44 Facts About Poole

Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council which is a unitary authority.

Poole had an estimated population of 151, 500 making it the second-largest town in the ceremonial county of Dorset.

Poole is a tourist resort, attracting visitors with its large natural harbour, history, the Lighthouse arts centre and Blue Flag beaches.

Poole experienced two large-scale Viking invasions during this era: in 876, Guthrum 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.

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

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Poole's growing importance was recognised in 1433 when it was awarded staple port status by King Henry VI, 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 by the Great Charter of Elizabeth I During the English Civil War, Poole's puritan stance and its merchants' opposition to the ship money tax introduced by King Charles I led to the town declaring for Parliament.

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.

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

The beaches and landscape of southern Dorset and south-west Hampshire 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 of Bournemouth emerged.

Poole was an important centre for the development of Combined Operations and the base for a US Coast Guard rescue flotilla of 60 cutters.

The borough reverted to its previous title of the Borough and County of the Town of Poole, which recalled its status as a county corporate before the implementation of the Local Government Act 1888.

The county constituency of Mid Dorset and North Poole was created in 1997 and includes the north-east of Poole, Wimborne Minster, Wareham and extends into rural Dorset.

From 1979 to 1984, Poole was part of the Single-member district of Wessex and was represented by Conservative Member of the European Parliament James Spicer.

From 1984 to 1994, Poole was part of the Dorset East and Hampshire West constituency and from 1994 to 1999, Poole was part of the Dorset and East Devon constituency represented by Conservative Bryan Cassidy.

Poole was included in the South West England constituency for elections to the European Parliament from 1999 to 2020.

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

Poole is a complex shore of the English Channel; it lies on the northern and eastern edges of Poole Harbour, 97 miles west-southwest of London.

Urban areas and districts of the townPoole is made up of numerous suburbs and neighbourhoods, many of which developed from villages or hamlets that were absorbed into Poole as the town grew.

Natural environment of Poole is characterised by lowland heathland to the north and wooded chines and coastline to the south.

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.

Average house price in Poole is high compared to the rest of the UK and the surrounding south-west region.

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.

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 is the headquarters for clothing company Animal, cosmetics manufacturer, Lush, and Merlin Entertainments, the world's second-largest theme park operator after Disney.

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Poole Quay is a visitor attraction to the south of the town centre lined with a mixture of traditional pubs and listed buildings alongside new bars, redeveloped warehouses and apartment blocks.

Poole Guildhall has played a varied part in the history of the town.

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.

Poole falls within the Church of England Diocese of Salisbury and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth.

Poole has many sites of Christian worship including five Grade II* and five Grade II listed churches, but no notable sites of worship for any other major religious groups.

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

Poole is one of the largest towns in England without a professional football team.

Poole Stadium is a venue for greyhound racing; race nights occur three days a week throughout the year.

Poole has three of the oldest Scout Association 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 units that had members take part in the original Scout Camp in 1907.

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

Poole has over 50 miles of cycle network, including the Castleman Trailway, the Poole Heritage Cycle Route and the Bourne Valley Greenway.

Poole's Lighthouse is the largest arts centre complex in the United Kingdom outside London.

Poole is a calling point for National Express Coaches, which have frequent departures to London Victoria Coach Station.

Poole has four railway stations on the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Weymouth.

Poole has eleven infant schools, seven junior schools, ten primary schools, nine secondary schools, three special schools, five independent schools and one college of further education.

Dorset 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.

Poole Hospital is a large acute hospital in Longfleet with 638 beds and is part of University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust.

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

For local television, Poole is served by the BBC South studios based in Southampton, and ITV Meridian from studios in Whiteley.