HENGISTBURY Head’s rich and varied history dating back to the Iron Age will be well documented in displays being set up in the new visitor centre.

Whilst normally the area is seen as a place to take a walk and reflect on life, thanks to the new building, residents and visitors to the area will be able to learn more about Hengistbury Head in previous years.

The hills of the head were formed over 65million years ago and as Mark Holloway, Bournemouth Council parks manager, says, visitors can stand on the beach and look over the millions of years of geology.

He says that evidence found on site suggests, there were early hunter gatherers in the area 14,000 years ago, and then about 4,000 years after that, they had archers on the hills, after the invention of bows and arrows.

Mark says that going past the stone age, through to the middle ages and then the new stone age, along the bronze age and then into the Iron Age, where Hengistbury Head became Britain’s most important port.

Up to the 19th century, they started mining the iron ore found in the hills and Mark says that this is when the area became more of an industrial site.

It meant that around one third of Hengistbury Head disappeared over that time, as the land was slowly chipped away.

A lot of the land here and at various locations across Bournemouth were owned as Meyrick estates and it was their decision in around 1850, to put up a barn on the land and hire a keeper to look after it.

In 1919, Hengistbury Head was sold on to Lord Selfridge of Selfridge’s of London fame, and he came up with grand plans to build a castle, paved in Purbeck stone or limestone. It was hoped to be the largest home in the world.

Unfortunately for Lord Selfridge, he came into money problems and was declared bankrupt before the work could start.

From there, it was then used during World War I, with Bournemouth Council purchasing the land in 1930 and the Broadway road was expanded in 1935, before it became under full military control during World War II.

It was from 1945 onwards, visitor numbers increased as Hengistbury Head became more of a place of leisure, where Dorset residents could visit and enjoy it during their free time.

This included the introduction of the well-known land train in 1968, and the sunken car parks and addition of the Hungry Hiker cafe in the 1970s.

Hengistbury Head was also allocated as a Site of Scientific Interest in 1981 and was given Local Nature Reserve status in 1990.

Now, in 2013, walkers, schools, those interested in local history, tourists, and more, will be able to learn about the years gone by which have shaped the way that Hengistbury Head looks today.

It will be eco friendly and consist of solar-panels on the roof, hay bale walls and an education centre, along with walls filled with pictures, maps, memories and newspaper clippings.

The barn will become part of the new visitor centre and will be brought up to date for the new and future generations to enjoy.

It is hoped the centre will be open by early autumn.

All of this is done to ensure that the history of Hengistbury Head does not stay in the past.