Highcliffe
Encyclopedia
Highcliffe-on-Sea is a small town in the borough of Christchurch, Dorset
in southern England. It forms part of the South East Dorset conurbation
along the English Channel
coast. The town lies on a picturesque stretch of Solent
coastline with views of the Isle of Wight
and its 'Needles
' rock formation.
and the town of Bournemouth
, both of which provide Theatres and Cinemas and other cultural entertainments.
Highcliffe's climate
is renowned for being extremely mild, with warmer winters and less rainfall than surrounding areas. This helped establish the town as a popular health and leisure resort during the late Victorian and early Edwardian eras.
Education is well provided for, with Highcliffe St Mark Primary School and Highcliffe School
. There are also Independent Preparatory and Secondary schools local to the area in New Milton
and Barton on Sea
.
, and Chewton Common. The latter two were also contained large farmsteads. Slop Pond was a collection of thatch cottage
s, named from the large pond on its common. The cottages were said to be occupied by farm workers and fishermen, who engaged in the smuggling and poaching trade now notorious in local history.
When the area became a more popular tourist destination in the Victorian era
, Slop Pond was renamed Newtown. It was later then changed to Highcliff, after the first High Cliff house, and soon became known as Highcliffe-on-Sea.
Between 1831 and 1835, Lord Stuart de Rothesay
built a Gothic Revival home Highcliffe Castle
on the site of High Cliff house, his father's Georgian estate. The design, by William Donthorne
, a founder member of RIBA
, incorporated large quantities of carved Medieval stonework salvaged from the Norman Benedictine Abbey of St Peter at Jumieges
and the Grande Maison des Andelys. Highcliffe Castle is now a Grade 1 listed building described as "the most important remaining example of the Romantic and Picturesque style of architecture", and now holds events throughout the year open to the general public. It is also a popular venue for weddings and other private events.
The area also has a strong literary connection and was once a centre for Wicca
with Gerald Gardner
living in Highlands Avenue. Captain Frederick Marryat
, author of The Children of The New Forest, was a regular visitor to the house on the Chewton estate (now the locally renowned Chewton Glen Hotel, Spa and Country Club
); and the adventure story author Colonel R.W. Campbell, veteran of the Boer and Great wars, was also a local resident.
Highcliffe was annexed by Christchurch in 1932.
There has been a rise in redevelopment in the town to counteract the vast shortage of housing, some of which has inevitably caused local controversy. This development has also seen a small resurgence of up-market restaurants and cafes, rejuvenating the once tired High-Street.
Christchurch, Dorset
Christchurch is a borough and town in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. The town adjoins Bournemouth in the west and the New Forest lies to the east. Historically in Hampshire, it joined Dorset with the reorganisation of local government in 1974 and is the most easterly borough in...
in southern England. It forms part of the South East Dorset conurbation
South East Dorset conurbation
The South east Dorset conurbation is a multi-centred conurbation on the south coast of Dorset in England. The area is rapidly becoming an amalgamation with the area of South West Hampshire immediately on the fringe of the newly formed New Forest National Park...
along the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
coast. The town lies on a picturesque stretch of Solent
Solent
The Solent is a strait separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of England.The Solent is a major shipping route for passengers, freight and military vessels. It is an important recreational area for water sports, particularly yachting, hosting the Cowes Week sailing event annually...
coastline with views of the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
and its 'Needles
The Needles
The Needles is a row of three distinctive stacks of chalk that rise out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight, England, close to Alum Bay. The Needles lighthouse stands at the end of the formation...
' rock formation.
Area
Highcliffe lies close to the historic Town of ChristchurchChristchurch, Dorset
Christchurch is a borough and town in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. The town adjoins Bournemouth in the west and the New Forest lies to the east. Historically in Hampshire, it joined Dorset with the reorganisation of local government in 1974 and is the most easterly borough in...
and the town of Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
, both of which provide Theatres and Cinemas and other cultural entertainments.
Highcliffe's climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
is renowned for being extremely mild, with warmer winters and less rainfall than surrounding areas. This helped establish the town as a popular health and leisure resort during the late Victorian and early Edwardian eras.
Education is well provided for, with Highcliffe St Mark Primary School and Highcliffe School
Highcliffe School
Highcliffe School is a Foundation school for students aged 11–19 and a specialist Language College, situated in Highcliffe-on-Sea in the borough of Christchurch, Dorset in southern England.-Features:...
