Battle of Mudeford

Mudeford Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Mudeford, Christchurch, Dorset in England. The first lifeboat was stationed on Mudeford Quay 1963 and the present station was opened in 2003. It operates an Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat (ILB).

Mudeford ( MUD-i-fərd) is a harbourside and beachside parish based on a former fishing village in the east of Christchurch, Dorset, England (historically in Hampshire), fronting water on two sides: Christchurch Harbour and the sands of Avon Beach. The River Mude and Bure Brook enter the harbour under the main promenade. In the late 20th century small buffer zones to the north-east, north and north-west were infilled with low-rise housing, and in the 2011 census the Christchurch contiguous urban area, excluding Bournemouth, touching to the west, extending along the coast to take in Barton-on-Sea had 54,210 residents. Mudeford is one of its main tourist and leisure urban centres. The ward had a population density of 24 persons per hectare in 2011. Mudeford includes two woodland areas, Mudeford Woods and Peregrine Woods, a recreation ground on the north side of Stanpit (used to play cricket, probably as far back as the 1860s) and All Saints' Church (built in 1869 as a gift by Mortimer Ricardo, who lived at Bure Homage House).

For the World War II use of this facility, see RAF ChristchurchChristchurch Airfield was located southeast of the A337/B3059 intersection in Somerford, Christchurch, Dorset, England. It was a civil airfield starting from 1926, then it was used during World War II by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force. After the war the airfield returned to civilian use and the airfield complex was then demolished in 1966.

Christchurch Harbour is a natural harbour in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England named after the nearby town of Christchurch. Two rivers, the Avon and the Stour, flow into the Harbour at its northwest corner. The harbour is generally shallow and due to the tidal harmonics in the English Channel has a double high water on each tide. On the north side of the harbour, east of the Avon are Priory Marsh, and to the east of this Stanpit Marsh, a Local Nature Reserve. To the west side of the harbour are Wick Fields, the southern flank of the harbour being bounded by Hengistbury Head, a prominent coastal headland. The harbour flows into the Christchurch Bay and the English Channel through a narrow channel known locally as The Run which rests between Mudeford Quay and Mudeford Spit. Shallow-draught boats can enter from this channel and cruise up stream for 2 miles (3 km) choosing either the Avon or the Stour, the Stour leading up as far as Iford Bridge passing Christchurch Quay and Tuckton. Christchurch Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is a 352-hectare (870-acre) site designated both for its biological and geological interest. It comprises the estuary of the Stour and Avon and the Hengistbury Head peninsula. The varied habitats include saltmarsh, wet meadows, grassland, heath, sand dune, woodland and scrub. The site is of great ornithological interest.

Friars Cliff is a neighborhood and beach in Christchurch, Dorset. It is east of Mudeford and west of Highcliffe.

Royal Air Force Christchurch or more simply RAF Christchurch is a former Royal Air Force satellite station and was located southeast of the A337/B3059 junction in Somerford, Christchurch, Dorset, England. Christchurch Airfield was a civil airfield that started operation from 1926, enlarged for wartime operations in 1941, Christchurch was used during World War II by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force. It returned to civilian flying postwar before being taken over by what became British Aerospace to manufacture jet fighters and civilian airliner types. The airfield complex was finally closed down and demolished in 1966 when housing was built on the site.

Hengistbury Head (), formerly also called Christchurch Head, is a headland jutting into the English Channel between Bournemouth and Mudeford in the English county of Dorset. It is a site of international importance in terms of its archaeology and is scheduled as an Ancient Monument. Declared a Local Nature Reserve in 1990, the head and its surroundings form part of the Christchurch Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is also a Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, an Environmentally Sensitive Area and a Site of Nature Conservation Interest. The name "Hengistbury Head" refers to the whole of the headland area; the elevated portion is called Warren Hill. There has been human activity on the site since the Upper Palaeolithic. During the Victorian era, it was heavily quarried, and in recent years tourism has become significant – it receives more than one million visitors annually. The various habitats on the Head provide a home for many plants, birds and insects, some of them rare and critically endangered. Erosion remains a threat to the site, although long-term projects are intended to secure it for the future.

The Signals Research and Development Establishment (SRDE) was a British government military research establishment, based in Christchurch, Dorset from 1943 until it merged with the Royal Radar Establishment (RRE) in Malvern, Worcestershire to form the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE) in 1976. Its focus was military communications (signals).

Somerford is a district in the unitary authority of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. It lies in the historic county of Dorset. It borders with Mudeford and is intersected by the Somerford Road (B3059). On the north side is an area of residential housing, originally developed as a council estate in the 1950s. The district has three schools: Somerford Infants, Somerford Junior and The Grange School. The present day biggest employer is BAE Systems (previously as Plessey). Historically, the biggest employers were Airspeed, de Havilland and Gardner's.

Warren Hill is the elevated part of Hengistbury Head in Dorset, England, overlooking Christchurch to the North and dominating Poole Bay to the West. With finds stretching back over 10,000 years, it is a site of international importance in terms of its archaeology and is scheduled both as an Ancient Monument, and a Local Nature Reserve. The head and its surroundings form part of the Christchurch Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest. Wind-pruned hummocks of heather cover the plateau of the hill, which is accessible to walkers all year round providing excellent views of the surrounding area, as well as an interesting heathland ecosystem for students of nature.

Withybed Wood is a small, yet important patch of woodland located in the lee of Warren Hill, part of Hengistbury Head, Dorset. It is not to be confused with an area of the Wyre Forest in Shropshire, which also has the same name.

Stanpit is a neighbourhood in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. Stanpit is within Mudeford parish, and is situated on the shore of Christchurch Harbour, 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Christchurch town centre. Traditionally it is part of the historic county of Hampshire, and was a small village until the growth of the South East Dorset conurbation in the 20th century. The Stanpit road connects from the end of the original Mudeford road through to Purewell Cross. Stanpit is mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086) as Stanpeta meaning 2 estates with meadows. On Isaac Taylor's 1759 map of Hampshire it is marked as Stampit.During the 19th-century, the area became known for smuggling and the nearby fishing village of Mudeford was the scene of the so-called 'Battle of Mudeford', a violent conflict between smugglers and revenue men that resulted in the death of a naval officer. The local Scout hut, situated on Stanpit recreation ground is named Orestes after the Royal Navy cutter which took part. The recreation ground is also the site of an annual bonfire and firework event, commemorating the gunpowder plot. It takes place on or around 5 November and includes competitions and refreshments with the proceeds benefitting local youth organisations.