Christchurch No. 2 / Christchurch Twynham / Christchurch Twyneham / Thvinam

There are two entries for this Christchurch in the Domesday survey [https://opendomesday.org/place/SZ1592/christchurch/] [accessed 12 February 2023]. A priory of secular canons is documented here in the reign of Edward the Confessor. Storer (1812-1813) reports "a house of secular canons of the order of St. Augustine, as early as the year of Our Lord 636" in Christchurch; by the reign of William Rufus (ca. 1056-1100) the house had twenty-four canons; Storer (bid.) adds that, by the mid-12th century there were canons regular of the same order, and that the church "which before was dedicated to the Holy Trinity was now dedicated to Christ." Storer (ibid.) further notes the state of decay of this church towards the year 1809, at which time "The upper part of the fine old font lay broken at the foot of one of the peers on the south side of the nave; and a modern font, singular only for the rudeness and inelegance of its form, had been erected in its place"; after that date, "at the suggestion and by the exertions of the rev. Mr. Bingley, the curate of Christchurch" a restoration of the church was started and the old font was restored. A font is illustrated in the context of the nave in Storer (ibid.) The Victoria County History (Hampshire, vol. 5, 1912) notes: "Nothing is known of the Saxon church, ecclesia primitive, of Christchurch beyond the reference [...] to its destruction by Flambard [Ranulf Flambard, ca. 1060-1128, Norman Bishop of Durham], with nine other churches which stood in the surrounding churchyard, soon after the 'minster' was granted to him by the king. Flambard began to build the Romanesque church, of which much still remains, and its general planning must be attributed to him. At his banishment in 1100 it was unfinished, and his successor, Gilbert de Dousgunels, continued and completed the work [...] In the west bay of the aisle has been another chapel, now reduced to a mere fragment, and this end of the aisle is used for the storage of architectural fragments, gravestones, &c., from various parts of the church. The most interesting of these is a square Purbeck marble font of late 13th-century date, with three subjects on each face of the bowl. On one face are three Old Testament subjects—Noah and the Ark, Samson and the lion, and Moses striking the rock; on the opposite face to this are the coronation of the Virgin, her burial, and the gift of tongues at Pentecost. Of the two other faces, one has three single figures in quatrefoils, probably Christ between the Virgin and St. John, and the other has Christ's baptism, resurrection, and ascension. [...] The modern font, copied from that in the north aisle of the quire, stands under the tower." Drake (1993) mentions the old font here as a possible Tournai font but argues that there is not enough evidence to ascertain its belonging to the group. The Christchurch Priory web site [www.christchurchpriory.org] [accessed 21 March 2012] notes both fonts and illustrates the modern one: "The font is a twentieth century replica of the 1220 marble font which stands in the North Quire Aisle near the Salisbury Chantry. Both fonts depict scenes from the Bible." [cf. Index entry for Muddeford for a possible third font from this Priory]. Noted in Leach (1975) as a font made of Purbeck marble: "bowl with three medallions illustrating scenes from the Life of Christ on each face; supports broken. [source given: E.S. Prior & A. Gardner -- "An Account of Medieval Figure Sculpture in England", 1912].