Alum Chine is the largest chine in Bournemouth, England.[1] The gorge was crossed by a suspension bridge by the early part of the twentieth century.
History
In early maps the place was often transposed with Durley Chine.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/The_life_of_Robert_Louis_Stevenson_for_boys_and_girls_%281915%29_%2814778510921%29.jpg/235px-The_life_of_Robert_Louis_Stevenson_for_boys_and_girls_%281915%29_%2814778510921%29.jpg)
During World War II, Robert Louis Stevenson's house Skerryvore, at the head of the chine, was severely damaged by bombs during a destructive and lethal raid on Bournemouth on the night of 15–16 November 1940. Despite a campaign to save it, the building was demolished.[2]
Namesakes
The chine gives its name to a number of local features, Alum Chine Beach being the most obvious, and to an area of the town and a telephone exchange.
A ship, the Alum Chine, destroyed in a dynamite explosion in 1913 was also named after the chine.
References
- ^ Philip Brannon (1856). The Illustrated Historical and Picturesque Guide to Poole and Bournemouth, and the Surrounding Country: Including Christchurch, Wimborne, Wareham, Corfe Castle, Swanage, and the Isle of Purbeck. Bournemouth: R. Sydenham.
- ^ Sean O'Connor (27 February 2014). Handsome Brute: The True Story of a Ladykiller. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4711-0135-9.