Littledown

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Littledown
Littledown shown within Dorset
OS grid reference	SZ123938
Unitary authority	Bournemouth
Ceremonial county	Dorset
Region	South West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BOURNEMOUTH
Postcode district	BH7
Dialling code	01202
Police	Dorset
Fire	Dorset
Ambulance	South Western
European Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Bournemouth East
List of places: UK • England • Dorset

Coordinates: 50°44′38″N 1°49′30″W / 50.744, -1.825

Littledown is a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset. Originally it was a small settlement to the south of the much more important Holdenhurst Village, and for centuries it existed as a huddle of farm buildings clinging on to the edge of the heathland.

For many years Littledown had remained an isolated farming community with areas of open fields on the northern edge of Bournemouth, with Mr Joseph Edward Cooper-Dean living in Littledown House. Eventually the only descendants were two spinster sisters who sold Littledown House, with the surrounding farmland, to Bournemouth Council in the early 1980s. There was a lot of discussion as to what the Council would do with the area but eventually much of the land was sold off for housing. A large section was set by for a park and a sports centre.^[1]

Most of the built environment that now makes up Littledown was subsequently developed in the 1980s. Notable buildings include the Chaseside Campus of JPMorgan, the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Bournemouth County Court and the Littledown Leisure Centre. In Riverside Avenue there is a mid-20th century home for retired nurses, and even older is Littledown House, which dates back to the late 18th century.^[1]

Littledown House, a listed building, located in the grounds of the JPMorgan campus, has been restored to the elegance it would have displayed in the late 18th century, when it would have been a classic Jane Austen type mansion. With all the new buildings that now cover Littledown, it can be difficult to imagine it as farmland, but drivers on the A338 Spur Road can look out for a set of warning lights near to the back of the hospital site. When the Spur Road was first built, it cut off the Cooper Dean land at Littledown from their farms at Holdenhurst. One of the concessions to the family was that the road was built with a cattle crossing. No one seems to recall it ever being used, however the old agreement remains in force.^[1]