1406: The Bournemouth Whale

A whale was beached at Boscombe in 1887. Although recorded then as a novelty, it was nothing of the sort, as this extract from the Christchurch Priory records shows.

The Lord of the Manor of Westover was entitled to tithes of all fish caught, except of whales, of which he was entitled by ancient custom to the left fin. These rights had temporarily been assigned to Christchurch Priory by the then Lord, Isabella de Fortibus, in 1273.

Anything that washed up on the beach was classed as "wreck", and this included not only driftwood but also the occasional whale. Wreck was the property of the Lord of the Manor (granted by royal charter as part of the Manor), but in practice appears to have been divided among the tenants.

This document is significant as the earliest known reference to Bournemouth - la Bournemowthe.

Memorandum: On 13th October, Wednesday after the Feast of St. Denys, 8 Henry IV [1406], wreck occurred on the Earl of Salisbury's estate of Westover near la Bournemowthe, namely a great fish estimated to be 18 feet long, which was brought into the Earl's manor called Wyke [Wick] at Westover and there cut up into forty pieces.

[From Christchurch Priory Cartulary, ed. Katherine A. Hanna]