Poole is a large English coastal town, Borough, port and tourist destination, situated on the shores of the English Channel, in the ceremonial county of Dorset. The town has a population of 141,128 and is part of the South East Dorset conurbation. Poole is famed for its large natural harbour, claimed to be the second largest in the world. Maritime trade has a long history within the town, reaching its apex when the town was granted exclusive rights to fish off Newfoundland by Queen Victoria in the 19th century. During the Second World War the town was one of the central departing points for the D-Day landings of the Normandy Invasions. The town is one of the principal centres of sailing and yachting in the United Kingdom. Poole is home to the headquarters of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the luxury yacht manufacturer Sunseeker. The Special Boat Service (SBS) also operate out of the harbour. During the summer months the town serves a large number of tourists who visit the waterfront, the town centre and the nearby Sandbanks beach and Brownsea Island. Other prominent employers in Poole include Barclays Bank, Hamworthy Engineering, Poole Packaging, Penske Cars, Ryvita, cosmetics company Lush, and the clothing company, Animal. Poole is also home to other famous institutions like Bournemouth University, The Arts Institute at Bournemouth and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (it is often misconceived that these are Bournemouth landmarks because of their names but this is not the case).
The town grew rapidly during the industrial revolution as urbanisation took place and the town became both an area of mercantile prosperity and of overcrowded poverty. Poole was granted exclusive rights to fish off Newfoundland by Queen Victoria, which improved the importance and wealth of the town. At the turn of the 19th century, nine out of 10 workers in Poole were engaged in harbour activities, but as the century progressed ships became too large for the shallow harbour and the port began losing business to the deep water ports at Liverpool, Southampton and Plymouth. Poole was also the site of technological innovation, when in 1897, the Haven Hotel in Poole was the site of some of Marconi's wireless experiments. Marconi was able to receive radio signals in Poole sent from Alum Bay, Isle of Wight, 20 miles away. In the 19th century the beaches and landscape of south-west Hampshire and south east Dorset, as well as the Isle of Purbeck district of Dorset, began to attract large numbers of tourists and the villages to the east of Poole began to grow and merge until the holiday town of Bournemouth emerged. Growth accelerated and Poole and Bournemouth (along with Christchurch to the east) have become a large built-up area. Although the three towns are well known as popular holiday destinations, each has its own character. Despite the growth in leisure activities, Poole retains a part of its industrial heritage. The Town Centre retains many of the older buildings put up by the wealthy merchants, such as the 1761 market house and Sir Peter Thompson's 1746 town house designed by John Bastard (in Market Street). Other buildings such as the medieval Wool house, Scaplen's Court and the Tudor Ancient Guild of St George Tudor almshouse erected in 1586. However, the town suffered from bombing in World War II. In recent years some regeneration has taken place, with the demolition of Hamworthy (Poole) power station and the redevelopment of the old town gas gas-works. On April 1, 1997 the town was made a unitary authority, once again administratively independent from Dorset, after a review of the Local Government Commission for England. The Borough's name was changed at this date to Borough and County of the Town of Poole, which recalled its status as a county of itself prior to the implementation of the Local Government Act 1888. More on Poole. 

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