Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It was created in 2019 and covers much of the area of the South Ea ...

unitary authority area in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. The town had an estimated population of 151,500 (mid-2016 census estimates) making it the second-largest town in the ceremonial county of Dorset. Together with

and

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, the

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

has a total population of nearly 400,000. The settlement dates back to before the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. The earliest recorded use of the town's name was in the 12th century when the town began to emerge as an important port, prospering with the introduction of the wool trade. Later, the town had important trade links with North America and, at its peak during the 18th century, it was one of the busiest ports in Britain. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Poole was one of the main departing points for the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

. Poole is a tourist resort, attracting visitors with its large natural harbour, history, the

Lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

arts centre and

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a Not-for-profit organi ...

es. The town has a commercial port with cross-Channel freight and passenger ferry services, which connect with the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

and

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

, as well as the French port town of

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. The headquarters of the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

(RNLI) is in Poole, and the

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

have a base in the town's harbour. Despite their names, Poole is the home of The Arts University Bournemouth, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and a significant part of

Bournemouth University Bournemouth University is a public university in Bournemouth, England, with its main campus situated in neighbouring Poole. The university was founded in 1992; however, the origins of its predecessor date back to the early 1900s. The universi ...

History

The area around modern Poole has been inhabited for at least the past 2,500 years, with nearby

Christchurch Harbour Christchurch Harbour is a Harbor, natural harbour in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England named after the nearby town of Christchurch, Dorset, Christchurch. Two rivers, the River Avon, Hampshire, Avon and the River Stour, Dorset ...

evidencing human activity dating back to the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period at Hengistbury Head. During the 3rd century BC, Celtic-speaking people known as the

Durotriges The Durotriges were one of the Celtic tribes living in British Iron Age, Britain prior to the Roman invasion of Britain, Roman invasion. The tribe lived in modern Dorset, south Wiltshire, south Somerset and Devon east of the River Axe (Lyme Bay), ...

moved from hilltop settlements at Maiden Castle and Badbury Rings to heathland around the River Frome and

Poole Harbour 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 th ...

. The Romans landed at Poole during their conquest of Britain in the 1st century and took over an

settlement at Hamworthy, an area just west of the modern town centre. This was used as a supply base for the fortress at Lake Farm,

Ashington Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the ...

and a settlement at Vindocladia (Bradbury Rings). The town's name may have originated around the post-Roman or Anglo-Saxon periods, and seems to have originally applied to the harbour. It is derived from the late Brittonic or early

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

words ''pol'' meaning a pool or creek. By the middle to late

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

period, Poole was included in the Kingdom of

Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...

. The settlement was used as a base for fishing and the harbour a place for ships to anchor on their way to the River Frome and the important Anglo-Saxon town of Wareham. Poole experienced two large-scale

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

invasions during this era: in 876,

Guthrum Guthrum (, – c. 890) was King of East Anglia in the late 9th century. Originally a native of Denmark, he was one of the leaders of the "Great Summer Army" that arrived in Reading during April 871 to join forces with the Great Heathen Army, wh ...

sailed his fleet through the harbour to attack Wareham, and in 1015, Canute began his conquest of England in Poole Harbour, using it as a base to raid and pillage Wessex. Following the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

, Poole rapidly grew into a busy port as the importance of Wareham declined. The town was part of the manor of Canford but does not exist as an identifiable entry in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

. The earliest written mention of Poole occurred on a document from 1196 describing the newly built St James's Chapel in "La Pole". The

Lord of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

, Sir William Longspée, sold a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

of liberties to the burgesses of Poole in 1248 to raise funds for his participation in the

Seventh Crusade The Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) was the first of the two Crusades led by Louis IX of France. Also known as the Crusade of Louis IX to the Holy Land, it aimed to reclaim the Holy Land by attacking Egypt, the main seat of Muslim power in the Nea ...

. Consequently, Poole gained a small measure of freedom from feudal rule and acquired the right to appoint a mayor and hold a court within the town. Poole's growing importance was recognised in 1433 when it was awarded staple port status by

King Henry VI Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age of eight months, upon ...

, enabling the port to begin exporting wool and in turn granting a licence for the construction of a town wall. In 1568, Poole gained further autonomy when it was granted legal independence from Dorset and made a

county corporate A county corporate or corporate county was a type of subnational division used for the administration of justice in certain towns and cities in England, Wales, and Ireland. They arose when the monarch gave a borough corporation the right to appoi ...

by the Great Charter of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, Poole's

puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

stance and its merchants' opposition to the ship money tax introduced by King Charles I led to the town declaring for

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. Poole escaped any large-scale attack and with the Royalists on the brink of defeat in 1646, the Parliamentary garrison from Poole laid siege to and captured the nearby Royalist stronghold at

Corfe Castle Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the Corfe Castle (village), village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck peninsula in the English county of Dorset. Built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates to the 11th century and ...

. Poole established successful commerce with the North American colonies in the 16th century, including the important fisheries of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. Trade with Newfoundland grew steadily to meet the demand for fish from the Catholic countries of Europe. Poole's share of this trade varied but the most prosperous period started in the early 18th century and lasted until the early 19th century. The trade followed a three-cornered route; ships sailed to Newfoundland with salt and provisions, then carried dried and salted fish to Europe before returning to Poole with wine, olive oil, and salt.Beamish (p.8–11) By the early 18th century, Poole had more ships trading with North America than any other English port and vast wealth was brought to Poole's merchants. This prosperity supported much of the development which now characterises the Old Town where many of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

buildings were replaced with Georgian mansions and

terraced housing A terrace in agriculture is a flat surface that has been cut into hills or mountains to provide areas for the cultivation for crops, as a method of more effective farming. Terrace agriculture or cultivation is when these platforms are created s ...

