on, a
landmark from afar, its mass of gray masonry catching the eye from away
over the sea. The church is of large dimensions, cruciform in plan, with
short transepts, and a Lady chapel having the unusual peculiarity of an
upper story. It is about three hundred and ten feet long, with the
tower at the western end, and a large northern porch. The oldest part of
the church was built in the twelfth century by Flambard, Bishop of
Durham, who was granted this priory by William Rufus. Subsequently, he
fell into disfavor, and the priory became a college of the Augustinians.
Only the nave and transepts are left of his Norman church, the remainder
being of later construction. The north porch, which has an extremely
rich Decorated doorway, is of unusual size, having an upper chamber, and
dating from the thirteenth century. The nave is of great beauty, being
separated from the aisles by massive semicircular arches, rich in
general effect, with a triforium above consisting of a double arcade,
making it worthy to compete with the finest naves in England. The
clerestory is more modern, being of Pointed Gothic, and the aisles are
also of later construction: the northern aisle contains a beam to which
is attached the legend that the timber was drawn out as if an elastic
material "by the touch of a strange workman who wrought without wages
and never spoke a word with his fellows." The western tower is of
Perpendicular architecture, added by the later builders, and beneath it
is the handsome marble monument erected to the memory of the poet
Shelley, drowned at Spezzia in 1822: his family lived near Christchurch.
The tower contains a peal of eight bells, two of them ancient, and from
the belfry there is a noble view over the valleys of the two rivers, the
distant moorlands and woods of the New Forest, the estuary winding
seaward and glittering in the sun, while beneath are the houses and
gardens of the town spread out as on a map. Among the many monuments in
the church is that to Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, the last of the
line who possessed the priory, and the closing heiress of the race of
Plantagenets. She was the mother of Cardinal Pole, who upheld the cause
of the pope against Henry VIII., and she was a prisoner in the Tower,
held as hostage for his good behavior. At seventy years of age she was
ordered out for execution, but refused to lay her head upon the block,
saying, "So should traitors do, and I am none." Then, the historia