloured stones can still be seen in the base of the now ruined castle.

17th, 18th and 19th centuries

In the late 1600s, Andrew Yarranton (with backing from the Earl of Clarendon) commenced a scheme to improve the harbour. In 1693 a channel was cut out to sea, whilst

ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be con ...

boulders from the head were used to create a pier. The plans proved ineffective; the pier was poorly positioned and subsequent storms (including the Great Storm of 1703) soon undid most of the work although parts of the pier known as "Clarendon's Jetty" or the "Long Rocks" are still visible today. Many tons may have been removed from the beach and the head itself to make the jetty. Old Ironstone Quarry, Hengistbury Head - geograph

Old Ironstone Quarry, Hengistbury Head - geograph

In 1733 a new Excise and Customs Bill was introduced, restricting imports and raising taxes on many luxury items. Christchurch rapidly became a hot-bed for smugglers, where they were known as "freetraders", and much of the town was involved in the trade. The "Double Dykes" are said to have been used to hide contraband, while Mudeford spit is rumoured to have been used in the construction of "Guinea boats" (cheaply built

galleys A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be use ...

sometimes capable of outrunning the day's steamships). One apocryphal story is that the black house acquired its distinctive black colour when customs officers tried to smoke out some holed-up smugglers by lighting fires around the base. The house was constructed in 1848 and used by shipwrights as a dwelling and workshop, smuggling was in decline with the introduction of a free-trade policy and more effective measures being implemented by the Coast Guard by this time, so the house may not in fact have had much involvement in smuggling. The spit has a long association with shipbuilding with two large ships being built in the mid-19th century, the ''Viscountess Canning'' of 193 tons and the ''Enterprise'' 253 tons. From 1848 to 1872, the Hengistbury Mining Company – formed by a Christchurch-based merchant, John E. Holloway – extracted many more ironstone boulders through quarrying. Holloway brought coal from

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, and took the ironstone as ballast for the return journey. These boulders, known as Iron Doggers, were prized for their high quantity of iron ore (up to 30%). They form the base of Hengistbury Head, and the removal of a substantial amount of doggers over the years has weakened the headland. These and earlier excavations resulted in a loss of up to a third of the head, caused mainly by erosion after the quarry's closure. The silt washed down also threatened the ecology of the saltmarsh below. This has been reduced by the building of a dam, in 1976, to create a pool. Many "doggers" can still be seen lining the route of the land-train and at the quarry.

UK's first airshow

In 1910 the first international aviation meeting ever held in Britain took place on a specially laid out

aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publi ...

consisting of a mile of grassland between the "Double Dykes" and the nearby village of Tuckton. About twenty pioneer aviators from around the world participated in various competitions including spot landing, altitude tests and speed trials (both for the fastest and slowest circuit). On the second day of the meeting, co-founder of

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

and pioneer aviator

Charles Rolls Charles Stewart Rolls (27 August 1877 – 12 July 1910) was a British motoring and aviation pioneer. With Henry Royce, he co-founded the Rolls-Royce car manufacturing firm. He was the first Briton to be killed in an aeronautical accident wit ...

was thrown from his plane, which disintegrated beneath him. Despite the fact that the first-ever powered flight had occurred only seven years previously, Rolls had been attempting a precision landing. He died from his injuries shortly after his fall. The event was Britain's earliest fatal flying accident involving a powered aircraft.

20th century

There were a number of development schemes for the head including a major railway and docks scheme proposed in 1885, proposals for housing and a golf course were also put forward before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, though none of these schemes came to fruition. In 1919 the head was sold by Sir George Meyrick to Harry Gordon Selfridge with plans to construct a grand house. These plans also came to nothing, apart from the establishment of a nursery garden. Bournemouth Borough Council purchased the head in 1930 for £25,200; although plans for housing existed west of double dykes, the head itself was to be kept as public open space. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the head was closed to the public and was occupied by the army, becoming home to a number of installations including a radar station. The area was also extensively mined. The head was finally cleared of the military defences by the 1950s.

Present day

Hengistbury Head Local Nature Reserve is currently owned and managed by BCP Council. In 1990, the land was declared a Local Nature Reserve, as a commitment by the town of Bournemouth to conserve and enhance the environment.Hengistbury Head Nature Reserve, hengistburyhead.org
The heathland forms part of the Dorset Heaths and is internationally protected as a

and

. Nearby, the upper reaches of Christchurch Harbour (including the meadows at Wick) are recognised as an Environmentally Sensitive Area. The head today is used for a variety of reasons. Firstly it is a tourist spot where country walks can be taken all over the head due to the well defined gravel paths, some of which form part of the

Bournemouth Coast Path The Bournemouth Coast Path is a 20-mile-long footpath through Dorset and Hampshire, England from Sandbanks to Milford-on-Sea. The path follows the coastline and goes through Bournemouth, Boscombe, Southbourne, Hengistbury Head, Mudeford and Hi ...

. In 2008, many paths were resurfaced, making more (though not all) parts of the head

wheelchair accessible Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i.e ...

