Beech Hurst was built in 1798 by Samuel Rolles, a wealthy Poole merchant who used his inheritance from his uncle, Samuel White, to construct this grand home.

If you look up at the building, the Rolles’ red and white coat of arms is displayed for the street to see, while inside there are three floors all connected to the central staircase, as well as a sizable cellar previously used for the storage of goods.

From family home to community hub

Rolles only spent 11 years in the completed property, dying in 1809 and leaving the building to his wife Amey and their 2 unmarried daughters.

However, by 1841 his third (married) daughter, Dove resided at Beech Hurst with her husband, Isaac Steele, and their three children, Isaac Jr, Jonathan and Anne.

In adulthood, Isaac Jr. became head of the household and was involved in local politics, but as both brothers remained bachelors until their deaths in the 1860s, Beech Hurst fell out of the family’s possession. 

After White, Beech Hurst was home to Heber Dowling Ellis, a medical practitioner and who used the house’s mahogany room as a consulting office.

Ellis also worked as a surgeon, assisting the people in local factories, Boscombe Cottage Hospital, and Dorset Rifle Corps. Ellis was appointed the first Medical Officer of Health for Poole in 1873.

Beech Hurst has also hosted solicitors, another practitioner, the mayor of Poole (for 1889, 1890 and 1895), a Gas and Water Company, Tracy’s Ltd. House furnishers (in the 1960s), and it is now the offices of Jacobs and Reeves.

How to get here

The address of this site is: 153 High Street, BH15 1AU 

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