Longbarrow allotments originated on the site of the Summerbee Secondary School, now Bishop of Winchester and was established under the name of Strouden Park unemployed fellowship back in the 1920′s. it was created to give tenant’s the opportunity to grow wholesome food to feed their families.

Their value was enhanced during the Dig for Victory campaign of the war years but following peace and the return of servicemen and resultant baby boom and a need for new schools saw a compulsory move to enable the new secondary school of Summerbee, now Bishop of Winchester to be built.

The site chosen for the new Allotments was the new longbarrow estate behind houses in Ibbertson and Jewell roads.Nearly 100 tennants were transferred to the new site in 1950.

The longbarrow Allotments Association was formed a year later, membership being voluntary but most plot holders joined. The subscription being Half-a-Crown plus 4 pence for the NAGS.

The site was administered by the parks department of the Bournemouth corporation and the rent of a standard plot of 100 rods( approx 225sqm.) was eleven shillings and eightpence. That’s about £12.00 in todays money.

Only the very basic facilities were provided , a few water points, a main shed and the toilets comprising a urinal trench and a bucket which we had to empty ourselves. There was a second compartment for the ladies though, in those early days the female sex were quite rare visitors.

Through the almost fifty years of our tenancy that site we had a continuousbattle with the corporation for improved facilities, commencing with a need to fence the site with rabbitt proof netting for which each tennant had to contribute ten shillings in four instalments of half-a-crown. Extra water points, eventually requiring a larger diameter water main, the upkeep of roads, the reletting of unkept plots being some of the recurring topics.  Our constant needs were discussed by the allotments sub-committee on which our chairman, John Mills was a co-opted member.

Increasing demand for allotments caused the council to create another twenty tempory plots in the adjacent field to the north-west.

Building up the strength of the society was the main aim in the early years. A shop was established in half of the corrugated hut provided and we purchased fertilisers, seeds, seed potatoes, insecticides and other sundries and resoldto our members. A retired member agreed to become hut warden and he was resonsible for the majority of the sales. He was paid a very small remuneration but after his death all jobs were done voluntary- a situation which still persists to this day.

Gradually as more and more housing was built, we became completly surrounded, the temporary plots were developed as flats and our site became a regular short cut between what had become Townsend and castle Lane. with regular people passing through came more amd more stealing of crops and vandalism. Glass cloches were often destroyed until it became pointless to use them.

The repeated vandilism reached it’s climax in 1954 when following several break-ins the hut was set on fire and completly destroyed. Insurance had been unobtainable so the loss of all the stock had to be borne by the association.

It was around this time that following increasing dissatisfaction at the way that the Parks Department administered the site we decided to apply for self-management.  This would mean that we paid the Corporation a set rental for the whole site and became responsible for the general management, upkeep, letting of the plots and paying all bills associated with the allotments.  The greatest of these was the water bill.

Following discussion with our friends at East Bournemouth, who had been self managed for many years, and having achieved some basic improvements, we decided to take this course.

The main difference to this new arrangement was that our Association would be responsible for the monitoring of cultivation and the general condition of all plots, the issue of warning letters, where this was considered necessary and, as the last resort, give a notice to quit.  We were thus able to get rid of unsatisfactory tenants in a matter of a few weeks, whereas Council regulations meant that they could rarely achieve this in less than 6 months.

With the continued development of the Townsend estate it became obvious that the planners would be looking enviously at our site, the only remaining spare patch of land and one that was very easily developed and it was here that our legal status as a “statutory” site became so important to our continued existence.  This meant that the Council could only take over our site if they had provided us with a satisfactory alternative in the area.  This new site had to fulfil many requirements for the Ministry of Agriculture as to its proximity, size and quality of the soil.  What’s more, it had to be acceptable to us; in effect we had the power of veto.

Our present site was one of the first considered and it seemed ideal.  We were fully consulted over every aspect of planning, layout and all amenities provided.  As there seemed no prospect of agreement between the Corporation and the Cooper Dean estate over the price of the land, it was decided to go for a compulsory purchase order but at the last moment the Corporation withdrew from this position.

There followed a period of indecision when several alternatives were suggested, none of which was deemed satisfactory, then out of the blue we were informed that the Cooper Dean Estate had approached the Council

There followed a period of indecision when several alternatives were suggested, none of which was deemed satisfactory, then out of the blue we were informed that the Cooper Dean Estate had approached the Councilsaying that subject to certain conditions they were prepared to sell to the Council. 

And so here we are!!

We moved on to our present site in November 1998. Obviously a tremendous amount of work had gone on to reach the position when we could recommend to our members that the lease offered was the best we could achieve under the circumstances, bearing in mind the restrictions placed on the Council by the Cooper Dean Estate in the sale of the land.  It was not unusual in our early days of tenure to see Miss Bowditch driving around the site to check that we were keeping to those conditions.

The excellent facilities provided meant that we could do all sorts of things, which we never dreamed of before.

Our first AGM in the new building was held on 21 January 1999 and there were 59 members present in addition to the Officers and CommitteeOur new site was slightly larger than the old one and we had a great difficulty letting all the plots, not all plot holders had transferred from the previous site and we usually had vacant plots, so we had to resort to advertising.  What a difference today, when the enormous amount of gardening programmes on television, has

produced a surge of interest in growing vegetables.  The visit to the Allotments from Alan Tichmarsh from BBC Gardeners World contributed in no small part, to the establishment of a waiting list, which now exceeds sixty, would be gardeners.

Ten years on (2009)

The Committee works hard to find ways to keep rents down in the present economic climate.  Over the last few years an Open Day has taken place with continued success and profits are ploughed back into the coffers.  This helps with annual rents and provides refreshments at various events over the year such as Easter Hot Cross Buns, Quiz Evening, Bonfire Night and ChristmasMince Pies.  A BBQ is also provided on the Show Day, held on Bank Holiday Monday.

The shop is also a great way to boost our funds, please buy as much as you can from it – it’s for your benefit.

Ten years on (2009)

The shop is also a great way to boost our funds, please buy as much as you can from it – it’s for your benefit.

Entering local and national competitions has raised our profile; we have been featured on television programmes such as Digging for Victory and this year (2009) have come first in Kitchen Garden Magazine’s annual competition to find the best allotment in the country.

One of our plot holders, Chairman – Peter Whiting, won ‘Britain’s Best Plot’ in 2007, raising our profile once again as pictures appeared in various magazines.  Peter also appeared with Joe Swift on Gardeners World.

Some members of the Committee have helped a local school in setting up a growing area for the children – it’s good to encourage the allotment holders of the future.

Our yearly contribution to the Hospital Fete also brings in much needed revenue for them and shows our commitment to helping the wider community.

Each year brings new challenges, whether it be financial, climate or otherwise.

Hopefully, Longbarrow Allotments will be here for many years to come.