All Saints’, Hordle

With a commanding view over the cliff edge and the English Channel, the first church building in the parish was sited in what we now know as "the old churchyard" at Hordle Cliff, as a focus for the Hordle parishioners, for that was where the village first was.

Over time, the village moved in-land - and so did its church. The present church in which the parishioners of today worship was built in 1872 - but that was not the first building on the site!

In 1830, the foundation stone of a new church, located two miles inland at "Downton Common" (the site of the church as we know it today), was laid and consecration of the new building took place in April 1831.  Forty years later, when some changes in the church structure were proposed, it was discovered that they could not be carried out due to the poor quality of the existing building.  Like its predecessor on the cliff top, this building too had to be demolished and a new one constructed on the same site.

In 1872, the present building was constructed and consecrated on the 8th June.  The Bishop of Winchester, Samuel Wilberforce, officiated at the service, at the end of which a collection raised £45 which was to be dedicated to the purchase of the organ - installed the following year in 1873 and built by the renowned London firm of organ builders, Thomas C. Lewis.

St. Andrew's, Tiptoe

In 1886, a fund was started with the intention of providing the growing population in the north of the parish with a church.  Within a few months, sufficient money had been raised to purchase a redundant corrugated iron building - a chapel, from Netley Hospital.  It was brought to Tiptoe that same year.

This in turn was deemed to be inadequate for its role.  A more permanent structure was proposed and eventually the new church, dedicated to St. Andrew, was built in 1904 at a cost of £1,500.  It was built by Tom Pike of Milford.  The little iron chapel then became the church hall - eventually outliving its usefulness, and a brick replacement was built adjacent to the church in 1996.

Further reading

The Story of Hordle Parish and its Churches (Jude James - local historian)

The Story of St. Andrew's Church, Tiptoe (Stanley Lane)