RAF Christchurch

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.

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.

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

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).

The Battle of Mudeford was a skirmish fought between smugglers and Customs and Excise officers which occurred in 1784 on what is now a car park at Mudeford Quay, Mudeford, Christchurch, England near the entrance of Christchurch Harbour. The battle showed how widespread smuggling was at the time and resulted in the death of a Customs officer and subsequent trial and execution of one of the smugglers.

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).

The Grange School is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in the Somerford area of Christchurch in the English county of Dorset. The school mainly admits pupils from the Somerford, Mudeford & Burton areas.

Highcliffe School is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Highcliffe-on-Sea (near Christchurch) in the English county of Dorset.

St John's Church is a Church of England mission church in Purewell, Dorset, England. It was built in 1880–81.

Burton Common is a 32.1-hectare (79-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Bransgore in Hampshire.This dry heath has over-mature heather with a rich bryophyte and lichen flora. There are populations of sand lizards and smooth snakes, both of which are species associated with mature dry heathland. There are also areas of deciduous woodland along the banks of a stream and of Scots pine.

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.