Historians believe that Hengistbury Head was formed in the Stone age (10,000BC) but was mostly uninhabited until around 40AD. The land lay on the edge of a large river valley, as the English Channel had not completely flooded yet. The land was mostly desolate until the 16th Century, with the exception of 400 years of trading with the Romans in Gaul (France), until bigger ports, such as Christchurch and Poole, became more accessible.

In the 16th Century, Andrew Yarranton constructed a stone pier at Hengistbury Head, to improve trading, accompanied by the Black House, which was a centre for shipbuilding. He also planned to cut a deep-water channel to create a larger entrance to Christchurch Harbour, yet his renovations for Hengistbury Head were not successful, and the land became desolate until World War One.

Hengistbury Head became one of the world’s first airfields, testing aeroplanes before the war. In 1910, an Air Pageant was hosted on the Head, but ended after Charles Rolls piloted the Wright Brother’s aeroplane and it crashed, killing him.

The Bournemouth Council brought the land from Mr Gordan Selfridge in 1930 and redesigned the land and created a tourist attraction. The 1960’s introduced the Noddy Train and the Visitor Centre. Along with the beach huts, it encouraged local and national tourists to explore the area. The Visitor Centre was then remodelled in 2013, adding a gift shop and a historical exhibition of Hengistbury Head.