Christchurch Castle and Norman House

The remains of Christchurch Castle include parts of the mound-top keep, and more unusually the 12th-century riverside chamber block or 'Constable's House'. This very early example of domestic architecture includes a rare Norman chimney.

History

The construction of a castle and monastery transformed the fortified settlement of Twyneham.

In 1043, Edward the Confessor founded a monastery of 24 secular canons, probably on the site of an earlier Saxon church.

The monastic buildings, of which only the church remains today, were rebuilt in about 1095 by Ranulf Flambard, Bishop of Durham. Shortly afterwards, the name of the town was changed to Christchurch, because of the importance of the monastery, which later became a priory.

The outer bailey of Christchurch castle contained timber domestic buildings, such as lodgings, kitchens and stables. The town and monastery of Christchurch passed to Richard de Redvers in 1100, who began the construction of this castle. The lord's house, which contained his private apartments, is the only building that has survived.

Before the construction of the monastery and the castle, a fortified settlement existed on the site, which was named Twyneham, or 'the place between rivers'. It was part of a circuit of strategic defended places established by the Saxon King Alfred, and was surrounded by wooden and earth defences.