A little to the north-east of the Castle, upon a branch of the Avon which formed at once the Castle moat and the Priory mill stream, stands a large portion of one of the few Norman houses left in this country. It is seventy feet long by thirty feet in breadth, with walls of great thickness. It was built about the middle of the thirteenth century, and is said, on slight authority, to have been the Constable's house. The basement story has widely-splayed loopholes in its north and east walls, and retains portions of the old stone staircases which led to the principal room occupying the whole of the upper story. This upper room was lighted by three Norman windows on each side, enriched with the billet, zigzag, and rosette mouldings. At the north end the arch and shafts remain of a large window decorated with the familiar chevron ornament. Near the centre of the east wall is a fireplace with a very early specimen of a round chimney, which has, however, been restored. In the south gable is a round window, while a small tower, forming a flank, overhangs the stream which flows through it. The building is much overgrown with ivy and creepers, and it is a matter for regret that no efficient means have been taken to preserve so valuable a specimen of late Norman architecture from slowly crumbling to pieces under the influences of the weather. Traces of the other sides of the Castle moat have been discovered in Church Street, Castle Street, and in the boundary of the churchyard. A walk along the bank situated between the Avon proper and the stream that flows by the side of the Norman house leads past the Priory and the churchyard to the Quay, the spot where much of the stone for building the Priory was disembarked. Owing to the estuary of the combined rivers being almost choked with mud and weeds there is very little commercial shipping trade carried on at the Quay, which is now mainly the centre of the town's river life during the summer months, for everyone living at Christchurch seems to own a boat of some kind. During the season motor launches ply several times a day between Christchurch and Mudeford, with its reputation for Christchurch salmon.