A series of local caches placed at current locations taken from old photos, to show how things have changed, or maybe even stayed the same!
Photo from Dorset Life magazine
In 1913 the only building at Verwood Crossroads was the original Unionist hall and the only traffic a horse and wagon. In the intervening century, many buildings have been constructed, demolished and constructed again, the car is the king of the road, the clay pit (foreground) has undergone transformation from village green to car park and back again, and following the introduction of the one-way system in 2006, the Crossroads is no longer even a thoroughfare!
Photo from https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/17986881.picture-day-looking-back-shops-verwood/
The Parade was originally built as a row of houses by brothers Henry and Job Brewer of Manor Brickworks in the 1920s, with the ground floors and front gardens quickly converted to shop fronts. Here in 1968, Verwood Bon Marche was at the far left end, originally run by Henry Brewer's wife, Emma Rose, and going through several incarnations before becoming the barber shop you see today. Lloyds bank is visible here in what was originally Restynge House, bought from the church in 1960 by the Bailey family to expand their already-thriving business into a showroom named "Television House". In 1989 the building was demolished and rebuilt, and currently houses a charity shop and estate agent, as well as Bailey's Of Verwood - under new ownership but retaining the original family name. The rhododenrons in the foreground were removed when the car park was tarmacked in 1971 and replanted further down the road in Verwood Cemetery, where they continue to flourish.
Photo from Verwood - Village To Town by Jill Coulthard, 2007
Extended, yet maintaining its distictive shape, this building was constructed in 1920 by Job Brewer and is shown here in 1925, when it was occupied by Francis Austin, a retired London policeman turned newsagent and Mabel Whitmore (daughter and neice to property developers Henry and Job Brewer) who held a hardware store and later a printing press. In 1926 Mr Austin sold the newsagency to Arthur Hopkins and it was run for many years by his daughter, Nellie. Hopkins remained a family run business for nearly 80 years until its eventual closure in 2005. When Mrs Whitmore's shop moved around the corner to Edmondsham Road, the premises became a wet and cooked fish shop, before transferring ownership again in 1950, after which it became known and loved as Days - fish and chip shop.
This is an offset multi and the final cache is a short walk away. There is plenty of parking at the nearby Potters Wheel and Jenner Close car parks - free at the time of writing, but under review. This may take a while to work out, so perhaps take a seat with the Silent Soldier, or on one of the other benches on Ferret Green, while you contemplate the crossroads sign.
N50 52.ABC
W001 52.DEF
Checksum for all digits - 60