The fifth largest town in Dorset
Ferndown is the fifth largest town in Dorset, with a population nearly 20,000, incorporating the communities of Hampreston, Longham, Stapehill and Tricketts Cross.
Ferndown is situated in East Dorset adjoining the boundaries of the larger towns of Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch and is surrounded by open countryside and woodlands; close to the New Forest, and the market towns of Ringwood and Wimborne.
It has a lively and thriving town centre, which is airy, clean and convenient for residents and visitors. The largest Industrial Estate in East Dorset is situated just a mile from the town centre and is an expanding resource serving the community. Up until 1972 the parish council was Hampreston, but Ferndown, formerly a small village nearby, began to grow and under the local government re-organisation of l972 a major change took place to re-name the parish Ferndown and it became a Town Council at the same time.
The origin of the name Ferndown is somewhat obscure, but it was probably derived from the Anglo Saxon word `Fiergen` meaning wooded hill. Fiergen later became Fyrne, ten Ferne and eventually Fern. This undoubtedly reflected the prolific growth of ferns in the area. Maps as far back as the early 1800`s spelt the name Fern Down as two words, but in 1859 nurserymen William and David Stewart arrived from Dundee in search of a less severe climate to nurture and grow more delicate plants. It was the Stewart family who were largely responsible for establishing early commercial life in Ferndown. By 1865 a seed and plant catalogue had been prepared at Fern Down and sent for comment and approval to William Stewart back in Dundee. He replied in part of the letter `as to the spelling of Fern Down, Thomas and I think Ferndown looks and reads better`. This letter was largely responsible for the birth of `Ferndown` although Ordnance Survey and other maps continued to show the name as two words right up to 1925.
Within Ferndown are the offices of the Stour and Avon Magazine, a free magazine which is issued every Friday and boasts a readership of over 55,000 copies a week.
Ferndown has a King George's Field in memorial to King George V. This very large area of open space includes a children's playground with equipment for children with special needs, 6 tennis courts, 4 football pitches, cricket pitch, a bowling green, boules area, croquet practice lawn and a fully equipped skateboard park.
There are 2 golf clubs, Ferndown Forest Golf Club, which offers a single 18-hole course, and Ferndown Golf Club, which offers two courses: The Old Course also known as the Championship Course, and the nine-hole Presidents Course.
Ferndown Community Centre is one of the town's main attractions, home to the Barrington Theatre. It is also home to many other small stores which include Tesco's, Superbuy's, Superdrug and the local and quite large Ferndown library.
Also there are many large heathlands arounds Ferndown including Holt Heath. This heathland originally covered the entire area and up until the early 1900s covered many areas that are now residential. Many are good for cycling or walking. There is also a fair amount of woodland. Also on many of the heaths and in much of the woodland there are many burial mounds and small ponds. However recently Ferndown heath visible from King George the V playing field has been subject to several heath fires.
Key facts:
Population: 17,650
Parish: Ferndown Town
District: East Dorset
County: Dorset
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