Ferndown
Town in Dorset, England

Town and civil parish in England
Ferndown
Town and civil parish
Ferndown is located in Dorset
Ferndown
Ferndown
Location within Dorset
Map
Interactive map of Ferndown
Population17,501 (parish, 2021)
OS grid referenceSU071009
• London100 mi (160 km) NE
Civil parish
  • Ferndown Town
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townFerndown
Postcode districtBH21, BH22
Dialling code01202
PoliceDorset
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
WebsiteTown Council
List of places
UK
England
Dorset
50°49′N 1°54′W / 50.81°N 1.90°W / 50.81; -1.90

Ferndown is a town and civil parish (under the name Ferndown Town)[1] in Dorset in southern England. It lies immediately to the north of Bournemouth and Poole, and about 4 miles (6 km) east of Wimborne Minster. The parish, which until 1986 was called Hampreston, includes the communities of Ameysford, Hampreston, Longham, Stapehill and Trickett's Cross.[2] At the 2021 census the population of the parish was 17,501.[3]

History

Domesday Book of 1086 recorded a settlement with 25 households at Hame, in Cranborne Hundred.[4] The other ancient settlements were at Canford and Longham, all three built on gravel terraces on the north bank of the River Stour.[5]

The 1892 Ordnance Survey map shows Hampreston parish.[6] Besides Hampreston hamlet – with All Saints, the 14th-century parish church – there are small groups of dwellings at Canford Bottom, Stapehill, Longham and Fern Down. In 1898, Cricket's Cross appears as the label where the road from Wimborne Minster meets the Poole–Ringwood road.[7]

In 1913, 944 acres in the west of the parish, including Canford Bottom, were transferred to Colehill parish.[8] Residential development at Ferndown was distant from the parish church at Hampreston, so St Mary's church was begun at Ferndown in 1933, as a replacement for smaller buildings in use since the turn of the century; the outbreak of war and lack of funds meant the church would not be completed until 1972.[9]

Horticulture contributed to the growth of Ferndown, beginning in 1864 when the Stewart family established a nursery to grow plants in warmer conditions than at their principal site in Scotland.[10] At first their business was concerned with landscaping tennis courts and golf courses; in 1955 they opened at Ferndown one of the first garden centres in Britain.[11][12] Around that time Ferndown was "a village with gravel road and a scattering of shops", and much of the present town was built in the subsequent 20–30 years.[13]

In 1956, when Ferndown was expanding rapidly, land in the east was transferred from West Parley to Hampreston.[8][14] The name of the parish was changed from Hampreston to Ferndown Town on 1 February 1986.[15][14]

Today, Stapehill and Trickett's Cross are identified on maps although they are effectively part of the Ferndown built-up area. Hampreston, Little Canford and Ameysford remain as small settlements on the edges of the parish.[1]

Transport

Ferndown lies adjacent to the A31 trunk road between Wimborne and Ringwood. To the east, the A31 connects to the M27 and M3 via the outskirts of Southampton to Winchester, and thence to Basingstoke and London or via the A34 to the M4 north of Newbury. To the west, the A31 links to the A35 to East Dorset and Devon. The nearest railway station is Branksome, 6+3⁄4 miles (11 kilometres) away.

The nearby port of Poole provides year-round services to Cherbourg in France and Santander in Spain.[16][17] Condor Ferries catamarans run seasonal services to Guernsey, Jersey and St. Malo, Brittany.[18]

Ferndown is 4 miles (6.5 kilometres) from Bournemouth Airport at Hurn.[19]

Ferndown is served by four bus routes: the 13 & 13a to Wimborne and Bournemouth, the X6 to Ringwood, Verwood, Bearwood and Poole, and the 38 to Ringwood, all operated by morebus.[20]

Industry

On the outskirts of the town lie the Ferndown and Uddens Industrial Estates, forming the largest industrial area in East Dorset containing a wide range of both small and large businesses.[21] Ferndown Industrial Estate, Uddens Trading Estate and East Dorset Trade Park cover an area of approximately 61.h hectares. Many household names and major employers are present there, such as Farrow & Ball. A diverse range of industries are also represented covering business services, manufacturing, retail and many more.

Sport and recreation

The King George's Field named in memoriam to King George V is a large area of open space including a children's playground with equipment for children with special needs, six tennis courts, four football pitches, a cricket pitch, a bowling green, boules area, a croquet practice lawn, a rugby pitch and a skateboard park.[22]

There are two golf clubs: Ferndown Forest Golf Club, which offers a single 18-hole course,[23] and Ferndown Golf Club, which offers two courses – The Old Course also known as the Championship Course, and the nine-hole Aliss Course also known as the President's Course.[24]

Ferndown Leisure Centre, next to Ferndown Upper School, has two heated pools, a sports hall, a gymnasium, squash courts and a rifle range.[25] The Leisure Centre facilities (as well as the surrounding field) are shared with the Upper School.

Ferndown Community Centre is one of the town's main attractions, home of the Barrington Theatre in the main shopping centre at Penny's Walk, which also includes a large Tesco supermarket and the local branch of the county library.

There are large areas of woodland and heathlands around Ferndown including Holt Heath and Slop Bog. This heathland originally covered the entire area and up until the early 1900s covered many areas that are now residential.

Education

Schooling in Ferndown, as in much of Dorset, is based on a three-tier system of first, middle and upper schools. Ferndown Upper School is a co-educational comprehensive school for students aged between 13 and 19, with up to 320 pupils admitted each year from its feeder middle schools in Ferndown, West Moors and Verwood.

Ferndown Middle School (on the former Gorsemoor Middle School site) takes pupils at age 9 from Ferndown First School (on the old Ferndown Middle School site), Hampreston First School and Parley First School. The Ferndown school changes occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the original first school was demolished to make way for a small residential area named Old School Close, and former Dorset Council offices, now called Enterprise House and owned by logistics company Hoare Lea. The two middle schools combined and one became the new first school.

Governance

The first tier of local government is Ferndown Town Council, made up of councillors elected from seven wards.[26]

For Dorset Council elections, the parish is covered by two wards, Ferndown South and Ferndown North, each electing two councillors.[27]

For Westminster elections, Ferndown is part of the Christchurch constituency.[1]

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian. Television signals are received from Rowridge transmitting station.[28] Local radio stations are BBC Radio Solent, Heart South, Greatest Hits Radio South, Nation Radio South Coast, Hits Radio Bournemouth & Poole, Greatest Hits Radio South and Forest FM, a community based station which broadcasts from to the town.[29] The town is served by the local newspaper, Bournemouth Daily Echo.

Religious sites

Twin town

Ferndown is twinned with Segré in the Maine-et-Loire département of France.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Election Maps: Great Britain". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  2. ^ About Ferndown, Ferndown Town Council website, archived from the original on 5 March 2007
  3. ^ "Ferndown Town (parish): population statistics, 2021 Census". CityPopulation.de. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  4. ^ Hampreston in the Domesday Book
  5. ^ "Hampreston". An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 5, East. University of London. 1975. pp. 26–30. Retrieved 27 December 2025 – via British History Online.
  6. ^ "Ordnance Survey six-inch map of Dorset". National Library of Scotland. 1892. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  7. ^ "Ordnance Survey six-inch map, Hampshire & Isle of Wight, sheet LXXVIII.NW". National Library of Scotland. 1898. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Hampreston Parish – Boundaries and changes". A Vision of Britain through Time. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  9. ^ "History of St Mary's". St Mary's Ferndown. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  10. ^ "About Ferndown". Absolutely WI. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  11. ^ "Garden centres 'began in Dorset'". BBC News. 24 March 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  12. ^ "Stewarts of Ferndown: The First Garden Centre in Britain". Dorset History Centre blog. Dorset Council. 23 May 2022. Archived from the original on 5 August 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  13. ^ "PICTURES: Ferndown, before the bulldozers and builders moved in". Bournemouth Echo. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  14. ^ a b "News: West Parley gets bigger". West Parley parish council. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  15. ^ "Poole Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  16. ^ "Poole to Cherbourg Route Details". Brittany Ferries. 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
  17. ^ "Poole to Santander Route Details". Brittany Ferries. 2008. Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
  18. ^ "Poole Ferry Terminal Guide". Condor Ferries. 2007. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
  19. ^ "Flight Schedule Bournemouth Airport" (PDF). www.bournemouthairport.com. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  20. ^ "Timetables & Maps". www.morebus.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  21. ^ Ferndown Industrial Estate Archived 2009-08-17 at the Wayback Machine - Mags4Dorset
  22. ^ About Ferndown, Ferndown Town Council website, archived from the original on 5 March 2007
  23. ^ Ferndown Forest Golf Club Archived 2010-01-26 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ Ferndown Golf Club
  25. ^ Sport and Leisure Archived 2009-12-03 at the Wayback Machine - Ferndown Official Guide
  26. ^ "Wards and Councillors". Ferndown Town Council. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  27. ^ "Find Councillors". Dorset Council. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  28. ^ "Rowridge (Isle Of Wight, England) Full Freeview transmitter". UK Free TV. 1 May 2004.
  29. ^ "Forest FM". Retrieved 18 February 2024.

Further reading

  • Ferndown then and now – Dorset Life, 2010
  • Hampreston at Dorset Online Parish Clerk

Media related to Ferndown at Wikimedia Commons

  • Ferndown Town Council
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