Christchurch Priory is an ecclesiastical parish and former priory church in Christchurch in the English county of Dorset (formerly in Hampshire). It is one of the longest parish churches in the country and is as large as many of the Church of England Cathedrals. The story of Christchurch Priory goes back to at least the middle of the 11th century, as the Domesday Book of 1086 says there was a priory of 24 secular canons here in the reign of Edward the Confessor. The Priory is on the site of an earlier church dating from 800AD. In 1094 a chief minister of William II, Ranulf Flambard, then Dean of Twynham, began the building of a church. Local legend has it that Flambard originally intended the church to be built on top of nearby St. Catherine's Hill but during the night all the building materials were mysteriously transported to the site of the present priory. Although in 1099 Flambard was appointed Bishop of Durham, work continued under his successors. A mid-12th century account recording the legend of the Christchurch Dragon indicates that by 1113 the new church was nearing completion under Dean Peter de Oglander. By about 1150 there was a basic Norman church consisting of a nave, a central tower and a quire extending eastwards from the crossing. It was during this period that another legend originated, that of the miraculous beam, which is thought to have brought about the change in the name of the town from Twynham to the present day Christchurch, but in fact the two names both featured in a grant dated ADÂ 954 ('juxta opidum Twinam, id est, Cristescirce'). More information...
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