View source for Christchurch Castle

{{Short description|Castle in Dorset, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Christchurch Castle two walls.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|The two remaining walls of the castle's keep]]
'''Christchurch Castle''' is a [[Normans|Norman]] [[motte and bailey]] castle in [[Christchurch, Dorset]], [[England]] ({{gbmapping|SZ160927}}). The earliest stonework has been dated to {{start date and age|1160|p=y}}. The castle's site is inside the old [[Saxon]] ''[[burh]]'' dominating the [[River Avon (Hampshire)|River Avon]]'s lowest crossing.

The Constable's House standing adjacent to the castle was added at around 1160, and is a rare and notable example of a Norman domestic dwelling.<ref name="communigate">{{cite web|url=http://www.communigate.co.uk/dorset/clhs/page11.phtml |title=This is Dorset Communigate |author=David Eels |work=Christchurch Castle |publisher=Christchurch Local History Society |access-date=12 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515074849/http://www.communigate.co.uk/dorset/clhs/page11.phtml |archive-date=15 May 2011 }}.</ref> Today the bailey is home to a [[bowling green]] and gardens, and the ditch has been filled in, but parts of the [[keep (castle)|keep]] and much of the Constable's House still stand. The site is managed by [[English Heritage]].

==Castle==
[[File:Christchurch Castle keep and mound.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|right|The [[keep (castle)|keep]] and the [[motte and bailey|motte]] or mound on which it sits]]
The castle is believed to stand on the site of an earlier wooden fort built in 924 following the capture of the town ramparts in 901 by King [[Æthelwold ætheling|Æthelwold of Wessex]], and subsequently fortified with a [[motte and bailey|motte]] by King [[Edward the Elder]].<ref name="Avon Valley">{{cite book|last=Moxey|first=Sarah|title=Avon Valley Footpath Guide|year=1997|publisher=Halsgrove|isbn=978-1-874448-26-6|pages=87–90}}.</ref> After the [[Norman Conquest]] of 1066 the castle's defences were strengthened by the addition of a ditch and [[motte and bailey|bailey]] surrounded by a wooden [[palisade]]. The wooden fort was eventually replaced with a stone [[keep (castle)|keep]]. The Norman castle was a strategic defensive structure controlled by the King's constable until [[Henry I of England|King Henry I]] ({{reign|1100|1135}}) granted it as the [[caput]] of a [[English feudal barony|feudal barony]] to his cousin [[Richard de Redvers]] (died 1107), [[feudal baron of Plympton]], Devon.<ref>Sanders, Ian. English Baronies, Oxford, 1960, p.112, Probable Baronies, Christchurch</ref> While the Saxon defences had been against outside threats such as [[Viking]] raiders, the Norman fortress was more concerned with subduing the local populace. It was also a useful base for enforcing the [[New Forest]] Laws. The castle controlled the harbour and inland access via the [[River Avon (Hampshire)|Rivers Avon]] and [[River Stour, Dorset|Stour]].<ref name="communigate" /> The earliest masonry has been dated to {{circa|1160}}, and there is documentary evidence of the castle existing in {{circa|1130}}.<ref name="communigate" /> [[Richard de Redvers]] is often named as the castle's first builder, although there is little documentary evidence of this, and this castle may well have been on the site of the earlier [[Saxon]] castle. The castle was rebuilt by [[Baldwin de Redvers]] to resist [[Stephen of England|King Stephen]] during the [[The Anarchy|civil war]] with the [[Empress Matilda]] in 1147. A great tower was built probably around 1300. The castle again saw action during the [[English Civil War|Civil War of 1642–1651]]. The [[Roundheads|Parliamentarians]] were allowed to take control of the castle in 1644. The [[Cavaliers|Royalists]] laid siege to it for 3 days, demolishing houses on the corner of Church Street and Castle Street in order to site their cannons. The Royalists were unable to take the castle and [[Oliver Cromwell]], fearing such a powerful stronghold, ordered it to be [[Slighting|slighted]] in 1652.<ref name="Avon Valley"/>
The castle is now in ruins; a couple of the [[keep]] walls remain and the remains of a rectangular [[moat]].

==Constable's House==
[[File:Constable's House christchurch.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|The Constable's House]]
Nearby is a domestic Norman dwelling, known as the Constable's House, which was built within the original castle bailey in 1160. Much of the stonework survives, including a rare example of a Norman [[chimney]] (one of only five in the country). The stone used for construction was [[Purbeck marble]].<ref name=Pevsner>{{cite book |title=The Buildings of England Hampshire and the Isle of wight |last=Pevsner|first= Nikolaus|last2=LLoyd|first2=David|author-link=Nikolaus Pevsner |year=1967 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=0140710329 |pages=177–178}}</ref> 
The ground floor which has four slit windows was used as a storeroom. The upper floor, accessed by steps outside and an internal staircase, contained the main hall. It is {{convert|67|by|23|ft|0}} in size.<ref name=Pevsner />  As well as the chimney, another notable feature is the [[garderobe]] tower, which extends over the mill stream added in the early 13th{{nbsp}}century to provide sanitary arrangements.<ref name="communigate" />

==Heritage status==
Both the Castle<ref name="NHLE1153159">{{National Heritage List for England| num=1153159 |desc=The Castle |grade=I |accessdate=31 August 2016}}</ref> and Constable's House<ref name="NHLE1325069">{{National Heritage List for England| num=1325069 |desc=The Constable's House |grade=I |accessdate=31 August 2016}}</ref> are Grade I listed buildings. The area containing the adjacent priory, the castle and Constable's House is separately designated as a Scheduled Monument.<ref name="NHLE">{{National Heritage List for England| num=1018277 |desc=Pre-Conquest monastery, early Christian cemetery, Augustinian priory and a motte and bailey castle at Christchurch |grade= |accessdate=31 August 2016}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Castles in Great Britain and Ireland]]
* [[List of castles in England]]

== References ==
<references/>
* Fry, Plantagenet Somerset, ''The David & Charles Book of Castles'', David & Charles, 1980. {{ISBN|0-7153-7976-3}}

{{coord|50.733369|N|1.775010|W|region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SZ160927)|display=title}}<!-- Note: WGS84 lat/long, converted from OSGB36 grid ref -->

==External links==
{{Commons category|Christchurch Castle}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120929122303/http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=458553 Read a detailed historical record about Christchurch Castle]
*[https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/christchurch-castle-and-norman-house/ English Heritage - Christchurch Castle]
{{Christchurch, Dorset}}

[[Category:Castles in Dorset]]
[[Category:English Heritage sites in Dorset]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Christchurch, Dorset]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Christchurch, Dorset]]
[[Category:Ruins in Hampshire]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Dorset]]
[[Category:History of Christchurch, Dorset]]
[[Category:Ruined castles in England]]
[[Category:Grade I listed ruins]]