A little History

The Royalty Fishery was acquired by the West Hampshire Water Authority in 1929. Prior to this it had passed into private ownership through a direct grant from the English Crown before the Magna Carta around AD1215. Indeed references to a ‘Royal Fishery’ at Christchurch dates back to AD939.

The title of the ‘Royalty Fishery’ was conferred by royal grant in the reign of Queen Mary and renewed by Elizabeth 1st in the 16th Century, the fishery having devolved to the Crown by forfeiture for an act of treason.

It lies within the Avon Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest and is an integral part of the designation.

All the angling legends over the last 50 years have graced the banks of the Royalty at some time and many still do.

Known in angling circles as the ‘spiritual home’ of the Barbel a lot of the current anglers still favour this species, with specimens of over 16lbs being caught.

There are also specimen fish of many other types including carp & pike over 30lbs, bream over 10lbs, perch over 4lbs roach over 2lbs, chub over 6lbs and dace pushing 1lb

So whether you are looking for the big fish of a lifetime or some fun ‘bagging up’ on the float the royalty can be the place for you.

The Royalty Fishery

The Royalty is on the Hampshire Avon at Christchurch in Dorset which is at the lower end of one of Southern England's best chalk streams. It provides over a mile of double bank fishing and is quite varied. Anglers can opt for fast flowing gravel runs in search of barbel or seek out sheltered pools for carp or bream.

The winter months provide the ideal opportunity to hunt out large pike as they congregate in the slacks on the river. Over the last two seasons the course fishing has greatly improved due to above average rainfall which has given better water quality, this in turn has favoured species such as Barbel and Chub.

Our Guest House faces the famous Royalty Fishery, on the Hampshire Avon, with private access to the public footpath that runs along the fishery