. The end of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

and the conclusion of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

ended Britain's monopoly over the Newfoundland fisheries and other nations took over services provided by Poole's merchants at a lower cost. Poole's Newfoundland trade rapidly declined and within a decade most merchants had ceased trading. Poole Quay - geograph

The town grew rapidly during the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

as urbanisation took place and the town became an area of

mercantile Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cred ...

prosperity and overcrowded poverty. At the turn of the 19th century, nine out of ten workers were engaged in harbour activities, but as the century progressed, ships became too large for the shallow harbour and the port lost business to the deepwater ports at

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. Poole's first railway station opened in Hamworthy in 1847 and later extended to the centre of Poole in 1872, effectively ending the port's busy coastal shipping trade. The beaches and landscape of southern Dorset and south-west

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

began to attract tourists during the 19th century and the villages to the east of Poole began to grow and merge until the

seaside resort A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

emerged. Although Poole did not become a resort, like many of its neighbours, it continued to prosper as the rapid expansion of Bournemouth created a large demand for goods manufactured in Poole. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Poole was the third-largest embarkation point for

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

landings of

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

and afterwards served as a base for supplies to the allied forces in Europe. Eighty-one landing craft containing American troops from the 29th Infantry Division and the US Army Rangers departed Poole Harbour for

Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors of the amphibious assault component of Operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies of World War II, Allies invaded German military administration in occupied Fra ...

. Poole was also an important centre for the development of Combined Operations and the base for a US Coast Guard rescue

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same cla ...

of 60 cutters. Much of the town suffered from German bombing during the war - in which the Municipal Borough lost 75 civilian lives - and years of neglect in the post-war economic decline. Major redevelopment projects began in the 1950s and 1960s and large areas of

slum A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...

properties were demolished and replaced with modern public housing and facilities. Many of Poole's historic buildings were demolished during this period, particularly in the Old Town area of Poole. Consequently, a

Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

was created in the town centre in 1975 to preserve Poole's most notable buildings. The Poole explosion of 1988 caused 3,500 people to be evacuated out of the

town centre A town centre is the commerce, commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train ...

in the biggest peacetime evacuation the country had seen since the

Governance

There is one tier of local government covering Poole, at

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

level: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, which is based at the Civic Centre in

Administrative history

Poole was an

ancient borough An ancient borough was a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the co ...

, which lay within the

ancient parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Canford Magna. The borough acquired its first

in 1248 from William Longespée, who was

lord of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

. A

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

dedicated to St James existed at Poole from at least 1142. In 1538, the borough was removed from the parish of Canford Magna to become its own parish, called Poole St James. In 1568, Poole was given the right to appoint its own

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

, making it a

, independent from the jurisdiction of the Sheriff of Dorset. In 1836, Poole was reformed to become a

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

. As part of that reform, the borough boundaries were enlarged to take in Hamworthy, Longfleet and Parkstone. Poole Civic Centre

When elected county councils were established in 1889, despite being a county corporate, Poole was not considered large enough for the borough council to take on county council functions. It was therefore included in the

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...

of Dorset under the new Dorset County Council. The borough boundaries were enlarged in 1905 to take in Branksome, and again in 1931 to absorb Canford Magna. In 1932 the borough council built itself Poole Civic Centre on Parkstone Road to serve as its headquarters. The borough of Poole was reconstituted as a

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''s ...

in 1974 under 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 ...

. The district kept the same boundaries and its borough status, but there were some changes to the council's responsibilities. In 1997, Poole Borough Council became a unitary authority, taking over the provision of county council functions from Dorset County Council. The borough of Poole was abolished in 2019, merging with the boroughs of Bournemouth and

to become a new

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

called

, the council of which is a unitary authority. The Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district remains part of the

ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...

of Dorset for the purposes of lieutenancy. Since the abolition of Poole Borough Council in 2019, Poole has had

charter trustees In England and Wales, charter trustees are set up to maintain the continuity of a town charter or city charter after a district with the status of a borough or city has been abolished, until such time as a civil parish council or in larger settle ...

, being the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole councillors representing wards in the former borough of Poole. The trustees preserve the town's civic charters and traditions, including appointing one of their number each year to serve as mayor and another to serve as sheriff; these roles are now purely honorary with no practical functions. Poole is one of only fifteen towns and cities across England and Wales which appoint their own sheriff, with Poole's right to do so stemming from its former status as a county corporate.

Parliamentary representation

Poole is represented by three parliamentary

constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

;

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

, Mid Dorset and North Poole, and Bournemouth West. The borough constituency of

has existed since 1950. Previously the town had been a

parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

, electing two members of parliament from 1455 until 1865 when representation was reduced to one member. In 1885 the constituency was abolished altogether and absorbed into the East Dorset constituency until its reintroduction in 1950.

Coat of arms

The design of the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

originated in a

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

from the late 14th century and were recorded by

Clarenceux King of Arms Clarenceux King of Arms, historically often spelled Clarencieux (both pronounced ), is an Officer of Arms, officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Clarenceux is the senior of the two provincial King of Arms, kings of arms and his juri ...

during the

heraldic visitation Heraldic visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms (or alternatively by heralds, or junior officers of arms, acting as the kings' deputies) throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to register and regulat ...

of Dorset in 1563. The wavy bars of black and gold represent the sea and the dolphin is a sign of Poole's maritime interests. The scallop shells are the emblem of Saint James and are associated with his

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

– a popular destination for Christian pilgrims departing from Poole Harbour in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The arms were confirmed by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

on 19 June 1948, and at the same time, the crest (a

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...

supporting an anchor and holding a cannonball) was granted. Following local government reorganisation in 1974, the 1948 arms were transferred to Poole Borough Council. In 1976, the council received the grant of

supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the Escutcheon (heraldry), shield and depicted holding it up. Historically, supporters were left to an individual's fr ...

for the coat of arms. The supporters refer to important charters given to the town; to the left is a gold lion holding a long sword representing William Longespee who in 1248 granted the town's first charter; on the right is a

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

derived from the

Royal Arms The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, also referred to as the royal arms, are the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently Charles III. They are used by the Government of the United Kingdom and by other The Crown, Crown instit ...

who granted Poole

status in 1568. The

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

– ''Ad Morem Villae De Poole'', means: ''According to the Custom of the Town of Poole'', and derives from the Great Charter of 1568.

Geography

Poole is a complex shore of the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

; it lies on the northern and eastern edges of

, west-southwest of London. The oldest part of the town (including the historic Old Town, Poole Quay and the Dolphin Shopping Centre) lies to the south-east of Holes Bay on a peninsula jutting into the harbour, although much of the land to the east of the peninsula has been reclaimed from the harbour since the mid-20th century. To the west is Upton and Corfe Mullen and across the northern border at the River Stour lies Wimborne Minster. At the eastern edge of Poole, the town abuts Bournemouth and the settlements of

Kinson Kinson is a former village which has been absorbed by the town of Bournemouth, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. The area became part of Bournemouth on 1 April 1931. There were two ...

, Winton and Westbourne. To the south of Poole along the coast lies Poole Bay, which has of sandy beaches from Sandbanks in the west to Bournemouth in the east. Urban areas and districts of the town
Poole is made up of numerous suburbs and neighbourhoods, many of which developed from villages or

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

that were absorbed into Poole as the town grew.

Alderney Alderney ( ; ; ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest isla ...

– Bearwood – Branksome – Branksome Park – Broadstone –

Canford Cliffs Canford Cliffs is a 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; with C ...

– Canford Heath – Creekmoor – Fleetsbridge – Hamworthy – Lilliput – Longfleet – Merley – Oakley – Newtown – Oakdale – Parkstone – Penn Hill – Sandbanks – Sterte – Talbot Village – Wallisdown – Waterloo – Whitecliff The natural environment of Poole is characterised by lowland

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

to the north and wooded

chine A chine () is a steep-sided coastal gorge where a river flows to the sea through, typically, soft eroding cliffs of sandstone or clays. The word is still in use in central Southern England—notably in East Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and the Is ...

s and coastline to the south. The heathland habitat supports the six native British reptile species and provides a home for a range of

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

and rare birds. Development has destroyed much of the heath but scattered fragments remain to the north of Poole and have been designated

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 cer ...

s. The town lies on unresistant beds of

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

clays (mainly

London Clay The London Clay Formation is a Sediment#Shores and shallow seas, marine formation (geology), geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 54-50 million years ago) age which outcrop, crops out in the southeast of England. The London C ...

and Gault Clay), sands and gravels. The River Frome runs through this weak rock, and its many

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

have carved out a wide

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

. At the mouth of the estuary sand spits have been deposited, enclosing the estuary to create Poole Harbour. The harbour is the largest natural harbour in Europe and the second-largest natural harbour in the world after

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...

. It is an area of international importance for nature conservation and is noted for its ecology, supporting

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, 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. I ...

es,

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

s and an internationally important habitat for several species of migrating bird. It has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a Special Protection Area and a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Dorset National Landscape area. The harbour covers an area of and is extremely shallow. The main shipping channels are deep the average depth of the harbour is . It contains several small islands, the largest is

Brownsea Island Brownsea Island is the largest of the islands in Poole Harbour in the county of Dorset, England. The island is owned by the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, National Trust with the northern half managed by the Do ...

, a nature reserve owned by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

and the birthplace of the

Scouting movement Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, includin ...

and location of the first Scout Camp. Britain's largest onshore

oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the prese ...

operates from

Wytch Farm Wytch Farm is an oil field and processing facility in Dorset, England. It is the largest onshore oil field in Western Europe. The facility, taken over by Perenco in 2011, was previously operated by BP. It is located in a coniferous forest on Wytc ...

on the south shore of the harbour. The oil reservoirs extend under the harbour and eastwards from Sandbanks and Studland for under the sea to the south of Bournemouth.Andrews I.J. & Balson P.S. (1995), ''Wight: Sheet 50N 02W Solid Geology'', 1:250,000 Geological map series, Keyworth:

British Geological Survey The British Geological Survey (BGS) is a partly publicly funded body which aims to advance Earth science, geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. ...

. Situated directly to the east of the Jurassic Coast, Poole is a gateway town to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, which includes of the Dorset and east Devon coast important for its geology,

landforms A landform is a land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. They may be natural or may be anthropogenic (caused or influenced by human activity). Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement i ...

and rich

fossil record A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

. The

South West Coast Path The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked Long-distance footpaths in the UK, long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harb ...

stretches for from

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and close to the Exmoor National Park. T ...

in Somerset, along the coast of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

and on to Poole. The path is England's longest

national trail National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, an agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, UK government, and Natural Resources Wales, a Welsh Government, Welsh ...

Climate

Due to its location on the south coast of England, Poole has a

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

climate with a small variation in daily and annual temperatures. The average annual

mean A mean is a quantity representing the "center" of a collection of numbers and is intermediate to the extreme values of the set of numbers. There are several kinds of means (or "measures of central tendency") in mathematics, especially in statist ...

temperature from 1971 to 2000 was . The warmest months in Poole are July and August, which have an average temperature range of , and the coolest months are January and February, which have a range of . Mean

sea surface temperatures Sea surface temperature (or ocean surface temperature) is the ocean temperature, temperature of ocean water close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies in the literature and in practice. It is usually between and below the sea ...

range from in February to in August. The average annual rainfall of is well below the UK average of .

Green belt

Poole lies at the centre of a

green belt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...

region that extends into the wider surrounding counties. It is in place to reduce

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

, prevent the towns in the South East Dorset conurbation from further convergence, protect the identity of outlying communities, and preserve nearby countryside. This is achieved by restricting inappropriate development within the designated areas and imposing stricter conditions on permitted building. Poole has areas of green belt to the north and west of the district, mostly on the fringes of the shared border with the Purbeck and East Dorset districts. These cover landscape features and greenfield facilities including the rivers Stour and Sherford and their

floodplains A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudie, ...

, the Stour Valley Way, Canford Heathland, Dunyeats Hill and Corfe and Barrow Hill nature reserves, Upton Country Park, Pergins Island, and the Wimborne District Society of Model Engineers miniature railway. The small communities at Merley, Canford Magna, Oakley and Oakley Hill are separated from the main urban area, and while inset, are not covered by green belt. However, the isolated hamlets of Knighton, Merley Hall and

are 'washed over', and development is limited in these locations. A specific function of the restrictions is to prevent further urban encroachment towards Wimborne Minster, to help maintain its historic character and surroundings.

