Starting points
One of my starting ideas drew inspiration form the Southbourne Crossroads project, using a digital map to form an outcome of the area. Instead of using street view and screenshots in this piece, however, the idea would be to research the history of Hengistbury Head and take photos of them, and use the map to link them to the head. Places to take photos of include:
- General views of the English Channel from the top of the hill, given that it used to be an overlook into the valley that would become the English Channel
- Hambledon hill, Hod hill, Spetisbury rings, and Badbury rings, part of a chain of forts/settlements that Hengistbury head was a part of
- Christchurch castle, as stones from the head were used in its construction
- The Ship in Distress, a pub in Stanpit with historic ties to smuggling in the area around and at the head
- The Black house, another building with supposed links to smuggling.
Another idea would be to actually go to the head and document it from there, and write an accompanying text to the photos, similar to the Dartmoor project. One of the key differences between this project and Dartmoor, however, would be the difference in surroundings. Dartmoor is very isolated. Hengistbury Head is not. It's surrounded by Christchurch on one side and Bournemouth on the other, with only a few minutes walk to each, and the the sea is on almost all other sides. (rewrite)
Resolutions
An exploration always has a degree of mystery and this map was the beginning of a journey to find the history and links to a local landmark; Hengistbury Head. From a single starting point at the Head, key forts and smugglers' dens were identified, together building a picture of a people and the places they called home.
Hengistbury Head has stood through a long history. A gently rising beacon standing at the edge of land and sea. From neolithic humans surveying the valley that would become the channel, the fort that protected the harbour, the smugglers who hid there, and the quarries that took it apart, Hengistbury Head has seen countless episodes of change through time.
Walking through where the old gateway used to stand, it isn't hard to imagine what it had been like. A busy Iron Age settlement, people coming and going, boats bustling in and out of the harbour and passing back and forth up the coast, past the Head. Imagining where guards had once stood atop the hill, surveying the sprawling land and sea surrounding them. Looking out from the peak, you can see why they chose it. The views are like a glimpse back; a testament to our ancestors' knowledge.
The harbour is still, a sanctuary from stormy seas, protected by the Head. Yet at one point it was alive with activity, ships sailing in and out with precious cargoes. 1784, the harbour was host to a skirmish, smugglers and customs officers fighting over their goods, bringing an element of chaos to the serenity. Yet now it sits still, full of yachts and leisure boats, waiting their turn for a breath on the open sea.
It's always been a place of life - quarried for its hidden treasures and now, a haven for wildlife brushing quietly through the rushes and grasses. This little corner of history, a flourishing piece of nature is our part of the story. A dichotomy of holding onto and preserving the past whilst looking forward to a still changing future.
Walking through where the old gateway used to stand, it isn't hard to imagine what it had been like. A busy Iron Age settlement, people coming and going, boats bustling in and out of the harbour and passing back and forth up the coast, past the Head. Imagining where guards had once stood atop the hill, surveying the sprawling land and sea surrounding them. Looking out from the peak, you can see why they chose it. The views are like a glimpse back; a testament to our ancestors' knowledge.
The harbour is still, a sanctuary from stormy seas, protected by the Head. Yet at one point it was alive with activity, ships sailing in and out with precious cargoes. 1784, the harbour was host to a skirmish, smugglers and customs officers fighting over their goods, bringing an element of chaos to the serenity. Yet now it sits still, full of yachts and leisure boats, waiting their turn for a breath on the open sea.
It's always been a place of life - quarried for its hidden treasures and now, a haven for wildlife brushing quietly through the rushes and grasses. This little corner of history, a flourishing piece of nature is our part of the story. A dichotomy of holding onto and preserving the past whilst looking forward to a still changing future.