ALL SAINTS is marching on towards becoming Mudeford parish church after 136 years under the shadow of Christchurch Priory.

From September 1 Mudeford will officially become a parish in its own right after the Queen, as head of the Church of England, signed and sealed the necessary documents.

At the heart of the redrawn ecclesiastical parish bounded by Somerford Road, Bure Lane and the shoreline of Christchurch Harbour will be the 19th century All Saints church originally built by local benefactor Ricardo Mortimer as a chapel of ease for local fishermen and the growing number of seaside villas.

Built in 1869 and dedicated to All Saints in 1931, the Mudeford chapel had always been part of the Christchurch parish and a daughter church of the Priory.

But the growth of the area (an estimated 8,000 souls now live in the proposed new parish) sparked calls to make All Saints independent of the Priory - a move welcomed by Vicar of Christchurch, the Rev Canon Hugh Williams.

He said: "An independent All Saints will make Christchurch parish easier to manage but more importantly parish status acknowledges the excellent way All Saints has managed its affairs. The time is now right for change."

Following the confirmation of parish status, a special meeting will be called at All Saints on September 11 to elect churchwardens and appoint a 15-member parochial church council.

The next step will be to have All Saints consecrated as a parish church by the Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, in the autumn.

But the new parish will be without a vicar until the appointment, possibly not until early next year, of a successor to former priest-in-charge the Rev Andrew Saunders who retired on health grounds in June.

Meanwhile, the Mudeford congregation is being ministered by a rota of retired clergy and parochial reader Catherine Bryant while church leaders are already planning to extend All Saints' ministry into the community, especially families and young people.

Current pro-warden Anthea Bell said: "All Saints has always embraced the challenge of change and will continue to make every effort to meet the spiritual and social needs of the diverse and rapidly-changing Mudeford community."

First published: August 29