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Bear Cross
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bear Cross is a roundabout and small area of Bournemouth at its northern border with Poole in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. The roundabout is the junction of the Ringwood Road (A348) and the Wimborne Road/Magna Road (A341) routes, and is known locally as an accident black spot because of the combination of bad visibility and the high speeds at which it can be approached.
Its name is reputed to have been derived from a local bear pit where bears were taught to dance and pitted against dogs in fights over which wagers were taken. This happened on the heathland which historically covered the area until the expansion of Bournemouth and Poole overtook it during the Twentieth Century.
This is reflected locally in the badge showing a bear in chains which appears on both the sign of the Bear Cross pub at the roundabout, and that of the local Oakmead College of Technology.
Nice notion, however according to BH Life the Bournemouth Council magazine, the Bear in Bear Cross comes from an Old English Word 'bearu' meaning woodland. On a map from 1778 the area was simply called 'Beare'. The strips of woodland or bearu still survive and give us the modern name Bearwood which neighbours Bear Cross.
The longest road in Bournemouth, Wimborne Road, ends at the Bear Cross roundabout. House numbers reach 1714 on the even side and 1823 on the odd.
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