THE Meyrick Estate owns vast areas of land in Bournemouth worth tens of millions of pounds.

Areas such as the East Cliff and the seafront all come under its umbrella, but there are thousands of people living in the town who know nothing about them.

Few realise that huge hotels and apartment blocks are all built on land snapped up more than 200 years ago by ancestors of the Meyrick family.

The town was roughly divided up and bought by Sir George Tapps – whose family later took the name of Gervis, then Meyrick – and William Dean, the founder of the Cooper Dean dynasty.

The Meyrick Estate owns the freehold to much of the area with leaseholders paying them and needing their permission for any material changes.

At the head of the organisation is 77-year-old Sir George Meyrick, who features at number 900 in the Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated fortune of £127 million.

His son, also called George, is also a well-known figure in the local business community.

The family also owns large areas of land in the New Forest and in Wales.

Just two years ago the estate bought back the East Close Hotel in Hinton, promising to renovate the building and bring new life to the business.

But the hotel was closed in October this year and the company has yet to announce what it plans to do with the site.

It also owns the Cliff End Hotel on Bournemouth’s East Cliff, which has been empty since 2002 and was the site of a huge fire in 2012.

Plans have recently been approved for it to be demolished and replaced with an assisted-living complex.

Sir George Meyrick owns the home in Anglesey where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, lived as newly-weds and new parents.

It is reported that he charged them just £750 per month to rent the idyllic and secluded farmhouse.

Members of the Meyrick family were guests at both William and Kate’s wedding and at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan.