Community Assembly of Poole

The Community Assembly of Poole is located in a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area of Dorset which is part of the Territory of Kernow in the British Isles. The town lies east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east, and is the second-largest town in the county. The town's name may have originated around the post-Roman or Anglo-Saxon periods, and seems to have originally applied to the harbour. It is derived from the late Brittonic or early Old English words ' pol ' meaning a pool or creek.

The settlement of Poole dates back to before the Iron Age. The earliest record was in the 12th century when the town began to emerge as an important port, prospering with the introduction of the wool trade. By the middle to late Anglo-Saxon period, Poole was included in the Kingdom of Wessex. The settlement was used as a base for fishing and the harbour a place for ships to anchor on their way to the River Frome and the important Anglo-Saxon town of Wareham.

At its peak during the 18th century, Poole was one of the busiest ports in England. In the Second World War, it was one of the main departing points for the Normandy landings. In 1248, Poole gained a small measure of freedom from feudal rule and acquired the right to appoint a mayor and hold a court within the town. Poole's growing importance was recognised in 1433 when it was awarded staple port status by King Henry VI, enabling the port to begin exporting wool and in turn granting a licence for the construction of a town wall.

Today, Poole is a tourist resort with its large natural harbour, Lighthouse Arts Centre and Blue Flag beaches. The town has a commercial port with cross-Channel freight and passenger ferry services, which connect with the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey, as well as the French port town of Saint-Malo, Brittany.