Demography

Poole merges with several other towns to form the South East Dorset conurbation which has a combined population of over 465,000, forming one of the South Coast's major urban areas. In the 2011 census, the population of the borough of Poole was 147,645, an increase from 138,288 in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. The town has a built-up area of , giving an approximate population density of in 60,512 dwellings. The population has grown steadily since the 1960s, inward migration has accounted for most of the town's growth and a significant part of this has been for retirement. Housing stock has increased by over 100 per cent in the past 40 years from 30,000 in 1961 to approximately 62,700 in 2004. Compared to the rest of

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

, Poole has an above-average number of residents aged over 65 (20.3%), but this is less than the Dorset average of 22.2%. The largest proportion of the population (24.8%) is between the ages of 45 and 64, slightly above the national average of 23.8%. Population projections have predicted a continual growth; a population of 151,481 is estimated by 2016. The district is overwhelmingly populated by people of a White ethnic background, 95.98% of residents are of

White British White British is an ethnicity classification used for the White population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population was 49 ...

ethnicity, well above the rest of England at 86.99%. Minority ethnic groups (including those in White ethnic groups who did not classify themselves as British) represent 4.0% of Poole's population. The largest religion in Poole is Christianity, at almost 74.34%, slightly above the United Kingdom average of 71.6%. The next-largest sector is those with no religion, at almost 16.23%, also above the UK average of 15.5%. The average house price in Poole is high compared to the rest of the UK and the surrounding south-west region. The average price of a property in Poole in 2008 was £274,011;

detached houses A single-family detached home, also called a single-detached dwelling, single-family residence (SFR) or separate house is a free-standing residential building. It is defined in opposition to a multi-family residential dwelling. Definitions ...

were on average £374,150,

semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single-family Duplex (building), duplex dwelling that shares one common party wall, wall with its neighbour. The name distinguishes this style of construction from detached houses, with no sh ...

and

terraced house A terrace, terraced house ( UK), or townhouse ( US) is a type of medium-density housing which first started in 16th century Europe with a row of joined houses sharing side walls. In the United States and Canada these are sometimes known as row ...

s were cheaper at £226,465 and £217,128 respectively. An apartment or flat costs on average £216,097, more than any other part of Dorset. The average house prices in Poole are boosted by those in Sandbanks which had the fourth-most expensive house prices in the world in 2000; in 2007 the average house price was £488,761. A study in 2006 by the

National Housing Federation The National Housing Federation (NHF) is a trade association for member housing associations in England. Function The National Housing Federation (NHF) is a trade or industry body representing providers of social housing in England. The Federati ...

reported that Poole was the most unaffordable town in which to live in the UK.

Economy

Poole's economy is more balanced than the rest of Dorset. In the 1960s, prosperity was fuelled by growth in the manufacturing sector, whereas the 1980s and 1990s saw expansion in the

service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

as office-based employers relocated to the area. The importance of manufacturing has declined since the 1960s but still employed approximately 17% of the workforce in 2002 and remains more prominent than in the economy of Great Britain as a whole. Sunseeker, the world's largest privately owned builder of motor yachts and the UK's largest manufacturer, is based in Poole and employs over 1,800 people in its Poole

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

s. Other major employers in the local manufacturing industry include Lush,

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

and Ryvita. Poole has the largest number of industrial estates in South East Dorset, including the Nuffield Industrial estate, Mannings Heath, Arena Business Park, Poole Trade Park and the Branksome Business Centre. Poole

The service sector is the principal economy of Poole; a large number of employees work for the service economy of residents or for tourists. During the 1970s, Poole's less restrictive

regional planning Regional planning deals with the efficient placement of land-use activities, infrastructure, and settlement growth across a larger area of land than an individual city or town. Regional planning is related to urban planning as it relates land ...

policies attracted businesses wishing to relocate from London. These included employers in the banking and financial sector, such as Barclays Bank (who operated Barclays House as a regional headquarters in Poole), American Express Bank and the corporate trust division of

Bank of New York Mellon The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY, is an American international financial services company headquartered in New York City. It was established in its current form in July 2007 by the merger of the Bank of New York an ...

. Other important service sector employers include the national headquarters and college of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), the UK headquarters of Fitness First,

and

Arts University Bournemouth Arts University Bournemouth (abbreviated AUB) is a public university in Poole, England, specialising in art, architecture, film, performance, and design. Established in 1880, the university has been ranked Silver and Gold by the Teaching Excel ...

. Poole is also the headquarters for clothing company

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

, cosmetics manufacturer Lush, and Merlin Entertainments, the world's second-largest

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

operator after

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

. The Dolphin Shopping Centre is Poole's main retail area and the largest indoor shopping centre in Dorset. It opened in 1969 as an Arndale Centre and underwent three major refurbishments in 1980, 1989 and 2004. The centre provides of retail space with 110 stores and two multi-storey car parks with 1,400 parking spaces. A pedestrianised

high street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

with shops, bars, pubs and restaurants connects the Dolphin Centre with the historic Old Town area and Poole Quay. Tourism is important to the Poole's economy and was worth an estimated £158 million in 2002. Poole's Harbour, Quay and the beaches are some of the main attractions for visitors. Visitor accommodation consists of hotels, guest houses and

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

rooms located around the town, particularly in Sandbanks and the town centre. Poole is served by the Port of Poole. Since the 1970s, Poole has become one of Britain's busiest ports. Investment in new port facilities in Hamworthy and the deepening of shipping channels allowed considerable growth in cross-channel freight and passenger traffic. The port is a destination for

bulk cargo Bulk cargo is Product (business), product cargo that is transported packaging, unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate (as a mass of relatively small solids) form, ...

imports such as steel, timber, bricks, fertiliser, grain, aggregates and palletised traffic. Export cargoes include clay, sand, fragmented steel and grain. Commercial ferry operators run regular passenger and freight services from Poole to

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

, St Malo and the

. The

operate out of the harbour at RM Poole, established in Hamworthy in 1954. The base is home to

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

unit the

Special Boat Service The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roy ...

and a detachment of the

Royal Marines Reserve The Royal Marines Reserve (RMR) is the volunteer reserve force used to augment the regular Royal Marines. The RMR consists of some 600 trained ranks distributed among the four units within the UK. About 10 percent of the force are working with ...

. In 2008, 105 fishing boats were registered and licensed to the port and held a permit issued by the Southern Sea Fisheries District Committee (SSFDC) to fish commercially. It is the largest port in terms of licences in the SSFDC district which covers the coastline of Dorset,

and the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

, and one of the largest registered fishing fleets in the UK. However, the fleet is gradually declining because of rising fuel costs and restrictive fishing quotas introduced by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. A large number of unlicensed boats also operate charted or private angling excursions.

Landmarks

Poole

Quay A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (mo ...

is a visitor attraction to the south of the town centre lined with a mixture of traditional pubs and

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

alongside new bars, redeveloped warehouses and apartment blocks. Once the busy centre of Poole's maritime industry, all port activities moved to Hamworthy in the 1970s as the Quay became increasingly popular with tourists. The Grade II* listed

Customs House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

on the quay-front was built in 1814 and now functions as a restaurant and bar. Nearby the Grade I listed Town Cellars, a

warehouse built in the 15th century on the foundations of a 14th-century stone building, houses a

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural history, cultural and social history, social aspects of history. Local history is not mer ...

centre. Scaplen's Court, another Grade I listed building, also dates from the medieval era. Poole Pottery has been redeveloped into an

apartment block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdiction. ...

. Boats regularly depart from the quay during the summer and provide cruises around the harbour and to

, the River Frome and

Swanage Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester. In the Unit ...

. Public artworks along the Quay include ''Sea Music'' – a large metal sculpture designed by Sir Anthony Caro, and a life-size bronze sculpture of Robert Baden-Powell created to celebrate the founding of the

Scout Movement Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including ...

on Brownsea Island. At the western end of the quay, near the mouth of Holes Bay, is Poole Bridge. Built in 1927, it is the third bridge to be located on the site since 1834. Poole Guildhall has played a varied part in the history of the town. A Grade II* listed building, the Guildhall was built in 1761 at a cost of £2,250. The new building included an open market house on the ground floor and a courtroom and offices for the town council on the first floor and has also been used as a

court of record A court of record is a trial court or appellate court in which a record of the proceedings is captured and preserved, for the possibility of appeal. A court clerk or a court reporter takes down a record of oral proceedings. That written record ...

magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several Jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) ...

, court of admiralty and a venue for

quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...

. Between 1819 and 1821 the building was consecrated as a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

while the old St. James Church was pulled down and replaced with the present church. During the

, the building was used as a canteen and meeting room for American soldiers before the invasion of France. The showers and washing facilities installed at this time were later converted into public baths which were used until the 1960s. The building was converted for use as the town museum between 1971 and 1991 but stood empty for the next 16 years. After a renovation project funded by Poole Borough Council, the restored Guildhall opened in June 2007 as a

Register Office A register office, commonly referred to unofficially as a registry office or registrar's office is an office in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and some Commonwealth countries responsible for the civil registration of births, deaths, marri ...

for weddings,

civil partnerships A civil union (also known as a Civil partnership in the United Kingdom, civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for Same-sex relationship, same-sex couples. Civi ...

and other civic ceremonies. Poole Bay

Poole has several

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

s – the largest is Poole Park adjacent to

and the town centre. It opened in 1890 and is one of two Victorian parks in Poole. Designated a

in 1995 and awarded a

Green Flag Green Flag Limited is a British roadside assistance and vehicle recovery provider, which is part of the Direct Line Group. Formed in 1971, as the National Breakdown Recovery Club, as an alternative to the AA and RAC, it used a network of ...

in 2008, the park comprises of which include the park's human-made lake and ponds. The park contains two children's play areas, a miniature railway, tennis courts, a

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

, a

miniature golf Miniature golf (also known as minigolf, putt-putt, crazy golf, and by #Nomenclature, several other names) is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest ...

course, an Italian restaurant and an indoor ice rink for children. A

cricket field A cricket field or cricket oval is a large grass field on which the game of cricket is played. Although generally oval in shape, there is a wide variety within this: perfect circles, elongated ovals, rounded rectangles, or irregular shapes with ...

and pavilion at the eastern end are home to Poole Town Cricket Club and water sport activities such as sailing, windsurfing, kayaking and rowing take place on the large lake. A

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

stands in the centre of the park as a monument to Poole citizens killed during the First and

s. The park hosts several road races such as the Race for Life and the annual Poole Festival of Running. Poole's sandy beaches are a popular tourist destination extending along Poole Bay from the Sandbanks peninsular to Branksome Dene Chine at the border with

. The beaches are divided into four areas: Sandbanks, Shore Road, Canford Cliffs Chine and Branksome Chine. Poole's beaches have been awarded the European Blue Flag for cleanliness and safety 21 times since 1987, more than any other British seaside resort and in 2000 the Tidy Britain Group resort survey rated Poole's beaches among the top five in the country. Along the seafront, there are seaside cafés, restaurants, beach huts and numerous water-sports facilities.

Beach Rescue

lifeguards A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and Cardiopulmonary ...

patrol the coastline in the busy summer season between May and September.

Religious sites

Poole falls within the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Diocese of Salisbury The Diocese of Salisbury is a Church of England diocese in the south of England, within the ecclesiastical Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the historic county of Dorset (which excludes the deaneries of Bournemouth and Christchurch, ...

and the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth The Diocese of Plymouth () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in England. The episcopal see is in the city of Plymouth, Devon, where the bishop's seat (cathedra) is located at the Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Boniface. Histo ...

. Poole has many sites of

Christian worship In Christianity, worship is the act of attributing reverent honour and homage to God. In the New Testament, various words are used to refer to the term worship. One is ("to worship") which means to bow down to God or kings. Worship in the N ...

including five Grade II* and five Grade II listed churches, but no notable sites of worship for any other

major religious groups The world's principal religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups, though this is not a uniform practice. This theory began in the 18th century with the goal of recognizing the relative degrees of ...

. The Grade II* St James' Church is a simplified

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

in the Old Town which was rebuilt in 1820. The previous church on the site was first mentioned in documents from 1142 and had been extensively rebuilt in the 16th century, but in 1819 it was deemed structurally unsafe by a surveyors report. The

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2024 it had approximately 44,000 members in around 1,250 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. The URC is a Trinitarian church whose theolog ...

hall, also in the town centre, is a Grade II* building built in 1777. The other Grade II* churches are: St. Peter's Parish Church in Parkstone which was first built in 1833 and replaced in 1876; St Dunstan of Canterbury Orthodox Church, also in Parkstone, an Antiochian Orthodox church, formerly the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Church of St Osmund, in a Neo-Byzantine style building; and the Parish Church of St. Aldhelm in Branksome, built by the architects Bodley and Garner in 1892 in the Gothic Revival style. Described by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

as "one of Poole's most important landmarks", the

church of St Mary's in Longfleet, built in 1833, is one of Poole's Grade II listed churches. There are also two Christadelphian meeting halls in the town.

Sport and recreation

and Poole Bay are popular areas for recreational pursuits such as: sailing,

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

kitesurfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...

and

water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on one or two skis. The sport requires sufficien ...

. The harbour's large areas of sheltered waters attract windsurfers, particularly around the northern and eastern shores. Water skiing takes place in the harbour in a specially designated area known as the Wareham Channel. The waters around the harbour, Poole Bay and Studland Bay are also popular for recreational angling and diving. The beaches at Sandbanks are often used for sporting events such as the Sandbanks Beach Volleyball Festival, and the annual British Beach polo Championship. Since 1999, the town's Rossmore Leisure Centre has hosted the GMPD Poole Gymnastics Competition every October with the Holiday Inn Express hosting some of the competitors as well as previously a Disco on the Saturday evening which has since been scrapped, hundreds of competitors from across the country compete each year, the competition celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2019. Following a 2-year hiatus due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

it is hoped it will return in 2022.

Sailing

Poole Harbour is one of the largest centres for sailing in the UK with a number of

yacht club A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...

s such as the: East Dorset Sailing Club, Lilliput Sailing Club, Parkstone Yacht Club, Poole Yacht Club, Sandbanks Yacht Company and the Royal Motor Yacht Club. Parkstone Yacht Club hosted the OK Dinghy World Championships in 2004, the J/24 National Championships in 2006 and the J/24 European Championships in 2007, with th
2020 J24 Worlds
hosted here also and are the organisers of Youth Week and Poole Week – two of the largest annual dinghy

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wa ...

s of their type in the country. Poole Stadium grandstand

Football

Poole's oldest

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team is Poole Town F.C., a

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

team who play in the

Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...

– the seventh tier of the

English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the ...

. Established in 1880, the team has had erratic success at their level; they have never risen above

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

levels but once reached the third round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. They played at Poole Stadium until 1994 and have since settled at Tatnam Farm, sharing the school playing field with Oakdale Junior School. Poole's other football teams are Hamworthy United, formed in 1970, and play in the Wessex Premier League, and the amateur team Poole Borough F.C. who play in the Dorset Premier League. Poole is one of the largest towns in England without a professional football team.

Speedway

Poole's

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four clockwise, anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that ...

team, the Poole Pirates, were established and began racing at Poole Stadium in 1948 in the National League Division Three. The team now races in the top tier of league racing (the Elite League) which they won in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. Poole Stadium is also a venue for

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...

; race nights occur three days a week throughout the year.

Scouting

Poole has three of the oldest

Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest organisation in the Scout Movement in the Scouting in the United Kingdom, United Kingdom. Following the rapid development of the Scouting, Scout Movement from 1907, The Scout Association was formed in 1910 ...

groups in the world, 1st Parkstone Air Scout Group holds records dating back to February 1908 and 1st Hamworthy Scout Group has records dating back to October 1908; both groups were formed out of the original

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christianity, Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman William Alexander Smith (Boys' Brigade), Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun acti ...

units that had members take part in the original Scout Camp in 1907. Broadstone Group has records dating back to December 1908 and was home to the first King's/ Queen's Scout.

Nature parks

Working with the Dorset Wildlife Trust, Poole Council has opened two nature parks: * Holes Bay Nature Park, opened in 2015, includes Upton Country Park. The bay is an important feeding and roosting site for wetland birds. * Corfe Barrows Nature Park, opened in 2016, is a group of eight natural sites, including Happy Bottom Nature Reserve, that is being jointly managed for wildlife and people in the north of the borough.

Walking

Poole Tourism has developed and waymarked a number of trails and circular walks, collectively called the Poole Harbour Trails.

Cycling

Poole has over of cycle network, including the Castleman Trailway, the Poole Heritage Cycle Route and the Bourne Valley Greenway.

Culture

The ' Beating of the bounds' is an ancient annual custom first carried out in 1612, which revives the traditional checking of the sea boundaries awarded to Poole by the

Cinque Port The confederation of Cinque Ports ( ) is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to ...

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a town in the county of East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The current town, which was founded in 1288, replaced an earli ...

in 1364. The Admiral of the Port of Poole (the mayor) and other dignitaries, and members of the public sail from the mouth of the River Frome to Old Harry Rocks to confirm the mayor's authority over the water boundaries of the harbour and check for any encroachments. As there are no physical landmarks that can be beaten at sea, traditionally children from Poole were encouraged to remember the bounds of their town by taking part in the 'Pins and Points' ceremony involving the beating of a boy and pricking of a girl's hand with a needle. In modern times, the acts have been symbolically carried out. Poole's ''Summertime in the South'' is an annual programme providing various events on Poole Quay and Sandbanks from May until September. During June and July, live music, street entertainment and a large firework display take place on Poole Quay every Thursday evening. In August, the entertainment moves to the beaches at Sandbanks. Built in 1978, Poole's

is an arts centre complex that contains a cinema,

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage (theatre), stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention ...

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

, theatre, image lab and media suite and galleries featuring exhibitions of contemporary photography and modern

digital art Digital art, or the digital arts, is artistic work that uses Digital electronics, digital technology as part of the creative or presentational process. It can also refer to computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960 ...

. The venue underwent an £8.5 million refurbishment in 2002, paid for by the

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...

, the Borough of Poole and private donations. The centre's concert hall has been the residence of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's main concert series since their former base at the Bournemouth Winter Gardens closed in 1985. Situated in the centre of the Old Town, Poole Museum illustrates the story of the area and its people and the collections reflect the cultural, social and industrial history of Poole. Displays include the Poole Logboat and a detailed history of Poole from the

to the present day. The museum has a floor devoted to the history of Poole Pottery and some of the company's products are on display. Entrance to the museum is free. Poole Museum is closed for refurbishment until approximately Spring 2025

Transport

Roads

The A350 road is Poole town centre's main arterial road, running north along Holes Bay and on to the A35, and as a

single carriageway A single carriageway (British English) is a road with one, two or more lanes arranged within a one carriageway with no central reservation, central reservation/median strip to separate opposing flows of traffic. A single-track road is a type of ...

