St Catherine-by-the-Sea is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

church in Holworth,

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The small wooden church, which forms part of the Watercombe Benefice, holds a service on the fourth Sunday of the month.

History

The church of St Catherine-by-the-Sea was built to serve the scattered population in and around Holworth, all of whom were at least two miles from a church. In circa 1887, the

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The Episcopal see, see is in the Salisbur ...

, the Right Rev.

John Wordsworth John Wordsworth (21 September 1843 – 16 August 1911) was an English Anglican bishop and classical scholar. He was Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford from 1883 to 1885, and Bishop of Salisbury ...

, gave permission to Rev. Robert Linklater of Holworth House for Holy Communion to be celebrated in the house's private chapel. The congregation quickly became too large and services were subsequently held in the house's entrance hall. In circa 1904, a large kitchen in a nearby cottage owned by Mr. and Mrs. Edward Duke of Dorchester was also made available to local inhabitants for Divine service. A small wooden church, dedicated to St Catherine-by-the-Sea, opened for Divine service on 15 July 1906. The woodwork of the church was done by Mr. Moore of

Owermoigne Owermoigne ( ) is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England, situated south-east of Dorchester. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 467. The parish is within an electoral ward with the same name, wh ...

and all masonry work by Mr. Walter Toms of

Winfrith Newburgh Winfrith Newburgh (), commonly called just Winfrith, is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is about west of Wareham and east of the county town Dorchester. It was historically part of the Winfrith hundred. In the 2011 Census ...

. In August 1906, the chapel was presented with a bible gifted by Mr. and Mrs. E. Barnaby-Duke. It was dedicated on 12 August and first used during that day's evening service by Rev. Pickard-Cambridge, the rector of

Warmwell Warmwell is a small village and civil parish in south west Dorset, England, situated on the B3390 road about southeast of Dorchester. In 2013 the estimated population of the parish was 80. Warmwell contains several historic buildings, includ ...

. On the death of Mrs. Mary Catherine Linklater, Rev. Linklater's wife, in 1942, she bequeathed £200 towards the church and also part of her property at Holworth for its future upkeep.

2010 refurbishment and extension

In 2002, it was discovered that the Linklater Trust, which had been left by Rev. Linklater on his death in 1915, had approximately £200,000 to spend on the church. Proposals were made to demolish the existing building and build a replacement, which was met with opposition from members of the congregation. A petition was launched to retain the existing church. In 2003, after facing pressure from local opposition and from Save Britain's Heritage, the trustees dropped their redevelopment plans. In 2010, planning permission was granted to carry out alterations to the church, which included adding a single-storey extension on the north and east sides. In addition to the extensions, the church was extensively refurbished. A new east window, designed by Simon Whistler, was installed as part of the project, as was a new electric organ.

Fittings

The church's bell was gifted by Lieutenant Commander Michael Forder of the Royal Navy. It originally belonged to the S-class submarine HMS ''Sleuth'' and was given to Forder by the Admiralty. It hung outside his house for a number of years before he gifted it to the church.Information on the 'Sleuth' Bell on noticeboard inside the church of St Catherine-by-the-Sea at Holworth

References

External links

Watercombe Benefice website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Catherine-by-the-Sea, Holworth Churches in Dorset Church of England church buildings in Dorset Wooden churches in England