BRONZE AGE MOORDOWN...
Although the history of 'modern' Moordown extends back some 200 years, there is evidence of human habitation in the area which extends back much further....more than 2000 years further in fact!
It is known that people from the middle Bronze Age - around 1600 B.C. - lived and farmed on the Stour river valley. It is also believed that they used the higher ground to the south of the valley - a series of ridges which extend from Haddon Hill to Redhill - for stockading their animals, for burial sites, and possibly even for defence.
There have been a number of discoveries of Bronze Age relics recovered from the area around the junction of Malvern Rd and Nursey Rd - along the ridge known as 'Redbreast Hill' - during development of the area in the 1870s, and later in the area of the ridge to the west, where it extended out to the end of Hillcrest Rd, during the development of that area in the 1930s.
It is understood a number of these artifacts are presently housed in the British Museum, but it is believed that some were retained locally, at the Russell Cotes museum.
The actual whereabouts of some these local relics is currently being investigated by our group member, Eileen Barker.
Those at the January 2013 group meeting will remember Eileen recounting her rather frustrating attempts to get Russell Cotes to even acknowledge the existence of these artifacts in their collection!
Her perseverence has been rewarded by the discovery of some artifacts held by the Bournemouth Natural Science Society in Christchurch Rd, and it is hoped that by arrangement with the curator, John Cresswell, it will be possible for people to see exactly what they hold...
It seems possible, from details contained in some of the notes listed below, that there are also local artifacts in the Red House Museum collection at Christchurch. It'll be fascinating to check that out...
Meanwhile, there are some bits and pieces listed below, which give some detail of other information on this early Moordown history, which you may find interesting....
As a starting point, the first couple of pages of Michael Stead's notes on the 'Moordown History' page
HERE give an interesting insight to these early settlements.
Also of interest, the pages below by the distinguished teacher and academic J. Bernard Calkin. M.A. illustrate some more detail of the historic finds of the late 19th and early 20th century.
These pages are from the 'Book of Bournemouth' written for, and presented at, the 102nd British Medical Association annual meeting, held in Bournemouth in July 1934:
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Some further notes and photos of some of the early artifacts below here:
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These are again from J. Bernard Calkin, from his book 'Discovering Prehistoric Bournemouth and Christchurch', first published in the 1930s. Thanks to Howard Dalton for these notes.
There are references in both of the most 'famous' Bournemouth history books to the same period. Pages below highlight the pages mentioning the discovery of Bronze age relics from both Mates and Riddle from 1910, and David Young from 1957.
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The pages below, again from Calkin, detail the locations of the archealogical finds. 'Rebreast Hill' is references 54.
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