MANAGING the estate of Lord Wimborne led to 75 years of one estate agent serving the people of Wimborne.
In the 1930s, one of the sons of Savills founder Alfred Savill was appointed to manage the Canford Estate for Lord Wimborne in the 1930s.
The estate office was in Lower Parkstone.
In 1947, the resident agent for the Canford Estate was Edward Pratt, who opened the office in Wimborne to use his expertise to manage other landed estates in the area – as well as Canford.
A notable early success was Edward’s involvement with the Crichel Down Affair, which remains an authority on compulsorily purchased land.
The office grew, with the recruitment of a group of forward-thinking land agents and the development of one of the country’s leading mapping offices.
It also developed major business streams in pension fund rural investment, and pipelining and cabling work.
The office moved to its current home at Wessex House in 1965, which it then shared with several other companies.

Savills is marking 75 years with a branch in Wimborne Pictures: Savills

As Savills grew, it took over the whole building. That itself was then extended in 1982 to accommodate the fast-growing workforce of Savills employees on site.
The office is now home to more than 130 people, with a strong business covering the county and specialists dealing with a wealth of property services including residential sales across Dorset and south Somerset; farm and estate management; and development land consultancy and agency.
A team of planning experts covers large-scale projects and residential schemes, public sector work and strategic land, while the energy and infrastructure team manages telecom sites, wind and solar farms.
There are further teams covering valuations; national client accounting services specialising in the residential, commercial and rural property sectors; nationwide cartography, design and GIS; building consultancy; healthcare; and providing integrated real estate services to corporate occupiers worldwide.
Mark Turnbull, head of office at Savills Wimborne, has worked for the firm for 33 years.
“We are very proud of our longstanding presence in Wimborne and our role within the property sector in Dorset and nationally,” he said.
“The growth of the office since it began with the opening of Savills first office outside London is testament to the calibre of our team and our fantastic support from clients, alongside our ability to be at the forefront of thought leadership and our skills in navigating emerging opportunities.
“In addition to the spawning of several Savills offices across the south, many graduates and other professionals have had their initial grounding within the Wimborne office and have since moved to other offices and to further professional careers, many achieving very senior positions.”
The anniversary was marked with a party last month for Savills employees, alumni and longstanding clients and friends at the Larmer Tree, fittingly on the Savills-managed Rushmore Estate in Tollard Royal.