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

although faster access to the motorway may also be gained via the A34 at Newbury. To the east, the A337 road leads to

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest (district), New Forest district of Hampshire, England. The town faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a Roll-on/roll-off, car ferry s ...

and the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

. The A35

trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...

runs from

and connects to the A31 on the outskirts of the town. The A31, the major trunk road in central southern England, connects to the

M27 motorway The M27 is a motorway in Hampshire, England. It is long and runs between Cadnam and Portsmouth. It was opened in stages between 1975 and 1983, providing the largest two urban areas in Hampshire (Southampton and Portsmouth) with a direct moto ...

at Southampton. From here the M3 motorway leads to London. Poole Bridge, a narrow

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...

constructed in 1927, connects the town centre and Hamworthy. Approval for a second bridge was given by the

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...

in 2006 and the £37 million Twin Sails bridge was completed in 2012. A road link to Studland and the

Isle of Purbeck The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula in Dorset, England. It is bordered by water on three sides: the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome and Poo ...

across the narrow entrance of Poole Harbour is provided by the Sandbanks Ferry. Poole is also home to the Poole Heritage Cycle Route. The A35, continuing as the A338 from the County Gates Gyratory, connects Poole to Bournemouth then continues north to

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Buses

Bus routes are operated by the following providers: * Morebus, which is based at the town's bus station; along with its predecessor, Wilts & Dorset, it has served Poole since 1983. It operate routes across Poole,

and

, in addition to operations on the

and the

. * Damory Coaches, a subsidiary of Morebus, operates the X8 to

Blandford Forum Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour, north-west of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the United Kingdom 2021 census, 2021 census. The town is notable for its Georgian archit ...

. * First Hampshire & Dorset's X54 service runs along a route along the Jurassic Coast to Wareham,

Wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

, Lulworth Cove and Weymouth. *

National Express Coaches National Express, also abbreviated NX, is a Intercity bus service, long and medium-distance intercity coach operator operating services throughout Great Britain. It is a subsidiary of the British multinational public transport company Mobico G ...

operates frequent departures to London's

Victoria Coach Station Victoria Coach Station in the City of Westminster is the largest bus station, coach station in London, and a bus terminus, terminus for medium and long distance Coach transport in the United Kingdom, coach services in the United Kingdom. It is ...

. There are also direct services to the

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

, the

North of England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...

and to

Heathrow Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

and Gatwick airports.

Railway

There are four railway stations in the Poole area; all are stops on the South West Main Line which links and . From east to west, these are (near the border with Bournemouth), , (in the town centre) and . Services are operated by

South Western Railway South Western Railway Limited, trading as South Western Railway (SWR), is the British state-owned train operating company that took over the services of the South Western Railway (2017–2025), operator of the same name from FirstGroup and MTR ...

and generally consist of up to three trains per hour (fast, semi-fast and stopping services) to and from London, with two per hour to and from Weymouth.

Ferries

Poole is a cross-Channel port for passengers and freight. Ferry services from

and

are provided by Brittany Ferries, who operate one-round trips per day using the ''Barfleur'' to Cherbourg. and services to Guernsey using the ''Condor Voyager. Ferries to

are operated by

DFDS Seaways DFDS Seaways is a Danish shipping company that operates passenger and freight services across northern Europe. Following the acquisition of Norfolkline in 2010, DFDS restructured its other shipping divisions (DFDS Tor Line and DFDS Lisco) in ...

using the ''Levante Jet''.

Air

Bournemouth International Airport is located in Hurn, on the periphery of Bournemouth; it is sited away from Poole town centre.

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

easyJet EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airlin ...

and

TUI Airways TUI Airways Limited (formerly Thomson Airways Limited) is the British arm of the TUI Airline group, which is owned and operated by the TUI Group. They offer scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom and Ireland to destinations in E ...

operate from the airport and provide scheduled services to destinations in the UK and Europe.

Education

Poole has eleven

infant school An infant school is a type of school or school department for young children. Today, the term is mainly used in England and Wales. In the Republic of Ireland, the first two years of primary school are called infant classes. Infant schools were ...

s, seven

junior school A junior school is a type of school which provides primary education to children, often in the age range from 8 and 13, following attendance at an infant school, which covers the age range 5–7. Since both infant and junior schools provide pri ...

s, ten

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s, nine

secondary schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

, three

special school Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual d ...

s, five

private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...

and one college of

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...

. Two of Poole's secondary schools are

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

s which maintain a selective education system, assessed by the

eleven-plus exam The eleven-plus (11+) is a Test (assessment), standardised examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools ...

. Poole High School is the largest secondary school in Poole with 1,859 pupils. The Bournemouth and Poole College attracts over 16,000 students a year and is one of the largest further education colleges in the country and the leading provider of academic and vocational education in Dorset. It has two centrally located main campuses in Poole and Bournemouth. From the 2007

General Certificate of Secondary Education The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

(GCSE) results, Poole was ranked 18th out of 148 local authorities in England based on the percentage of pupils attaining at least five A* to C grades at GCSE level including English and maths (54.5% compared with the national average of 46.8%). Parkstone Grammar School was the most successful secondary school in Poole for GCSE results in 2007: 100% of pupils gained five or more GCSEs at A* to C grade including English and maths. Canford School also achieved 100% and

Poole Grammar School Poole Grammar School (commonly abbreviated to PGS) is an 11–18 selective boys grammar school and academy in the coastal town of Poole in Dorset, in the south of England. The school is twinned with Parkstone Grammar School. It is a member of t ...

was the next best performing school with 98%. Poole High School achieved 39% and the worst performing school was Rossmore Community College where only 19% of students achieved five or more A* to C grade results. Poole's grammar schools were also the best performing for

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

results. Poole Grammar School was the 60th most successful school/sixth form in the country in 2007: each student achieved on average 1071.4 points compared to the national average of 731.2. Parkstone Grammar School students averaged 1017.9 points.

was designated as a university in 1992 and despite its name, the university's main campus (the Talbot Campus) and buildings are within the boundaries of Poole Borough; a smaller campus is situated in Bournemouth itself. Media courses are the university's strength, and recent teaching quality assessments have resulted in ratings of 'excellent' for courses in the areas of communication and media, business and management, catering and hospitality, archaeology and nursing and midwifery. The

was designated as a university in 2012 and is located at Wallisdown. It offers

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

foundation degree A foundation degree is a combined academic and vocational qualification in higher education in the United Kingdom, equivalent to two-thirds of an honours bachelor's degree. Foundation degrees were introduced by the Department for Education and ...

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

and

courses in contemporary arts, design and media.

