It was planned to be built where it is as it has the access of two Rivers - the River Avon and the River Stour. Much like Durham Cathedral, where it is built on land surrounded by the River Wear. The River Avon can lead up from Christchurch to Salisbury, so people who wanted to visit, could travel by boat down the River Avon from as far as Salisbury to Christchurch Priory as part of their Pilgrimage. Pilgrims made religious journeys to places of worship, to experience different places whilst praying to God and visiting shrines. People paid to pray at these shrines as it was said that if you did so, there was more chance of being forgiven of your sins and cured of diseases and illnesses. People would also pay the church to have a better opportunity of going to heaven when they die. Before pilgrims were even able to visit the church, building materials were needed in the Norman style. To receive these building materials, the rivers came in good use as boats transported them down to the church from places such like the Isle of Wight. As well as this, the rivers were used to receive and transport goods such as food for the church; this was useful for the monks living at the church as they could get the food that they needed without complications. They depended on the rivers to sustain a healthy living. They grew crops on the land and used the water from the river to do so, to transport and make money from to use for their own needs. Money was then used to either transport more goods or to add to the architecture and features of the church. Cleaning is an important part in life and monks also used the water for this, to wash clothes, dishes and to provide good personal hygiene. Also, the river is used as defence from possible attacks as the church was built in 1094, but the Normans invaded England on the 14th October 1066, and successfully took over England. The Building of the church started not too long after the Battle of Hastings ended, and local people weren’t too welcoming of the Normans. Also, other countries may have had plans to take over England so the two rivers gave the Normans an advantage of protecting their land and preventing people from attacking the church in the future.
The North Transept
The structure of the roof is still present just above the tower, although the rest of the roof had collapsed in 1340.
The windows are of an Early English Gothic style, as well as the Montacute Chapels.
The exterior of the North Transept is the Norman tower. This is decorated with Norman arcading, fish scale and diaper work. Although the east side has had two early English chapels added, replacing the original Norman apse end
The Nave & The Triforium
The Nave (below left) has a height of 58 feet and is pure Norman up to the Triforium level (shown above left), and also is help up by very large Norman pillars. By 1350 the Nave roof had been lifted to its present height over the clerestory. It is of a Norman styled architecture.
In this picture we can also see the Triforium, where the nave was once lifted to in 1145. In 1214 the Nave Altar was consecrated.
The Clerestory
Unlike the Nave and the Triforium, the Clerestory is of an Early English style as it was an additional level to the Nave in 1290.
Although Christchurch Priory went through a lot of change compared to others; such as Durham Cathedral, where it is known to have remarkably kept most of its Romanesque architecture and original design. The Priory today is much the same as it was when King Henry VIII granted it to the people of Christchurch to be used as their Parish Church. In medieval times there were three churches in the one building: the People's Church, which was the Nave, the Monks' Church (the Quire) and the Lady Chapel. Today the whole building is the Parish Church. Although the church is still used for worship and services, religion isn’t as significant as it used to be, and churches aren’t used as much and don’t have much power like they used to. Whilst significance of religion changes, as do purposes. Purposes of the church during its development changed decoration and additions that were made to the church; such as aisles being vaulted, detailed carvings made to furniture and screens and also construction of the West Tower in 1480. In 1320 a choir screen was installed to separate the monks' church from the parish church but this was severely damaged at the time of the Reformation. Some of the earliest surviving work in the Priory is to be found in the Nave; where all up to the Clerestory is of Roman architecture. In the 13th century there was a lot of building done to the church; the nave aisles were vaulted, the Clerestory was built, the Montacute Chapels replaced the Norman apse in the North Transept and work began on the North Porch, remarkable for its large size. Christchurch Priory went through a lot of change, thanks to the amount of money it gained from the interest of local citizens and other people in England, who travelled to Christchurch on their pilgrimage. Also financial support from kings and wealthy patrons was often offered to the church, as well as gifts. This made it possible for the church to keep up to date with architectural trends and rebuild certain parts when needed. Such things that affected the church were events like the Dissolution. The Commissioners Letter to Thomas Cromwell says that many luxurious items such as jewellery would be left for the Kings use. where King Henry VIII intended to pull down the whole church as well as the monastic buildings. John Draper, last prior of the church, surrendered the priory in 1539, but joined a plead with the rest of the citizens, to keep the church. King Henry VIII surprisingly agreed and the church was granted together with the churchyard. Although, The Porter's Lodge, which is now Priory Cottage and is now one of the oldest, inhabited houses in Christchurch, wasn’t destroyed during the process of the dissolution. John Draper is duly remembered by the Chantry at the end of the south choir aisle. Mostly other reasons for change amongst the church were for more modern styles of architecture and decoration and also for natural reasons, such as the central tower collapsing, or purposely being taken down. Many Architectural styles are still present throughout the church, and we can tell from which are older styles and how they can be recognised. Saxon architecture shows arches are rounded and quite plain, and similarly, Norman architecture shows that arches are still rounded though they are larger and have quite a few lower-levelled orders. Though arches are still present, Gothic (Early English) architecture introduces the high pointed arch with deep rounded mouldings with a small single light or lancet, and no decoration. Pointed arches soon changed to rounded much like the earlier stages in time, as Gothic Perpendicular and the Renaissance period introduced change to architecture. By looking at source 4, we can see that before the Dissolution by Henry VIII, there was much more than just a church and we are able to see the monastic buildings surrounding the church and also the land that was owned before it was sold off.
