Christchurch shown within Dorset

Christchurch is a town in Dorset with a population of about 35,000. It was originally a Saxon settlement called Twyneham, which meant the settlement between two rivers. The Avon and the Stour both enter the sea in Christchurch Harbour.

The town centre is dominated by the Priory. Christchurch forms part of the Southeast Dorset conurbation along with Bournemouth, Poole and the district of Wimborne, (see Wimborne Minster).