Public services

Policing is undertaken by the Poole and Bournemouth Division of Dorset Police which has one police station in Poole on Wimborne Road in the town centre. Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service provides statutory emergency fire and rescue services for Poole and are based at Poole Fire Station in Creekmoor which opened in 2008. The former fire station on Wimborne Road was demolished in 2008 and was replaced with a joint fire and police divisional headquarters which opened in 2009. Poole Hospital is a large acute hospital in Longfleet with 638 beds and is part of

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust manages three hospitals in South East Dorset conurbation, South East Dorset. It was formed following the merger of Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch H ...

. It opened in 1969 as Poole General Hospital, replacing Poole's Cornelia Hospital which had stood on the site since 1907. The hospital is the major trauma centre for East Dorset and provides core services such as child health and maternity for a catchment area including Bournemouth and Christchurch. Specialist services such as neurological care and cancer treatment are also provided for the rest of Dorset. The South Western Ambulance Service provides emergency patient transport.

Waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitor ...

and recycling are co-ordinated by Poole Borough Council in partnership with Viridor. Locally produced inert waste is sent to

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

for disposal. Recycle waste is taken to Viridor's Materials Recycling Facility in

Crayford Crayford is a town and Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in South London, South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies east of Bexleyheath and north west of Dartford. Crayford was in the Historic countie ...

for processing. Poole's

distribution network operator A distribution network operator (DNO), also known as a distribution system operator (DSO), is the operator of the electric power distribution system which delivers electricity to most end users. Each country may have many local distribution netwo ...

for electricity is Scottish and Southern Energy. The water supply and sewerage systems are managed by Wessex Water;

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

sources in Wiltshire and Dorset provide 75% of drinking water, the rest comes from reservoirs fed by rivers and streams.

Media

Poole has one local newspaper, the '' Daily Echo'', which is owned by

Newsquest Newsquest Media Group Limited is the second largest publisher of regional and local newspapers in the United Kingdom. It is owned by the American mass media holding company Gannett. It has 205 brands across the UK, publishing online and in pr ...

. Published since 1900, the newspaper features news from Poole, Bournemouth and the surrounding area. Issues are produced Monday through Saturday with an average daily circulation of 13,579. For local television, Poole is served by the BBC South studios based in

, and ITV Meridian from studios in Whiteley. Local radio stations broadcasting to the town include BBC Radio Solent,

Greatest Hits Radio South Greatest Hits Radio South is a regional radio station broadcasting across the South of England, as part of Bauer Radio, Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio network. Coverage The seven local stations broadcast to Salisbury, Dorset, West Sussex, North Ha ...

, Heart South,

Nation Radio South Coast Nation Radio South is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting on 106 Hertz, MHz & 106.6 Hertz, MHz FM across the The Solent, South Coast of England, and on Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB on the South Hampshire, Bournemouth, Sussex, Sali ...

, Hits Radio Bournemouth & Poole and Hot Radio.

Notable people

The town has been the birthplace and home to notable people, of national and international acclaim. Former residents include British radio disc jockey

Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and television presenter, whose career spans over 60 years. Blackburn first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio Londo ...

, the artist

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarg ...

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

's aunt and parental guardian Mimi Smith, and ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'' author

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

who lived in Poole for four years during his retirement.

Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was an English naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator. He independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection; his 1858 pap ...

, the 19th-century explorer, naturalist and co-formulator of the theory of evolution by natural selection, moved to Poole in 1902 when he was 78 years old and is buried in Broadstone cemetery. Notable people born in Poole include the

Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, Textile, fabrics, Handbag, purses, furniture, and other items. Suede is made from the underside of the animal skin, which is softer and m ...

guitarist Richard Oakes,

Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake (10 November 1947 – 7 December 2016) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). Born and b ...

of the band

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards) of The Nice, Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitars, producer) ...

, the author

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. A "sophist ...

, the novelist Maggie Gee, stage actor Oswald Yorke, actress Louisa Clein, cellist Natalie Clein, boxer

Freddie Mills Frederick Percival Mills (26 June 1919 – 25 July 1965) was an English boxer, and the world light heavyweight champion from 1948 to 1950. Mills was tall and did not have a sophisticated boxing style; he relied on two-fisted aggression, relen ...

, the writer and actor David Croft, and James Stephen, the principal lawyer associated with the British

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

movement.

Edgar Wright Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical Film genre, genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zo ...

, the director of films such as '' Shaun of the Dead'', ''

Hot Fuzz ''Hot Fuzz'' is a 2007 buddy cop action comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, who co-wrote the film with Simon Pegg. Pegg stars as Nicholas Angel, an elite London police officer, whose proficiency makes the rest of his team look bad, causing hi ...

'' and The World's End was born in Poole and out of the five previous British winners of the

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Mi ...

title, two have hailed from Poole: Ann Sidney and Sarah-Jane Hutt.

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Portsmouth F.C., ...

, the former Tottenham Hotspur F.C. manager, and his son Jamie Redknapp, a former

England national football team The England national football team have represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by the Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Eng ...

player, have owned homes in Sandbanks. Former Blue Peter presenter Katy Hill was also born in Poole. Molly Kingsbury who competed in the 2018 Commonwealth Games was born in Poole. The actress Susannah Fielding who featured in

This Time with Alan Partridge ''This Time with Alan Partridge'' is a British sitcom first broadcast in 2019 on BBC One. It stars Steve Coogan as the inept broadcaster Alan Partridge in a parody, spoof of day-time magazine programmes such as ''The One Show'' and ''Good Mornin ...

, was born there. Current

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

footballer Ben White was born in Poole as was Chelsea footballer Tino Anjorin. Chad Gould currently lives in Poole. Trampolinist Isabelle Songhurst was born in Poole. Hampshire cricketer Scott Currie and his older brother Bradley Currie were also both born in Poole.

Twin towns

Poole is twinned with: *

in France (since 1977)

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

* *
Borough of Poole website
{{Authority control Seaside resorts in England Towns in Dorset Former unitary authority districts of England Populated coastal places in Dorset Unparished areas in Dorset Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Port cities and towns in South West England Former boroughs in England Former non-metropolitan districts of Dorset Former civil parishes in Dorset

History

Governance

Administrative history

Parliamentary representation

Coat of arms

Geography

Climate

Green belt

Demography

Economy

Landmarks

Religious sites

Sport and recreation

Sailing

Football

Speedway

Scouting

Nature parks

Walking

Cycling

Culture

Transport

Roads

Buses

Railway

Ferries

Air

Education

Public services

Media

Notable people

Twin towns

See also

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links