Chewton Glen Spa

Chewton Bunny Nature Reserve, Highcliffe on Sea, Christchurch, Dorset. England. ( 3 )

Highcliffe-on-Sea ( usually abbreviated to Highcliffe ) 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. In 1838 a large ship the Herman Julius 336 tons, was wrecked at Chuton ( Chewton ) Bunny. The crew of 11 were saved, one was lost overboard before she struck. Bemister and Holloway purchased the wreck.
In 1999 The Highcliffe Stables Community Trust tried to save the 100 year old stable block at The Globe as an exhibition centre for the community but poor construction and lack of funds made it impossible. Christchurch Council applied and obtained a licence to hold wedding ceremonies at the Castle. In 1999 there were six weddings. In 2003 the number was 120 weddings.
In 1994 Major restoration of Highcliffe Castle was assured with a grant of £2.6 million from the Lottery Fund
Highcliffe lies close to the historic town of Christchurch, the resort town of Bournemouth, and the New Forest National Park. Highcliffe's position on the middle of England's south coast gives it a climate with milder winters than inland areas and less rainfall than locations further west. This helped establish the town as a popular health and leisure resort during the late Victorian and early Edwardian eras.
What is now regarded as Highcliffe has developed over the last several hundred years from the hamlet of Slop Pond, the Chewton Estate, and Chewton Common. The latter two also contained large farmsteads. Slop Pond was a collection of thatched cottages, named from the large pond on its common. The cottages were said[by whom?] 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 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 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.
Chewton Bunny Nature Reserve is an ancient wooded river valley which forms the county boundary between Dorset and Hampshire. The Walkford Brook flows through the site, entering a culvert and eventually flowing out to sea.
A chine is a steep-sided river valley where the river flows to the sea through, typically, soft eroding coastal cliffs of sandstone or clays. The word chine originates from the Saxon Cinan meaning a gap or yawn. The word is in still use in central Southern England; in East Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight to describe such topographical features. However, 'bunny' is also used to describe a chine in Hampshire, Chewton Bunny is designated as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest and is rich in woodland wildlife, including a number of Ancient Natural Woodland Indicator species. The mill house in the centre of the site ( now a private residence ) previously used a waterwheel in the Brook to mill grain and the cover given by the site made it a convenient smuggling route for contraband in the past. At the north end of the site the Brook also passes under the first ever reinforced concrete bridge.

Chewton Bunny Nature Reserve, Highcliffe on Sea, Christchurch, Dorset. England. ( 4 )

Highcliffe-on-Sea ( usually abbreviated to Highcliffe ) 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. In 1838 a large ship the Herman Julius 336 tons, was wrecked at Chuton ( Chewton ) Bunny. The crew of 11 were saved, one was lost overboard before she struck. Bemister and Holloway purchased the wreck.
In 1999 The Highcliffe Stables Community Trust tried to save the 100 year old stable block at The Globe as an exhibition centre for the community but poor construction and lack of funds made it impossible. Christchurch Council applied and obtained a licence to hold wedding ceremonies at the Castle. In 1999 there were six weddings. In 2003 the number was 120 weddings.
In 1994 Major restoration of Highcliffe Castle was assured with a grant of £2.6 million from the Lottery Fund
Highcliffe lies close to the historic town of Christchurch, the resort town of Bournemouth, and the New Forest National Park. Highcliffe's position on the middle of England's south coast gives it a climate with milder winters than inland areas and less rainfall than locations further west. This helped establish the town as a popular health and leisure resort during the late Victorian and early Edwardian eras.
What is now regarded as Highcliffe has developed over the last several hundred years from the hamlet of Slop Pond, the Chewton Estate, and Chewton Common. The latter two also contained large farmsteads. Slop Pond was a collection of thatched cottages, named from the large pond on its common. The cottages were said[by whom?] 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 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 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.
Chewton Bunny Nature Reserve is an ancient wooded river valley which forms the county boundary between Dorset and Hampshire. The Walkford Brook flows through the site, entering a culvert and eventually flowing out to sea.
A chine is a steep-sided river valley where the river flows to the sea through, typically, soft eroding coastal cliffs of sandstone or clays. The word chine originates from the Saxon Cinan meaning a gap or yawn. The word is in still use in central Southern England; in East Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight to describe such topographical features. However, 'bunny' is also used to describe a chine in Hampshire, Chewton Bunny is designated as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest and is rich in woodland wildlife, including a number of Ancient Natural Woodland Indicator species. The mill house in the centre of the site ( now a private residence ) previously used a waterwheel in the Brook to mill grain and the cover given by the site made it a convenient smuggling route for contraband in the past. At the north end of the site the Brook also passes under the first ever reinforced concrete bridge.

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