Holnest

{{Short description|Village and civil parish in Dorset, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use British English|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox UK place |country = England |official_name = Holnest |static_image_name = Holnest church - geograph.org.uk - 316505.jpg |static_image_caption = Holnest parish church |coordinates = {{coord|50.8869|-2.4891|display=inline,title}} |population = 220 |population_ref = <ref name=dfy>{{cite web|url=https://www.dorsetforyou.com/344882|title=Parish Population Data|publisher=[[Dorset County Council]]|date=20 January 2015|accessdate=1 March 2015}}</ref> |unitary_england = [[Dorset (unitary authority)|Dorset]] |lieutenancy_england = [[Dorset]] |post_town = Sherborne |postcode_area = DT |postcode_district = DT9 |constituency_westminster = [[West Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)|West Dorset]] |region = South West England |os_grid_reference = ST655102 }}

'''Holnest''' is a village and [[Civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in the [[English county|county]] of [[Dorset]] in southern [[England]]. It lies in the [[Blackmore Vale]] {{Convert|4|mi|km}} south of [[Sherborne]]. It is a [[scattered village]], sited on [[Oxford clay]]<ref>{{cite book|author=Ralph Wightman|author-link=Ralph Wightman|title=Portrait of Dorset|publisher=Robert Hale Ltd|year=1983|page=17|edition=4|isbn=0 7090 0844 9}}</ref> which is drained by a small stream called The Cam. The [[A352 road|A352 main road]] passes through the village. [[Dorset County Council]]'s 2013 mid-year estimate of the population of the parish is 220.<ref name=dfy/> In the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 national census]] the population of Holnest parish combined with the small parish of [[Lillington, Dorset|Lillington]] to the north was 342;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11124712&c=Holnest&d=16&e=62&g=6418355&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1392372786292&enc=1|publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]|title=Area: Holnest (Parish), Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics|work=Neighbourhood Statistics|accessdate=14 February 2014|archive-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021055823/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11124712&c=Holnest&d=16&e=62&g=6418355&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1392372786292&enc=1|url-status=dead}}</ref> figures have so far not been published for Holnest parish alone.

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.<ref name=Gant>{{cite book|title=Dorset Villages|author=Roland Gant|page=63|year=1980|publisher=Robert Hale Ltd|isbn=0 7091 8135 3}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dorsetlife.co.uk/2011/01/three-cheers-for-sawbridge-drax/|title=Three cheers for Sawbridge Drax|author=Alan J Miller|publisher=Dorset Life Magazine|date=January 2011|accessdate=13 February 2014}}</ref> A description of the building was given in 1906 by [[Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet|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.".<ref>{{cite book|title=Highways and Byways in Dorset|url=https://archive.org/details/highwaysandbywa00penngoog|author=Sir Frederick Treves|author-link=Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet|year=1906|publisher=Macmillan & Co. Ltd|page=[https://archive.org/details/highwaysandbywa00penngoog/page/n359 331]}}</ref>

The church, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, dates largely to the 14th and 15th centuries.<ref name="Friends of Holnest Church website">{{Cite web|url=http://www.friendsofholnestchurch.wordpress.com/history|title=Friends of Holnest Church website|last=|first=|date=|website=Friends of Holnest Church|publisher=|access-date=14 October 2016}}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> 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 medieval barrel-vaulted roof in the south aisle.<ref name="Friends of Holnest Church website"/> In June 2016, 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.friendsofholnestchurch.wordpress.com|title=Friends of Holnest Church website|last=|first=|date=|website=Friends of Holnest Church|publisher=Friends of Holnest Church|access-date=10 October 2016}}</ref> In October 2016, author and historian, [[Adrian Tinniswood]], was announced as their patron.

Holnest Park House is an 18th-century [[Listed building (United Kingdom)|listed building]] which has more recently been divided into flats. It was badly damaged by a fire in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/dorset/8477469.stm|publisher=BBC|title=Fire hit Dorset stately home at risk of collapsing |access-date=14 February 2014|date=24 January 2010|author=}}</ref> {{clear|right}}

==Notes== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Holnest}}

[[Category:Villages in Dorset]]