Holnest
| Holnest | |
| Dorset | |
|---|---|
 Holnest parish church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | ST655102 |
| Location: | 50°53’13"N, 2°29’21"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 220 (2013 est.) |
| Post town: | Sherborne |
| Postcode: | DT9 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Dorset |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
West Dorset |
Holnest is a village in Dorset. It lies in the Blackmore Vale four miles south of Sherborne.
This is a scattered village, sited on Oxford clay[1] which is drained by a small stream called The Cam. The A352 main road passes through the village. A mid-year estimate of the population of the parish in 2013 was 220. The 2011 census recorded the population of Holnest parish combined with the small parish of Lillington to the north as 342.
Parish church
Holnest parish church stands behind a wall and large gates close to the main road. The gates are the result of a mausoleum which used to stand in the churchyard.[2] This had been built in 1872 by John Samuel Wanley Sawbridge Erle-Drax as part of his preparations for his own funeral, but no provision was made for its upkeep and after his death and interment in 1887 it fell into disrepair and was later demolished.[3] A description of the building was given in 1906 by Sir Frederick Treves, who said it was "almost as large as the humble church" and "a gaudy building, in the Byzantine style, made up of grey and yellow stone, worried by much carving and enlivened by highly polished granite pillars. The rounded roof, which to be consistent should be of corrugated iron, is of lead.".[4]
The church has a most unusual dedication for an Anglican church: 'the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin'. It dates largely to the 14th and 15th centuries.[5] Largely left untouched by the Victorian restorers, it contains a number of interesting features, including a Jacobean pulpit, rare examples of Georgian box pews with curved candle sconces above, an original mediæval barrel-vaulted roof in the south aisle.[5] In June 2016, the Friends of Holnest Church was set up to support the Parochial Church Council in their efforts to maintain and restore the building and its grounds.[6]
Manor house
Holnest Park House is an 18th-century listed building which has more recently been divided into flats. It was badly damaged by a fire in 2010.[7]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Holnest) |
References
- ↑ Ralph Wightman (1983). Portrait of Dorset (4 ed.). Robert Hale Ltd. p. 17. ISBN 0 7090 0844 9.
- ↑ Roland Gant (1980). Dorset Villages. Robert Hale Ltd. p. 63. ISBN 0 7091 8135 3.
- ↑ Alan J Miller (January 2011). "Three cheers for Sawbridge Drax". Dorset Life Magazine. http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2011/01/three-cheers-for-sawbridge-drax/. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
- ↑ Sir Frederick Treves (1906). Highways and Byways in Dorset. Macmillan & Co. Ltd. p. 331. https://archive.org/details/highwaysandbywa00penngoog.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Friends of Holnest Church
- ↑ "Friends of Holnest Church website". Friends of Holnest Church. http://www.friendsofholnestchurch.wordpress.com.
- ↑ "Fire hit Dorset stately home at risk of collapsing". BBC. 24 January 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/8477469.stm. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
