Holdenhurst / Holeest / Holeherst / Holehurst / Holhurst / Hollehurst / Holnehurst / Holnest / Holnirst

The Gentleman's Magazine (March 1862: 323) reports on the annual meeting of the Christchurch Archaeological Association that took place on 31 December 1861, at which meeting Mr. Argyle, a member of the Association, "exhibited a drawing of the very early font from Holdenhurst Church, now in private hands". The Victoria County History (Hampshire, vol. 5, 1912) notes that the church here "was built in 1834 on the site of the ancient chapel", a chapel that existed already in Holdenhurst at the time of the Domesday Survey; baptismal records exist since 1679. A font is described and illustrated in http://www.1kpl.com/holdenhurst/st-johns-church.htm [accessed 5 April 2009]: "The foundation stone for the New Church was laid on 18th July 1833, by the second Earl of Malmesbury. It was consecrated and opened for Worship on 9th November 1834, by the Bishop of Winchester, being dedicated to St. John the Evangelist. The seating accommodation was for 472 persons. At this time, of finishing and furnishing the New Church, the Font met with a strange adventure, instead of being brought from the Old Church to the New, it was accidentally carted away and lost, until discovered some years later in a garden at Verno, between Hinton Admiral and Christchurch. It was brought back to Holdenhurst and restored to its rightful position." [NB: all other churches in the civil parish of Holdenhurst are modern, according to the VCH entry].