Alum Chine

Alum Chine derives its name from a mine opened in 1564 to produce alum and copperasby Baron Mountjoy. The extents of the deposits however were insufficient for the mine to be economic and it closed in the 17th century. Chine refers to the steeply sided valley caused by erosion of the soft Tertiary sands and gravels typical on the south coast of England. One William Dean purchased this part of Bournemouth’s West Cliff after the Enclosure commission of 1805.The Inlet was used for the storage of fishing boats, the area being mainly heath land. The present evergreen and deciduous woodland was planted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Robert Louis Stevenson convalesced for TB at his house named "Skerryvore" near the top of the chine and a plaque commemorates the house and residence here from 1884 There are three bridges within Alum Chine, the Suspension bridge built by David Rowell & Company in 1903, at a cost of £480. An Arch and spandrel bridge built in 1922 which replaced an earlier rustic bridge. It is believed that it was this bridge that Winston Churchill fell from in 1892 and causing him serious injury. There is a third post and beam bridge. Finished in 1924. Argyll gardens were laid out in 1903. The Alum Chine Tropical gardens were laid out in the 1920s and were replanted in 1996