. For example, it is now possible to gain wheelchair access to Quarry Pool. Regular field trips to the site are made by students of all ages and there are occasional guided tours or meetings around the head covering a wide variety of subjects. There is a cafe at the bottom of the head on the Bournemouth side. Hengistbury Head Outdoor Education centre is located near here on the south shore of the harbour. Run by

Brockenhurst College Brockenhurst College is a large tertiary college situated in Brockenhurst, Hampshire. Co-educational since the 1920s, Brockenhurst College accepts students over the age of 16 or year 12 students, whichever occurs first due to safeguarding polic ...

, the centre offers a variety of water and outdoor activities. A scenic land train (known as "the Noddy train") makes regular journeys from the cafe to the end of the spit, a journey of ten or so minutes. On the head itself is a H. M. Coastguard radio relay station, a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

and a triangulation pillar, shown on

Ordnance Survey map , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

s as 36 metres above sea level. Ample parking (subject to charges) can be found near the cafe, but the head is also within walking distance of Southbourne and parts of

. The Quarry Pool is now a significant part of the nature reserve features of the head. While it was very acidic in the early years, since 1990 it has allowed the growth of a significant number of plant and insect species, as well as

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...

and

little grebe The little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis''), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''takhus'' "fast" and ''bapto'' "to sink under". The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Lati ...

. The insects provide valuable food for migrating

sand martin The sand martin (''Riparia riparia''), also known as the bank swallow (in the Americas), collared sand martin, or common sand martin, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the ...

s and

swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

Visitor centre

A new visitor centre for Hengistbury Head was opened in December 2013. The extant thatched barn was upgraded in an eco-friendly way and the new addition cost over a million pounds. Funds were provided by developer contributions, the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

and £300,000 from landfill tax. The centre houses a display area which documents the site's archaeology, ecology and geology, while work space has been created for volunteers and other community groups such as the Hengistbury Head Supporters Group, Residents' Association and Christchurch Harbour Ornithological Group. The public now have the chance to scrutinise a selection of the finds discovered at Hengistbury Head in the last century, and to interact with experienced staff, as well as providing them with the opportunity to become actively involved in the administration of the nature reserve. The surrounding area has been extensively landscaped to create outdoor learning areas and a wildlife garden. Energy-saving features include

photovoltaic panels Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...

for electricity and ground source heat pump for heating. A

green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and draina ...

(a living roof that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium), is used to absorb rainfall and provide insulation. The centre is constructed using timber-frame walls insulated with straw bales.

Geography

According to Ian West of

Southampton University , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

, "Hengistbury Head is the best part of the Bournemouth coast for geology and

geomorphology Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or ...

.... ndis geologically important for the unusual nodules of sideritic

oundin Middle

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', ...

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as e ...

." The exposed and relatively untouched cliff face at the head perfectly lends itself to students of

stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers ( strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...

. Warren Hill itself is composed of Tertiary Bracklesham Beds, a mixture of clays and marls with overlying sandy and lignitic

beds A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many be ...

Erosion

One serious threat to the future of the Head is

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

of the exposed southern cliff face from wind and rain, as well as erosion caused by the sea primarily through the process of

Longshore drift Longshore drift from longshore current is a geological process that consists of the transportation of sediments (clay, silt, pebbles, sand, shingle) along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle incoming wave direction ...

. A comparison of

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

maps reveals that 25 metres of cliff was washed away between 1915 and 1962, a process accelerated by the Bournemouth cliff's concreted promenade and

groyne A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid hydraulic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concr ...

s, construction of which started in the early 20th century. It is thought that in the last 200 years around 150 metres of land has been lost from the head. The first attempt to counteract erosion came in the 1930s when Bournemouth Council constructed a

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island, Antarctica * Breakwater Islands, Nunavut, Canada * Br ...

now known as "the Long Groyne". Since then, a gabion

revetment A revetment in stream restoration, river engineering or coastal engineering is a facing of impact-resistant material (such as stone, concrete, sandbags, or wooden piles) applied to a bank or wall in order to absorb the energy of incoming water a ...

has been constructed to secure the weakest point at the eastern end of the Head. In a long-term project to secure the head's future, from 2005 to 2008 Poole Bay was replenished with 1.8 million cubic metres of beach material,Poole Bay Coastal Management , Coast Protection , Flood Defence , Swanage Poole Bournemouth Christchurch
/ref> drawing ire from some surfers and beach lovers owing to the increase in sharp stones on Southbourne beach in particular. The project's organizers, the Poole Bay Partnership, state that: "The resulting wide beaches have been a success in terms of their function as a coast protection structure and for the enjoyment they provide to the area's residents and visitors."

