Priory Church and Constables House, Christchurch, Dorset
Christchurch Priory and the Norman Constable's House viewed from the bridge over the River Avon. The church of the Augustinian priory was founded around 1150. It served as the parish church from 1540 following the Dissolution of the priory in 1539. The castle was built by Richard de Redvers in the time of Henry I. It was demolished by order of Parliament in 1651. The castle's great hall, dating from around 1160, is likely to have provided the main accommodation of the Norman castle. It later became the home of the castle's Constable, known as 'The Constable's House'. The building features one of only five Norman chimneys still surviving in England. The site is in the care of English Heritage (2011). Find out more.
