Highcliffe

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 50.7414
longitude= -1.6959
official_name= Highcliffe
map_type = Dorset
population =
shire_district= Christchurch
shire_county = Dorset
region= South West England
constituency_westminster= Christchurch
post_town= CHRISTCHURCH
postcode_district = BH23
postcode_area= BH
dial_code= 01425
os_grid_reference= SZ214936

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.

Area

Highcliffe lies close to the historic Town of Christchurch and the city 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 Junior and Highcliffe School, a noteworthy Comprehensive. There are also Independent Preparatory and Secondary schools local to the area.

History

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thumb|left|250px|A_picture_of_the_Globe_Inn_in_the_1900s.] 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 were also contained large farmsteads. Slop Pond was a collection of thatch cottages, 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 [http://www.highcliffecastle.co.uk/] , 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 [http://www.highcliffecastle.co.uk/] 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. 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 [http://www.chewtonglen.com/] ); 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. [ [http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10015923 Christchurch CP/AP Hampshire through time.] ]

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 polpularity 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.

References

External links

* [http://www.highcliffedorset.co.uk/ Highcliffe-On-Sea Website]
* [http://www.highcliffecastle.co.uk/ Highcliffe Castle Website]