Flora and fauna

Hengistbury Head forms part of the Christchurch Harbour

(SSSI), and in May 1990 was declared a Local Nature Reserve. The head supports 500 plant species (a quarter of the national flora), including eight

red data book The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

species, 14 nationally scarce, and 39 locally rare species. The main nature reserve area faces

, and is contiguous with the

reed bed A reedbed or reed bed is a natural habitat found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reedbeds are part of a succession from young reeds colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As ...

s of Wick Fields. The Head contains a large variety of habitats from the

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

on Warren Hill to freshwater ponds,

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

s, and

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...

es. The

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

(known as

Withybed Wood Withybed Wood is a small, yet important patch of woodland located in the lee of Warren Hill, Dorset, Warren Hill, part of Hengistbury Head, Dorset. It is not to be confused with an area of the Wyre Forest in Shropshire, which also has the same na ...

) is home to

English oak ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus ...

and

silver birch ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found ...

amongst many other trees, and is of particular interest, as it is the only such area to be shown on an 1811

map of the Bournemouth/Christchurch area. In 2002, cattle-grazing commenced in a field near the new visitor centre known as Barn Field. This, combined with

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are ...

eradication, has assisted in the restoration of this habitat to its ancient character. Present on the site is sea knotgrass (''

Polygonum maritimum ''Polygonum'' is a genus of about 130 species of flowering plant in the buckwheat and knotweed family Polygonaceae. Common names include knotweed and knotgrass (though the common names may refer more broadly to plants from Polygonaceae). In the ...

''), the rarest of the knotgrasses in Britain, and currently listed as a "schedule 8 species" under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Such plants are afforded greater than usual protection against damaging activities – such as "cutting, picking, destroying or selling." The heathland is both a

and a

, part of a network of the best wildlife sites in Europe. Lycaenidae - Callophrys rubi

The various habitats provide homes to numerous species of insects. There are 700 moth species recorded in the nature reserve, again a quarter of the national total. At different spots across the site

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

(including the

green hairstreak The green hairstreak (''Callophrys rubi'') is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Etymology The genus name '' Callophrys'' is a Greek word meaning "beautiful eyebrows", while the species Latin name ''rubi'' derives from ''Rubus'' (bramb ...

damselflies Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings alo ...

(like the large red), and

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...

(such as the

hairy dragonfly ''Brachytron'' is a monotypic genus of European dragonfly of the family Aeshnidae containing the hairy dragonfly (''Brachytron pratense''), also known as the hairy hawker or spring hawker. Description The hairy dragonfly is named for its hairy ...

) can be observed. According to a 2005 report, the exceedingly rare thirteen-spotted ladybird (''Hippodamia 13-punctata'') was recently observed at the head, the first sighting in the UK since 1952. More than 300 bird species have been recorded in the area, making Hengistbury Head an important migratory point. The

Balearic shearwater The Balearic shearwater (''Puffinus mauretanicus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family ''Procellariidae''. ''Puffinus'' is a New Latin loanword based on the English "puffin" and its variants, that referred to the cured carcass of ...

, considered critically endangered with extinction by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

and seldom sighted in the UK, has been seen in the area. Other rare birds spotted here include the purple heron, the pink-footed goose, the European honey buzzard and the

melodious warbler The melodious warbler (''Hippolais polyglotta'') is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler genus ''Hippolais''. It breeds in southwest Europe and northwest Africa. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. This small passerine bird ...

. The fields and reserved areas near the car park provide an ideal spot to watch and listen to a significant population of

skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...

s during the summer months. In 1989 a project commenced to re-introduce the country's rarest amphibian, the

natterjack toad The natterjack toad (''Epidalea calamita'') is a toad native to sandy and heathland areas of Europe. Adults are 60–70 mm in length, and are distinguished from common toads by a yellow line down the middle of the back and parallel paratoid ...

, to Hengistbury Head. The natterjack was last recorded on the headland in the 1950s before its extinction, probably as the result of a lack of suitable ponds. The project has been a great success, and today there are thriving populations at various locations. The ideal time to witness their mating rituals is in May as dusk approaches, when the distinctive call of the natterjack can be heard for miles around.

Politics

Hengistbury Head is part of the

Bournemouth East Bournemouth East is a parliamentary constituency in Dorset represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative. Constituency profile The seat is mostly home to White British people and cove ...

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

. Hengistbury Head is also part of the East Southbourne and Tuckton ward which elects two councillors to

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council is a unitary local authority for the district of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in England that came into being on 1 April 2019. It was created from the areas that were previously administered by ...

References

Citations

Secondary sources

* * *

External links

Extensive notes on the geology of the area, with many images
from

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

.
A site run by the Hengistbury Head Supporters GroupWebsite of the Christchurch Harbour Ornithological Group. Detailed information on birds (and other species) in the areaDetails and plans of the new visitor centreLaymans guide to Hengistbury Head geology and historyHengistbury Head at the modern AntiquarianGallery of artist Alan Hayden, who has spent over twenty years painting the Head and surrounding area
* * {{Authority control Areas of Bournemouth Archaeological sites in Dorset Geography of Bournemouth History of Hampshire Iron Age sites in England Stone Age sites in England Headlands of Dorset Local Nature Reserves in Dorset Spits of England Former populated places in Dorset Tourist attractions in Bournemouth Bronze Age sites in Dorset