| The Priory |
| Written by Administrator | |
| Wednesday, 20 August 2008 | |
 The Priory Clock tower Christchurch Priory is one of the finest parish churches in England and the centrepiece of Christian worship for nearly 1000 years. It is also a Grade 1 listed building. The Domesday Survey of 1086 showed their were 31 dwellngs most owned by the King, Wiiliam the Conqueror and a quarter owned by the church. The church consisted of nine chapels for the 24 secular Canons during these early Norman times. In 1094 the chapels were demolished and on the site was to be built a new church, a Priory. This grand construction was over seen by Ranulf Flambard. Ranulf Flambard was chief minister to William II (Rufus). Henry 1st gave the manor of Twenham or Twynham as it was known then to Richard de Redvers. It is he who is thought to have built the castle. Because of the Priory the town became known as Cris Churche of Twenham which gradually got changed to Christe Chirche. The Priory would have been of a cruciform shape, a nave and north and south aisles and a quire. Possibly a central tower was constructed but it is thought that it collapsed. During the 12th century period a beam to cross the nave was found to be to short. As the legend goes when the builders returned later they found that the wooden beam fitted. A Miracle? Well that's how the beam is thought to have aquired the name "The Miracluous Beam". The Priory in the 13th century continued to grow with the addtion of the oversize north porch. Also the Montacute chapels of Early English style now replaced the Norman apse's. By the mid 14th century the nave roof was increased in height to it's present position. The stone clock and bell tower is of much later construction. The clock chime bells ring the quaters, half hour's and the hours. The main bells when ringing are unmistakeable and a glorious sound. The Priory has survived the Reformation, Henry 8th's reign were he fell out with Catholic Church and the Pope and the English Civil War. Although the Castle and Constables House were not so fortunate. The castle was mined so the Royalists could not use it again for defence. But looking at all this strife over the centuries the Priory has withstood the rigours of time. Even though it was looked after and revered by the landlordsIt is mainly a mix of Norman and Medieval construction and needs constant maintenance. The Victorians took out a comprehensive program of repairs. Then in 1906 major repairs were carried out to foundations and stonework of the "south aisle" . The 900th anniversary appeal in 1994 enabled more urgent repairs and detailed surveys. In fact there is suspicion that the original construction started by the Normans may not have been placed down sound footings. In fact a lot of the major work has been underpinning the walls. In fact the walls have to cleaned on a farily regular basis which means every few years scaffolding surrounds part of the Priory while stone-cleaning is carried out. The Priory does not receive any grants from government to maintain the church and it relies on visitor donations, bequests and public events to fund it's repairs. Concerts and Organ Recitals go some way to help. So does the generous donation's by visitors and every penny is well spent. The maintenance of the Priory is funded by a registered charity - The Christchurch Priory Building Conservation Trust. Reg Charity No:1107139 Photo Gallery
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The Priory
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