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Christchurch is a town, civil parish and former borough in the county of Dorset on the English Channel coast, adjoining Bournemouth in the west, with the New Forest to the east. Historically in Hampshire , it joined Dorset with the reorganisation of local government in 1974 and is the most easterly borough in the county.
Founded in the 7th century at the confluence of the rivers Avon and Stour which flow into Christchurch Harbour, the town was originally named Twynham but became known as Christchurch following the construction of the priory in 1094. The town developed into an important trading port, and was fortified in the 9th century.
The History of Christchurch. Christchurch sits between two rivers – the Avon and the Stour – and research indicates it began as an early Saxon settlement. It was originally known as Tweoxneam (Twynham) from Old English meaning between two rivers. The town has two entries in the Domesday Book.
Local History: A former Georgian workhouse on Quay Road, Red House Museum and Gardens, is the town’s museum which reveals the story of Christchurch from before the Ice Age to 21st century. hampshireculture.org.uk. Priory Views: There’s been a church on the site of Christchurch Priory for over 1300 years.
Its first charter was granted about 1150. A Norman constable’s house has been restored. The town’s huge Augustinian priory church, one of the largest parish churches in England, dates from the 12th century and contains Norman elements of architecture.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Society also arranges talks, visits and guided walks telling the history of Christchurch. The Christchurch History Society is the custodian of the Christchurch Archive, a collection of over 16,000 documemts, maps and photographs recording the history of Christchurch.
Early history. The story of Christchurch Priory goes back to at least the middle of the 11th century, as the Domesday Book of 1086 says there was a priory of 24 secular canons here in the reign of Edward the Confessor. The Priory is on the site of an earlier church dating from 800AD.
