History of Christchurch, Dorset

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. The town has existed since 650 AD and its close proximity to the Cotentin Peninsula made it an important trading port and a potential target for invasion during the Napoleonic and Second World Wars.

Situated at the lowest crossing points of the Avon and Stour, it was originally known as ''Twynham'', from "tweon eam", meaning (the settlement) between two rivers. It was not until the construction of the priory in 1094 that the town became known as Christchurch. In Saxon times the harbour was one of the most important in England and the town became both a Royal manor and a burgh. During its turbulent history, the town has witnessed battles between Saxons, when Aethelwold stormed the ramparts; between Royalists and Parliamentarians during the civil war, and between smugglers and excise men during the 18th century.

Today the town is a popular tourist destination, with one-and-a-half-million annual visitors.

Early history

Saxon period

Around 650 AD, St Birinus, the first Bishop of Dorchester (Oxford), sent his missionaries into Wessex. The small settlement that existed at the time on the headland now known as Hengistbury Head, proved unsuitable for the purpose of spreading the word of God because it was set back from and out of reach of the traders who used the busy port. Far more useful was a stretch of raised land between the two rivers of the Avon and Stour which carried people and their wares to and from settlements such as Blandford and Old Sarum (Salisbury). The site had other advantages in that it was raised and well drained, it could easily be defended being surrounded on three sides by water, it was close to the lowest crossing points of the two rivers, and there was a plentiful supply of drinking water both from the rivers and a number of wells in the area now known as Purewell.
The town was originally called Twynam or ''Twyneham'' (which gives the town's central school its name), from "tweon eam", which meant (the settlement) between two rivers. Christchurch, listed as Twynham, has two entries in the Domesday Book, being part of the Edgegate Hundred, with 47 households.

Excavations conducted in 1977/8 in the Bargates area uncovered a pagan Anglo-Saxon cemetery of the 6th or 7th century containing the graves of 34 warriors of the Saxo-Jutish period. The graves yielded extensive finds of early Saxon metalwork, and indicated a previously unsuspected early Saxon presence in southeast Dorset.MONUMENT NO. 458690
Pastscape, retrieved 21 May 2012

During Saxon times the harbour was one of the most important in England as it was easily reached from the continent and boats could enter the harbour and travel up the river Avon all the way to Salisbury. Alfred the Great considered Twynham to be of such strategic importance that at the end of the 9th century, with the threat of invasion by the Danes, he made it a burgh (fortified town). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells how in 901 AD, Aethelwold; a cousin of Alfred the Great, captured the town's ramparts. Although Aethelwold was eventually defeated, Edward the Elder made the decision to fortify the town further.
Parts of the old Saxon town wall were discovered in the early 70s when considerable archaeological excavation was carried out. The wall was found to be of earth faced with stone and probably had a wooden fighting top and palisade. The gate stood at the north end of the town until it was removed in 1744. It was from the burgh's gate that Bargates, the then main road into the town, took its name.

The Priory church

In 1094 a chief minister of William II, Ranulf Flambard, then Dean of Twynham, began the building of a priory on the site of the original mission church. Local legend tells that Flambard originally intended the church to be built on top of nearby St. Catherines Hill but, during the night, all the building materials were mysteriously transported to the site of the present priory. This 'miracle' is cited as one of the reasons the town became known as Christchurch. On 28 November 1539, John Draper the last prior of Christchurch, surrendered the priory, and it was dissolved. The monastic buildings of the priory were pulled down soon after the dissolution. The King had intended to pull down the church as well as the monastic buildings, but in response to a plea from the townspeople, supported by Prior Draper, he granted the church together with the churchyard to the churchwardens and inhabitants of Christchurch to be used as the parish church in perpetuity on 23 October 1540, a grant that was confirmed on 12 February 1612 by James I. The town is fortunate that the Christchurch Priory cartulary, which consists of over 1,300 documents and charters copied and collated in the 14th century, with a few later additions, has survived to provide a comprehensive account of the Priory and events connected to it during the medieval period. A full translation was published in 2007. The evolution of the Priory into the building it is today took place over many centuries: The nave and transepts are Norman with heavy columns and round arches, whereas the lady chapel is from the 14th century and more Perpendicular in style. The great choir is even later, having been rebuilt in the 16th century. The Priory is noted for its Miraculous Beam, which attracts pilgrims from all over the world. From the reign of Edward I, after mass on Sundays, the church wardens supervised the archery practice that all men were obliged to undertake. This event took place on a piece of unconsecrated land between the north porch and transept. The requirement for the men of the town to practise archery continued until Tudor times.

The castle

At the start of the 12th century Christchurch became the caput

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