Christchurch - Priory

Today's Christchurch dates back to an Anglo-Saxon settlement in the early Middle Ages. It was first mentioned in documents in 900 in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as Tweoxneam.

The town was fortified to protect it from Viking raids. The Domesday Book counted the settlement as part of the Crown Estate. A monastery was also built here in Anglo-Saxon times.


The construction of a new monastery, Christchurch Priory, began around 1094. Parts of the previous building were integrated into the monastery church, while the remaining buildings were demolished. The new lord of the manor, Baldwin de Redvers, handed the site over to a predecessor order of Augustinians around 1150, who replaced the existing 24 secular canons with monks.

In around 1100, Christchurch Castle was built to the north-east of the monastery complex in the form of a motte and bailey. In 1148, it was besieged and captured by Walter de Pinkney during the Anarchy. Its fortifications were subsequently strengthened, around 1160 a constable's house was added on the banks of the Avon, and after 1300 a keep was built in place of the motte. The castle only played an insignificant role in military conflicts and was mainly used as a residence. After the English Civil War, the castle was demolished following a decision by the English Parliament in 1651.

Christchurch was granted a number of individual privileges during the Middle Ages and thus developed into a minor town. An existing weekly market, held on Mondays, was first mentioned in 1150. The associated market rights were held by the monastery. In the 12th century, permission was granted to hold a fair on Trinity Thursday, and in 1257 another in autumn on the feast day of Saint Faith. Christchurch has had a mayor since at least 1486. Christchurch's economic situation was considered poor, with numerous reports emphasising the poverty and low importance of the town and its surroundings, which were sparsely populated and off the main transport routes. The town's harbour was only important for local fishing. The reason for this was its poor accessibility

Christchurch Priory is a former priory church that has long been used solely as a parish church.

The history of the Priory dates back to at least the middle of the 11th century. According to the Domesday Book of 1086, there was a priory here with 24 secular canons at the time of Edward the Confessor. The priory is located on the site of an earlier church dating back to 800 AD. In 1094, Ranulf Flambard, then Dean of Twynham (= Christchurch), began building a church. By 1150, there was a simple Norman church consisting of a nave, a central tower and a chancel extending eastwards from the crossing. At this time, an Augustinian priory was founded here. Large parts of this church (e.g. the nave and the north transept) have been preserved. When the founding family died out around 1300, the priory initially passed to the royal family, then from 1330 to William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury. The nave of the church was newly vaulted around 1350. The chancel dates from the 15th century, which connected the church with the Lady Chapel, which had already been built around 1400. The current bell tower was built between 1470 and 1480. After the dissolution of the English monasteries in 1539, the remaining monastery buildings were demolished.

The floor plan of the 91 (!) metre long, three-aisled church with a transept corresponds to a Latin cross, the layout of the Norman nave is three-storey basilica with galleries; the flat-closing late Gothic choir, on the other hand, has only two storeys.


Detail of a choir stall - a chained monkey.