"homes for heroes"

In 1918, provoked by the need to appease working-class grievances about the acute shortages of affordable homes to rent and possibly fearful of the spread of the revolutionary fervour occurring in Russia, the government set up a Commission of Investigation to examine existing housing conditions. The results of the Commission's findings were published in the Tudor Walters Report of 1918, written largely by the architect Raymond Unwin of Garden City fame. The report recognised that private enterprise and market forces had never provided a decent standard of housing for the poor and that the situation could no longer be tolerated. Gerorge V spoke out, insisting that decent homes were necessary for social well-being and the rearing of healthy children. The solution was that the state should shoulder the burden for providing housing adequate for the nation's needs. The government now stood committed to building homes fit for heroes returning from the slaughter of Flanders. The Housing and Town Planning Act 1919 required councils for the first time to build houses themselves.

In "The Housing Manual" published before the 1919 Act, Unwin suggested a minumum standard for housing, which he hoped would create a style of suburbia not seen before. The Movement espoused an ethusiatic love of rural life coupled with a desire to limit the relentless expansion of the cities. The designs for houses, which were realistic in terms of cost as well as recognising both aesthetic and practical considerations, were popular with local councils, many of which for the first few years were actually built to a standard higher than suggested. Unwin's recommendations were that a maximum density of only 12 houses per acre shoul dbe allowed as to give each one an interesting outlook and as much natural light as possible. A respect for the natural scenery of the site, such as agricultural features, curving roads and tress as a principle of good design was to be incorporated to create pleasant vistas for the inhabitants. Wider "cottage" frontages, they did not call them houses, with no tunnel-back rear projections ensured that the sunlight shone directly into as many rooms as possible. Three bedrooms and two living rooms were regarded as the ideal arrangement, all with states minimum sizes. Fixed baths were essential, although they were often placed beneath a 'work-top lid' in the scullery. Rear access to gardens of good size and adequate privacy with no shared facilities were to be the norm.

For the ordinary man these were indeed "ideal homes".

origins and development of the area

Consideration of the origins and development of the Muscliffe Lane Conservatioin Area cannot be assess solely in terms of the present arbitrarily drawn boundary. The extent of the conservation area does not take into account the original boundaries of the 1920's small holdings nor the historical boundary of Muscliffe manor and tithing. The extension gives a much clearer picture of the evolution of the hamlet. The heart of the historic settlement lies outside the present conservation area and centres on Musliffe House alongside the former Muscliffe Street which is today only a dirt road leading down to the riverside walks of the Stour Valley Local Nature Reserve. The agricultural setting and identity of the hamlet reamins to this day although the urban sprawl has encroached sufficiently to sever the historical heart from the designated conservation area.

Muscliff (Old English meaning:- cliff inhabited by mice) is not listed in the Domesday tax survey of 1086, which is not to say that it did not exist at that date. Mention of MUSECLYVE or MOSECLYVE first appears in the 13th Century, as an independent manor held by the Lords of Christchurch until the mid 16th Century, after which it was merged into the Manor of Christchurch. The hamlet may have been substantially larger in post-Conquest days to warrant this status. The settlement formed part of the Parish of Holdenhurst and the Liberty of West Stour (Westover).

The area is agricultural in origin. In the medieval period this would have been an arable landscape with pastoral farming confined to the marshy meadows along the river bank. As an independent manor, Muscliff may have had its own demesne lands and open field system divorced from that of Holdenhurst and "Muccles-hill". It was certinaly considered a separate agricultural unit in terms of tithes. This is an important fact to bear in mind when considering the evidence for the possible survival of medieval field patterns and boundaries.

The medieval thoroughfare between the settlements of Muscliff and Muccleshell is believed to have continued the line of Muscliff Street along the river bank to join Bury Lane to the west of Berry Hill at Pit Acres. The dirt track which alter became Muscliff Lane, may initallyhave been little more that a headland between two large open fiels which in time became a short cut between the two hamlets of Muscliff and "Muccles-hill". Muscliff Lane itself, can be identified on the rough survey map of 1801 in much its present shape. Written record describes it as being a single carriage dirt track at that time. IT was widened and omproved between 1800 - 1804 by William West, a tenant farmer who farmed Muscliff Farm for the squire, John Hudson.

