Christchurch is a town in Dorset, south England on the English Channel coast. The town has a population of 44,869 (2001), 40% of whom are retired. It was originally a Saxon settlement called Twyneham, which meant the settlement between two rivers. The Avon and the Stour both enter the sea in Christchurch Harbour.
The town centre is dominated by the Priory church. Christchurch forms part of the Southeast Dorset conurbation along with Bournemouth, Poole and the district of Wimborne.
The current local government district and borough was formed in April 1, 1974 by the merger of the old borough of Christchurch with part of Ringwood and Fordingbridge Rural District. It was previously in Hampshire.
