As a frequent visitor to the home of his good friend Merton Russell-Cotes (widely regarded as the town’s greatest benefactor), the actor Sir Henry Irving , most famous for his roles as Shakespeare’s Othello and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, helped popularise the health-giving benefits of a stay in Bournemouth. Conquering the handicaps of a speech defect and a dragging leg (the result of a childhood accident), Irving went on to become the greatest actor of the Victorian age, showing tremendous strength of character.