Christchurch Priory

The ancient Christchurch Priory Church is located not far from the city of Bournemouth. Its first building was constructed back in 800 AD. Later, a small abbey was formed, and in the XI century, the decision was made to erect a new building of the temple.

Legends of Christchurch Priory

There are many legends related to the Christchurch Priory. According to one of them, it was planned to build the temple on the St. Catherine’s Hill. However, a mysterious thing happened. Over one night, all the building materials were mystically moved to the current location of the cathedral.

According to another version, Jesus Christ himself was taking part in the building process, pretending to be an average worker. He somehow prolonged the shortly cut beams. That became the reason the church was called Christchurch. Later on, the town and the abbey also took this name.

The ancient church

The works on reconstructing and adding new parts to the church had lasted until the XVI century. Here you can see wooden carved misericords - these are tiny seats which were secretly used by the monks if they wanted to rest during the long service.

The abbey was dismissed in 1539, however, the church continued to accept the congregation as a parish church. It’s still active and still leads services. In 1999, in honor of the 900th anniversary of the abbey’s foundation, the church was presented with a brand-new organ and a new stained-glass window was installed.

Working hours: from Monday to Saturday - 9:30 - 17:00; Sunday - 14:14 - 17:30.

You can rest and enjoy a beautiful day in Compton Acres Gardens which are decorated in four various styles.