Brownsea Island was acquired by the National Trust in 1962 and opened to the public in 1963. Since then it has served as a valuable nature reserve and a popular scenic retreat for holiday makers. Its success as a significant Dorset landmark is owed in no small part to the efforts of the volunteers that continue to support activities on the Island to this day.
Amongst the many notable volunteers that helped establish the Voluntary Warden Service were Kim and Lewis Parkyn, whose papers have been recently catalogued in the Dorset History Centre Archive. [D-3351/A]
The numerous documents kept by Lewis Parkyn, and his father Kim Parkyn, reveal the rather informal way in which the Brownsea Island Volunteer Wardens, B.I.V.W. for short, came into existence.
It all began after the death of the Island’s owner Mrs Bonham Christie when the transfer of the Island into the hands of the National Trust was being proposed. Up until that time Mrs Bonham Christie had forcefully kept trespassers from venturing onto her rather exclusive property. Concern was raised about the possibility that, since her death, Brownsea Island would be swamped by illegitimate visitors, especially during the forthcoming Whitsun weekend. With it would come the risk of fire and the endangerment of the Island’s precious environment. So a small group of volunteers, some associated with a local firm of solicitors, took on the task of patrolling the Island over the Whitsun break.
Kim Parkyn, the instigator of the plan, persuaded a colleague Hugh Green to join him alongside his own son Lewis Parkyn and a couple of Lewis’ scouting friends. Over the course of that bank holiday weekend the group politely turned away dozens of people from the beaches, explaining that the Island was not yet open to the public. After that weekend it became clear that the volunteers’ work was needed for the rest of the Summer. Therefore, under the leadership of Hugh Green, the number of volunteer wardens and the range of duties they undertook grew over the coming months. The Poole Harbour Commissioners provided transportation in those early days and the wardens established a headquarters on the Island which became known as ‘Hotel de Warden’. By the end of that first Summer the wardens had succeeded in safeguarding the Island and it became formally open to the public in 1963.
At the same time the Trust’s Regional Director approached Kim Parkyn and Hugh Green with a view to establish a permanent, structured, voluntary wardening service, to work with the National Trust. The wardens were then given Rose Cottage to refurbish into a more suitable Island HQ and teams of volunteers were kept busy ensuring the Island continued to be kept safe from trespassers and become established as a haven for wildlife.
In the early days the wardens patrolled the whole of Brownsea and its beaches, including the Castle and the Nature reserve. Later the responsibility of B.I.V.W was primarily to patrol only the larger area of the Island for which the National Trust provides public access.
Over the years the role of volunteers on Brownsea Island has evolved substantially and a wide variety of skills and responsibilities are called upon to support the Island’s future. These include fire watch patrols, provision of advice and guidance to the public, carrying out winter work programmes, taking part in training and maintaining the buildings and the natural environment.
And as for Lewis Parkyn himself – he stayed on as a volunteer long after the death of his father Kim. In fact in 2013 he received the British Empire Medal from Her Majesty the Queen for 50 years voluntary service to Heritage and Conservation. His citation read …
‘In 1962 Lewis became a founding member of the Brownsea Island Voluntary Wardens who safeguarded the island before it was secured by the National Trust…He has been instrumental to the success of the island through its continued conservation, and attraction to a wide range of visitors, over 120,000 a year, inspiring interest and an understanding of the natural world. The volunteer group of 130 has kept the island safe for visitors through maintenance of access and bringing benefits to the conservation of wildlife…None has worked on the island for so long.’
Lewis Parkyn died in 2022 but his legacy lives on in the work of the Brownsea Island Volunteer Wardens and in his archived papers about the work of the volunteers and the history of Brownsea Island. [D-3351]
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This was a guest blog written for Dorset History Centre by volunteer Jane Ashenden. If you would like to contribute a blog, please get in touch: archives@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk