Highcliffe or Highcliffe-on-Sea is a seaside town in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Highcliffe and Walkford, in the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

area of

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It was created in 2019 and covers much of the area of the South Ea ...

, in the ceremonial county of

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

in England. It forms part of the

South East Dorset conurbation The South East Dorset conurbation (also known as the South Dorset conurbation, Poole-Bournemouth urban area and Bournemouth urban area) is a multi-centred conurbation on the south coast of Dorset in England. Extent The main population centres ...

along the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

coast. The town lies on a picturesque stretch of

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and mainland Great Britain; the major historic ports of Southampton and Portsmouth lie inland of its shores. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit whi ...

coastline with views of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

and its ' Needles' rocks. It is part of the historic county of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. From 1974 to 2019 it was in the

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

district.

Location

Highcliffe is situated to the east of the historic town of

and the resort town of

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

, and to the west of

Barton on Sea Barton on Sea (often hyphenated as Barton-on-Sea) is a cliff-top village in Hampshire, England close to the town of New Milton to the north. Barton lies within the civil parish of New Milton. As a settlement, Barton has a history dating back to ...

and

New Milton New Milton is a market town and civil parish in the New Forest District, New Forest district, in southwest Hampshire, England. To the north is in the New Forest and to the south the coast at Barton-on-Sea. The town is equidistant between Lymi ...

. The

New Forest National Park The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

is to the north. Its position on the south coast gives it a

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

with milder winters than inland areas, and less rainfall than locations further west. This helped establish the town as a popular health and leisure resort during the late Victorian and early Edwardian eras.

History

What is now regarded as Highcliffe has developed over the last several hundred years from the hamlet of Slop Pond, the Chewton Estate, and Chewton Common. The latter two also contained large

farmstead A farmstead refers to the buildings and service areas associated with a farm. It consists of a house belonging to a farm along with the surrounding buildings. The characteristics of a specific farmstead reflect the local landscape, which provides ...

s. Slop Pond was a collection of

thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, Phragmites, water reed, Cyperaceae, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), Juncus, rushes, Calluna, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away fr ...

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...

s, named from the large pond on its common. The cottages were said to be occupied by farm workers and fishermen, who engaged in the smuggling and poaching trade now notorious in local history. When the area became a more popular tourist destination in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, Slop Pond was renamed Newtown. This was changed to Highcliff after the first house built on the high cliff, soon to become known as Highcliffe-on-Sea. Between 1831 and 1835, Lord Stuart de Rothesay built Highcliffe Castle, a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

home, near the site of High Cliff House, his father's Georgian estate. The design, by

William Donthorne William John Donthorn (Donthorne in some sources) (1799 – 18 May 1859) was an English architect, and one of the founders of what became the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). He was born in Swaffham, Norfolk. He was a pupil of Sir ...

, a founder member of

RIBA ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130

, incorporated large quantities of carved Medieval stonework salvaged from the Norman

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

Abbey of St Peter at

Jumièges Jumièges () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. Geography A forestry and farming village situated in a meander of the river Seine, some west of Rouen, at the junction of the D 65 and t ...

in northwest France and the Grande Maison des Andelys. At the beginning of the 20th century the reputation of Highcliffe was so considerable that in 1907

Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

chose to stay at Highcliffe Castle when recuperating from the strain of political scandals in Germany. Highcliffe Castle is now a Grade I listed building described as "the most important remaining example of the Romantic and Picturesque style of architecture", and now holds events throughout the year open to the general public. It is also a popular venue for weddings and other private events.

Harry Gordon Selfridge Harry Gordon Selfridge, Sr. (11 January 1858 – 8 May 1947) was an American retail magnate who founded the London-based department store Selfridges. The early years of his leadership led to his becoming one of the most respected and wealthy re ...

, founder of Selfridges & Co, rented the castle between 1916 and 1922. He is buried in a simple grave at St Marks Churchyard next to his wife and mother. The castle featured in

Mr Selfridge ''Mr Selfridge'' is a British period drama television series about Harry Gordon Selfridge and his department store, Selfridge & Co, in London, set from 1908 to 1928. It was co-produced by ITV Studios and Masterpiece/ WGBH for broadcast on I ...

, a TV series charting the life of the department store magnate. Between 1911 and 1914 Greystones house was built in the village to a design by

Edward Schroeder Prior Edward Schroeder Prior (1852–1932) was a British architect, instrumental in establishing the Arts and Crafts movement. He was one of the foremost theorists of the second generation of the movement, writing extensively on architecture, art, c ...

. The area also has a strong literary connection and was once a centre for

Wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...

with

Gerald Gardner Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, author, and amateur anthropology, anthropologist and archaeology, archaeologist. He was instrumental in bringing the Moder ...

and Dorothy Clutterbuck living in Highcliffe. Captain Frederick Marryat, author of ''

The Children of The New Forest ''The Children of the New Forest'' is a children's novel published in 1847 by Frederick Marryat. It is set in the time of the English Civil War and the Commonwealth. The story follows the fortunes of the four Beverley children who are orphaned d ...

'', was a regular visitor to the house on the Chewton estate (now the Chewton Glen Hotel, Spa and Country Club); and the adventure story author Colonel R.W. Campbell, veteran of the Boer and Great wars, was also a local resident.

Modern times

Educational establishments in the town include Highcliffe St Mark Primary School and Highcliffe School. There are also independent preparatory and secondary schools local to the area in

and

. The

Maritime and Coastguard Agency The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is an executive agency of the United Kingdom that is responsible for implementing British and international maritime law and safety policy. It works to prevent the loss of lives at sea and to prevent mar ...

's national training centre was formerly located at Steamer Point. Highcliffe Food and Arts Festival has taken place annually in June since 2014. It is run on a not-for-profit basis, and showcases local food, drinks and arts. It began as an offshoot of the nearby Christchurch Food Festival.

Politics

Highcliffe is part of the Christchurch parliamentary constituency for elections to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. It is currently represented by

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Christopher Chope Sir Christopher Robert Chope (born 19 May 1947) is a British politician and former barrister who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Christchurch in Dorset since 1997. A member of the Conservative Party, he was first elected in ...

. Highcliffe is also part of the Highcliffe and Walkford and Mudeford, Stanpit and West Highcliffe wards for elections to

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, which styles itself BCP Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. Th ...

. Highcliffe was formerly a

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status A chapelry had a similar status to a Township (England), township, but was so named as it had a chapel of ease ...

in the parish of Christchurch, on 1 October 1897 Highcliffe became a separate

, on 1 April 1932 the parish was abolished and merged with Christchurch. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1738.

References

External links

Highcliffe and Walkford Parish Council Website

Highcliffe Castle Website

Highcliffe Residents' Association Website

Highcliffe Village Business Community Website

Highcliffe Food and Arts Festival Website

Highcliffe-On-Sea Website
*
Highcliffe Food Festival
by Polly Taylor, Let's Travel UK {{authority control Towns in Dorset Former civil parishes in Dorset Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Populated coastal places in Dorset Seaside resorts in England