Place:Christchurch, Hampshire, England

Watchers
NameChristchurch
Alt namesTwynhamsource: ancient name for town
Bockhamptonsource: manor in parish
Christchurch Boroughsource: manor in parish
Christchurch Priorysource: manor in parish
Fernhills Courtsource: manor in parish
Funcktonsource: manor in parish
Hinton Admiralsource: manor in parish
North Hintonsource: manor in parish
Somerfordsource: manor in parish
Winktonsource: manor in parish
Winkton Lewensource: manor in parish
TypeAncient parish, Civil parish, Borough (municipal)
Coordinates50.73°N 1.78°W
Located inHampshire, England     ( - 1974)
Also located inDorset, England     (1974 - )
See alsoWestover Liberty, Hampshire, Englandancient county division in which it was located
Christchurch Hundred, Hampshire, Englandancient county division in which it was located before 1834
Ringwood Hundred, Hampshire, Englandancient county division in which it was located after 1834
Christchurch District, Dorset, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area since 1974
source: Family History Library Catalog
source: Family History Library Catalog
source: Family History Library Catalog
the following text is based on an article in Wikipedia

Christchurch is a borough and town on the south coast of England. The town adjoins Bournemouth in the west and the New Forest lies to the east. Historically in the county of Hampshire, it became a district municipality of the administrative county of Dorset in the 1974 reorganisation of local government. Covering an area of 19.5 square miles (51 km2), Christchurch had a 2011 population of 54,210, making it the fourth most populous town in Dorset, closely behind Weymouth which had a population of 54,539.

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. Further defences were added in the 12th century with the construction of a castle which was destroyed by the Parliamentarian Army during the English Civil War. During the 18th and 19th centuries smuggling flourished in Christchurch and became one of the town's most lucrative industries. The town was heavily fortified during Second World War as a precaution against an expected invasion and in 1940 an Airspeed factory was established on the town's airfield which manufactured aircraft for the Royal Air Force.

The town's harbour, beaches, nature reserves and historically important buildings have made Christchurch a popular tourist destination attracting some 1.5 million visitors a year. Bournemouth Airport, an international airport which handles approximately 800,000 passengers a year, is located within the borough boundary at Hurn. The airport's industrial park contains a number of aerospace and engineering businesses and is one of the largest employment sites in Dorset. Christchurch is a popular destination for retirees and has one of the oldest populations in the country with 30 per cent of residents aged over 65.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Christchurch.

According to A Vision of Britain through Time Christchurch went through a number of transfers of area with its neighbouring parishes in 1894 (size of areas transferred at this time were not given) and a few since. However, it remained a municipal borough in Hampshire until 1974 when it became the Christchurch District or Borough in Dorset.

In addition to Christchurch itself, the following manors were located in Christchurch parish:

Some of them have survived as hamlets and even villages. Except for those marked, they are all redirected here. Hurn was also a manor of Christchurch.

Research Tips

  • Victoria County History of Hampshire, volume 5, the first of two chapters on Christchurch.
  • GENUKI has a list of archive holders in Hampshire including the Hampshire Record Office, various museums in Portsmouth and Southhampton, the Isle of Wight Record Office and Archives.
  • The Hampshire Online Parish Clerk project has a large collection of transcriptions from Parish Registers across Hampshire.
  • A listing of all the Registration Districts in England and Wales since their introduction in 1837 together with tables listing the parishes that were part of each district and the time period covered, along with detailed notes on changes of parish name, mergers, etc. Do respect the copyright on this material.
  • The three-storey City Museum in Winchester covers the Iron Age and Roman periods, the Middle Ages, and the Victorian period.
  • Volumes in The Victoria County History Series are available for Hampshire through British History Online. There are three volumes and the county is covered by parishes within the old divisions of "hundreds".
A collection of maps on the A Vision of Britain through Time website illustrating the English county of Hampshire over the period 1832-1932 (the last two are expandible):
  • A group of maps of the post-1974 municipal districts or boroughs of Hampshire on Wikipedia Commons
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Christchurch. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.