You may well drive through Kinson on your way through to other parts of Dorset such as Wimborne or Poole and think this is just a standard little town with its main road consisting of numerous shops and it is not worth really stopping and visiting, but with a little knowledge of it’s past it will be hard to pass through and not stop. Perhaps if you live in the area maybe this will make you want to make a quick excursion and visit to look at this unassuming town in a different light.

You can find more about Gulliver soon, as I will do a post on him in more detail!

Originally known as Chinestanstone the town predates the Doomsday book. By the 1800’s the town was known by the name we know it by today as Kinson.

It was a hub of the Smuggling business in the 1700’s. Sir Isaac Gulliver was a notorious smuggler in the district and a colourful character who once painted his face white and pretended to be dead to evade capture. Kinson was an ideal location for storing smuggled contraband as it lay several miles inland and separated from the coast by heathland. It is thought that as you walk around the town, beneath your feet is a network of old smuggling tunnels once used by Gulliver.

In 1907 the German Kaiser came through the town on a visit to the local area and had to be rescued from Millhams Stream. What perhaps would the events of later years be if they had left him?

St Andrews Church

Whilst the present Church that stands on the site was built in 1875 it is thought that a Church has stood on this sight since Saxon times. The church has a tower that some believe is from Norman times, coming up to 1000 years old. But it can be certain that it is at least 700 years old.

It was in this tower that Gulliver stored his illegal goods, safely hidden from the customsmen. Not sure what the Churches feelings on that were…

His men would carry the goods up from Poole harbour to be distributed across Southern England. The rope marks used to haul it up can still be seen on the walls of the tower.

As you face the church entrance you will see a small tomb. It is hard to make out the text on the sides but this is the Oakley tomb and local legend has it that it was inside this very tomb that Gulliver used to store his illegal contraband. Maybe there is still some goods left in there?

Also why not take a stroll and look at some of the more weathered gravestones, see what dates you can make out. You will find some from the 1700’s that can still be read. Try and find the grave of Robert Trotman, one of Gulliver’s men who was killed in an ambush by the authorities!

Are even all the graves real? Legend has it that some were placed purely to disguise the fact that the plot was in fact another hiding place for contraband.

How to get there…

Take the road that runs down between Kinson Hub and the Tesco’s on the main road (Millhams Road). Walk down this road or drive down all the way until the end and the entrance is on your left.

Pelhams

Once a small Hamlet in the 18th Century, this land is now home to a large community area including fields, play park and a leisure center. At the hub of it is Pelhams House that is now home to the community center. But what many will not know is that this house is in fact one of the oldest buildings in Bournemouth!

The house was built by the infamous smuggler Isaac Gulliver, he owned this land when it was a farm. The house dates back to 1793.

Stand outside and look up at the building and try to imagine gangs of smugglers meeting up here, devising plans, perhaps going to and from the house in the secret tunnels beneath the town?

During the 1950’s this area was the first national accessible meeting place for people in wheelchairs. Quite an achievement in it’s day. Kinson setting the standard since the 50’s!

Cuckoo Woods

This land was once owned by the Bankes family. Well Known locally as the family that owned Corfe Castle and Kingston Lacy. This is the oldest remaining woodland in all of Bournemouth and offers a glimpse for the walker in what the land here once looked like across Kinson.

I loved my little walk round Kinson to see these sites. There is lots of street parking around or there is parking at Tesco’s (restrictions apply) and then everything is within walking distance of each other. Altogether this can be done in about an hour.

Maybe add on a quick stop at the Tiki Bar for a cocktail once you are done.