. There are also Independent Preparatory and Secondary schools local to the area in New Milton
New Milton
New Milton is a market town in south west Hampshire, England. The town has a high street and holds a market every Wednesday. Situated on the edge of the New Forest, the town is about 6 miles west of Lymington town centre and 12 miles east of Bournemouth town centre.-History:New Milton dates back...
and Barton on Sea
Barton on Sea
Barton on Sea is a coastal village situated in Hampshire, England. As a settlement, Barton has a history dating back to Anglo-Saxon times, although the modern village was largely built in the 20th century. It is effectively a suburb of New Milton...
.
History
What is now regarded as Highcliffe has developed over the last several hundred years from the hamlet of Slop Pond, the Chewton EstateChewton Glen
Chewton Glen is a five star hotel and spa located on the edge of the New Forest National Park on the South Coast of England.Chewton Glen House dates from the early 18th century and Captain Frederick Marryat stayed here for periods in the 1840s, during which time he was writing the novel The...
, and Chewton Common. The latter two were also contained large farmsteads. Slop Pond was a collection of thatch cottage
Cottage
__toc__In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all...
s, named from the large pond on its common. The cottages were said to be occupied by farm workers and fishermen, who engaged in the smuggling and poaching trade now notorious in local history.
When the area became a more popular tourist destination in the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
, Slop Pond was renamed Newtown. It was later then changed to Highcliff, after the first High Cliff house, and soon became known as Highcliffe-on-Sea.
Between 1831 and 1835, Lord Stuart de Rothesay
Charles Stuart, 1st Baron Stuart de Rothesay
Charles Stuart, 1st Baron Stuart de Rothesay GCB, PC , known as Sir Charles Stuart between 1812 and 1828, was a British diplomat...
built a Gothic Revival home Highcliffe Castle
Highcliffe Castle
Highcliffe Castle, situated on the cliffs at Highcliffe, Dorset, was built between 1831 and 1835 by Charles Stuart, 1st Baron Stuart de Rothesay in a Gothic Revival style on the site of High Cliff house, a Georgian Mansion designed for the 3rd Earl of Bute with the gardens laid out by Capability...
on the site of High Cliff house, his father's Georgian estate. The design, by William Donthorne
William Donthorne
William John Donthorne was a notable English architect of the early 19th century and one of the founders of what became the Royal Institute of British Architects .Donthorn was born in Norfolk and was a pupil of Sir Jeffry Wyattville...
, a founder member of RIBA
Riba
Riba means one of the senses of "usury" . Riba is forbidden in Islamic economic jurisprudence fiqh and considered as a major sin...
, incorporated large quantities of carved Medieval stonework salvaged from the Norman Benedictine Abbey of St Peter at Jumieges
Jumièges
Jumièges is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A forestry and farming village situated in a meander of the river Seine, some west of Rouen, at the junction of the D65 and the D143 roads...
and the Grande Maison des Andelys. Highcliffe Castle is now a Grade 1 listed building described as "the most important remaining example of the Romantic and Picturesque style of architecture", and now holds events throughout the year open to the general public. It is also a popular venue for weddings and other private events.
The area also has a strong literary connection and was once a centre for Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
with Gerald Gardner
Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brousseau Gardner , who sometimes used the craft name Scire, was an influential English Wiccan, as well as an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist, writer, weaponry expert and occultist. He was instrumental in bringing the Neopagan religion of Wicca to public attention in Britain and...
living in Highlands Avenue. Captain Frederick Marryat
Frederick Marryat
Captain Frederick Marryat was an English Royal Navy officer, novelist, and a contemporary and acquaintance of Charles Dickens, noted today as an early pioneer of the sea story...
, author of The Children of The New Forest, was a regular visitor to the house on the Chewton estate (now the locally renowned Chewton Glen Hotel, Spa and Country Club
Chewton Glen
Chewton Glen is a five star hotel and spa located on the edge of the New Forest National Park on the South Coast of England.Chewton Glen House dates from the early 18th century and Captain Frederick Marryat stayed here for periods in the 1840s, during which time he was writing the novel The...
); and the adventure story author Colonel R.W. Campbell, veteran of the Boer and Great wars, was also a local resident.
Highcliffe was annexed by Christchurch in 1932.
Modern times
After a few years of relative obscurity, Highcliffe is gradually returning to its heyday as a seaside resort. Fuelled by its enviable location and the popularity of The Chewton Glen Country Club, the Highcliffe Golf Course, and the Nature Reserve at Steamer Point, Highcliffe is becoming a popular area for those relocating to the coast.There has been a rise in redevelopment in the town to counteract the vast shortage of housing, some of which has inevitably caused local controversy. This development has also seen a small resurgence of up-market restaurants and cafes, rejuvenating the once tired High-Street.