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The Constable's House
also known as The Norman House
pictured from near castle
situated a hundred or so metres to the west
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The mediaeval
Constable
's House (sometimes also known as the Norman House or Castle Hall)
is a domestic building which was the residence of the official charged with
custody of the castle
, a hundred or so metres away to the west, during the absence of the
Lord of the Manor
.
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Sir Thomas West, a constable of the
castle
who died as the 15th cntury was beginning, is buried in the Lady Chapel
at the nearby Priory Church
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It is thought to have
been built around 1160 by Richard de Redvers, second Earl of Devon, who
held the manor of Christchurch from 1155 until 1162.
Now consisting only of the roofless masonry walls, the building
had two stories, the upper being the hall proper with a timber floor of
which only the holes in the walls 
which supported the joists remain. The lower story has only narrow 'slit'
windows
to prevent entry and was used as a store-room. The eastern wall, that along
which runs the Mill Stream, was the curtain wall of the site and is much
thicker than the other three walls. |
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The upper, reached by means of a spiral stone staircase
erected within the walls of the north-east corner
is thought to have been divided by a partition into two portions: one room
serving as the private quarters of the constable, the other where guests
might be entertained. |
Rude though its accomodations
seem to our modern eyes, the Constable's House did possess its refinements
- a fireplace
of the most generous proportions with its cylindrical chimney
still intact and the remains of the ruined garderobe tower
standing over the Mill Stream to serve as an early form of water closet
in times of otherwise poor sanitation. Despite the ruinous condition of
the garderobe tower, the mediaeval arches over the water channel are practically
undisturbed. Closer inspection of the hall also reveals finely worked stone
to the reveals of the stone mullioned windows
whose round heads are ornamented with the chevron and diaper design which
is the hallmark of the Norman conquerors. By its craftmanship, this was obviously
no rude cottage but a building which advertised wealth and power to townsman
and visitor alike.
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