It was garrisoned by the parliamentarian troops during the civil wars of Charles I., but was the object of many severe contests, always siding against the king, for which reason Charles II., when he came to the throne, destroyed all the fortifications that had been there erected. In 1665 it was devastated by the plague. The town stands on what may be termed a peninsula, on the N. side of Poole harbour. It is well built, and consists of the old and new towns; the former, which lies to the W., has a mean appearance, but the latter contains several good streets, the principal of which run N. and S. The streets are lighted with gas, and the town is well supplied with water. The population in 1851 was 9,255, with 1,903 inhabited houses, which in 1861 had increased to 9,759 with 2,034 inhabited houses. It has returned two members to parliament from the reign of Henry VI., and since the passing of the Reform Bill includes the hamlet of Hamworthy and the townships of Longfleet and Parkstone in the parish of Canford Magna. It is now divided into two wards, and governed by the mayor, who is the returning officer and admiral of the port, six aldermen and eighteen councillors, with the title of "mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and commonalty of the town of Poole." A sheriff is elected annually. The principal public buildings are the guildhall, erected in the middle of the last century, at the expense of the town members, the town-house and harbour office, temperance, Masonic and Odd Fellows' halls, gaol, the custom-house, rebuilt in 1813, union workhouse, vegetable and fish markets, gas and water works, the latter just completed under an Act of Parliament obtained in 1863, a public library situated at the lower end of High-street and erected in 1830, a steam flour-mill, three commercial banks, a savings-bank, and a wooden bridge to Hamworthy; also literary and mechanics' institutes. The new suburbs of Upper and Lower Parkstone, which extend in the direction of Bournemouth, contain many villa residences, commanding views of the English channel, Poole harbour, and the isles of Purbeck and Wight. The harbour is lined with quays and warehouses, close to which ships of considerable tonnage have the advantage of lying afloat at low water. Another advantage which this harbour enjoys is its position with respect to the Solent; instead of twice a day, the tide comes up four times a day, flowing 6 hours, ebbing and flowing 1½ hour, and then ebbing 3 hours. The entrance to the harbour is a quarter of a mile wide, and a channel from two to six fathoms deep leads up to the town. There are two fixed lights, which were erected in 1849 for guiding vessels entering the harbour at night, and may be seen 6 miles off; one is 16 feet high, the other 38 feet. There is a good fishery of herrings, plaice, and other fish; and excellent wild-fowl sport in winter. The Newfoundland trade, which was formerly the chief trade of the port, is nearly extinct, but a large and increasing business is done in connection with the coasting and foreign trades. Ship-building is carried on to a considerable extent, and some of the swiftest yachts have been built here. The manufacture of cordage, sailcloth, and other articles necessary for the use of shipping, is extensively carried on. There are six rather extensive potteries, and Purbeck clay for the Staffordshire potteries is shipped in the harbour to the amount of 150,000 tons annually. These works, together with the corn and timber trade and fisheries, and a large iron foundry for agricultural instruments, afford employment to many hands. The living is a perpetual curacy in the archdeaconry of Dorset and diocese of Sarum, value £307. The church, dedicated to St. James, was rebuilt about 1820, at a cost of nearly £13,000. The E. window of stained glass and the carved mahogany altar-piece are fine specimens of workmanship. Hardy, the Nonconformist minister, lies buried here, as does also W. Thompson, who, in William III.'s reign, assisted only by a man and a boy in a small sloop, captured an armed French privateer with 16 men off Cherbourg, after two hours' hard fighting. There are also the district churches of St. Paul, Parkstone, and Longfleet, and the church of Ham, rebuilt on the site of a very ancient chapel destroyed in the civil wars. The Independents, Wesleyans, Baptists, Primitive Methodists, Unitarians, Society of Friends, and Roman Catholics, have places of worship. There was anciently a friary here. There is an endowed free grammar school, also British, Sunday, and National schools. There are several almshouses, some of very ancient date, those in Church-street having been erected in the early part of the 15th century. The union poorhouse is situated at Longfleet, in the parish of Canford Magna, the Poole Poor-law Union comprising seven parishes besides that of St. James's, Poole. It is also the seat of New County Court and superintendent registry districts. A court of quarter sessions and a county court are held in the town. Many relics of antiquity are to be seen in Poole, including the town cellars near the quay, an ancient wall and gate in Clement's Alley, of the period of Richard III., and in the Isle of Purbeck sepulchral barrows and early earthworks on the hills, with the far-famed Agglestone, supposed to be a Druidical sacrificial stone weighing upwards of 400 tons. R. Gibbon, a divine, and Sir P. Thompson, the antiquary, were natives. One weekly newspaper, the Poole and South-Western Herald, is published here on Thursday. Market days are Mondays and Thursdays. Fairs are held on the 1st May and 2nd November, each lasting eight days."
