Old photos of Canford Heath and how it's grown since 1950s

But back in the early 1950s the area it covers was just heathland.

Poole Council bought some of the land in 1954 and sold it to developers with the proviso the housing plots would have restricted prices for private sale to resolve the problem of a shortage of housing in the borough.

In November 1963, the housing and local government Minister Dame Evelyn Sharp opened the show house to mark the completion of stage one of the new estate in South Canford Heath built by Ruddock and Meighan.

The first stage of the development of 59 houses and 68 bungalows was built by the end of 1964 but by 1970 five stages had been sold and 350 houses completed.

In 1966 Mayor and Mayoress of Poole Cllr and Mrs George Drudge officially opened Carlton Homes showhouse on the company's Canford Heath estate development.

All the three and four bedroomed properties were designed for modern living with central heating, fitted kitchens, landscaped gardens and garages.

canford heath

As the estate grew, so did the facilities with two shopping parades including the Adastral Square with The Fighter Pilot pub and other community facilities including the library, community centre and doctors surgery.

The fighter iolt pub, Canford Heath

Adastral Square, Canford Heath

Local schools were built including Canford Heath First School, Canford Heath Middle School and Ashdown Secondary School.

Ashdown Secondary school

Our gallery above takes a look at Canford Heath and how it has changed over the years.

What are your memories of Canford Heath?