Somerford, Dorset

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.

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.

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.

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).

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).

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

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).

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

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.

Burton is a village in the civil parish of Burton and Winkton, administered (since April 2019) as part of the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority, in the historic county of Hampshire and the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. The parish is elevated above the Avon Valley on a gravel plateau and includes the village of Burton, plus the hamlets of Winkton, Holfleet, North Bockhampton, Middle Bockhampton and South Bockhampton. The toponymy of Burton suggests an Anglo-Saxon settlement but the first record of the name appears in twelfth-century records. It is thought that this is because it has always been viewed as an extension of Christchurch. Certainly, there is evidence of human habitation there as far back as the mesolithic. The oldest existing parts date back to at least the early 18th century. Greatly expanded in the 1970s, today the population is around 4,000, residing in more than 1,700 dwellings which extend to within 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) of the Christchurch urban area. Burton has a much younger age demographic than the rest of Christchurch and the vast majority of the inhabitants identify as White British. More than 30% of villagers are non-religious but those who are, are mainly Christian. The village holds a number of annual events including a veteran's day and an Easter egg hunt. Church services are also held on the green at Easter and Christmas including carols around the tree. There are a number of listed buildings in the village including the parish church of St Luke, built in 1874-75 and designed by Benjamin Ferrey, and Burton Hall, a large 18th-century residence with grade II* status. Arguably Burton's most famous resident was the poet and writer Robert Southey who lived there between 1799 and 1805 and where he wrote his well known fairytale, Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

St. Luke's Church is a Church of England parish church in Burton, Dorset, England. It was designed by Benjamin Ferrey & Son and opened in 1875. The church has been a Grade II listed building since 1976. Historic England describe St Luke's as a "pleasing Victorian Gothic village church", with "a careful use of materials", "good Victorian fittings" and "a sense of honest simplicity".