A tannery is recorded in Black Lane in the early nineteenth century, its age is uncertain but is believed to have been an eighteenthcentury building. The building is marked on the OS map of 1921 but has since disappeared, however its footprint can be detected when there is light snow on the ground.

historic patronage and former uses

Under the patronage of the Lord of the Manor of Christchurch for the greater part of its existence, the lives of the inhabitants of Muscliff were tied closely to the life of that town, attending the weekly market and the twice yearly fairs, which continued until the last quarter of the 19th century. The wheat, barley and oats that were grown in the fields surrounding Muscliff, the rushed collected from the river bank, the gloves and shoes made from hides tanned locally and the ships biscuits made at Throop were exported through the harbour at Christchurch. In trun, coal was imported from Portsmouth, which made it an expensive fuel and the majority who could not afford the luxury were obliged to cut turf and furze from the surrounding heathland.

The soil is of a light nature with a sandy gravel substrata which is considered inferior farming land. Close to the river the soils are alluvial deposits, here lie the lusher meadows and swampy fields. Historically the land was arable and relied on copious manuring and adequate drainage systems to maintian fertility. Little has changed, the land is still iable to fllod and relies on an intricate drainage system. The present flood plain is defined by the extent of the floods which took place in May and Decemebr 1979.

In the 17th Century, there appears to have been a few reasonably prosperous yeoman farmers in Muscliff and the adjoining villages but the majoirty of local inhabitants were tenant farmers who farmed this poor soil for subsitence and little profit. The harsh reality of agricultural life forced many of the locals to join the widespread smuggling syndicates operating across the whole area of Poole Heath between Christchurch and Poole during the 18th Century. If not actively involved, most would turn a blind eye, for "a run" could not be successful without an organised backup of decievers to cover the trail. This would involve local inhabitants herding animals along the heath tracks immediately after a run, to remove all signs of wagon wheels etc. The late 18th Century was a period of danger and intrigue which bound these communites even closer together in a none too honest common cause. A remarkable feature of the area is the survival of amny local families over many genrations linking them directly to this period.

Examination of the 19th Century census returns shows a decided decline in the status of the hamlet and its occupants, maybe due to changes in Excise Laws at the time. From tenant farmers and dairymen able to employ servants and several persons of "independent" means in 1841, to agricultural labourers, thathers, carters, bricklayers and mention of a few paupers by 1861. As Bournemouth town grew, so Muscliff and the surrounding villages suffered, a situation which was exacerbated by the agrictultural depression of the late 19th Century. The areas remained in the economic doldrums until the 1930's when proposals to revitalise the areas of North Bournemouth involved large blocks of land being sold for housing development, including the fields surrounding the historic centre of Muscliff.

It is this rural landscape which affords the "Homes for Heroes" their unique setting and cultural link with the past. The decision to site these first "council houses" in this established agricultural landscape infulenced their design which evolved from their function as smallholder's dwellings. Unpretentious "cottagey" houses set in generous plots, their low roof lines linking sky with land, the buildings do not affront the sensibilities nor do they detract from the tranquil setting.

As such, the conservation area along with the surrounding field patterns, an ancient tumulus and those remaining historic buildings which formed the original hamlet, characterise a landscape of historical integrity.

folklore

We are fortunate in having a few records from the 17th Century onwards, which illuminate the lives of the inhabitants of Muscliff. All these support the theory of a fairly prosperous hamlet which declined in fortune from the early 19th Century onwards, bringing hardship and a radical change in status. This was due in the main to excessively hot summers, famine and the introduction of Parliamentary Enclosures which favoured the better off to the detriment of the poorer tenant farmer.

The enclosing of wastelands and commons divided communites, the poor were severely affected and their feelings were expressed in verse by local Dorset poet William Barnes in his "Commons A-Took In".

do hear,

An'twill be soon begun upon

Zoo I must zell my bit o'stock to-year,

William Barnes

A remarkable account written by the son of Farmer William West who occupied Muscliff Farm between the years 1800-1804, gives a clear insight into the prevailing conditions of the day. The story is full of colourful incident; the tale of the rescue of Squire Hudson from drowning whilst crossing Riddlesford on his way to view two local murders gibbeted on Parley Common, the laborious efforts of the local populace to widen and improve Muscliff Lane and the last but not least, the audacious but successful bid, at the time of the Enclosure Awards, to reatin certain areas of the liberty of Westover as common lands for the rights of turbury. We have William West to thank for those areas which left as open heath subsequently became the treasured parks so close to the heart of Bournemouth town centre.