At Holtwood our facilities are available both for church and community use -  a large hall which is ideal for concerts, drama, conferences, awaydays, parties, etc., a fully equiped kitchen, showers and toilets.  Our Sunday School Room is also available for smaller meetings.  The premises are ideal for weekend visits by organised groups and an adjacent field called Chapel Ground is also available for hire.  Weekend visitors are very welcome to join with us at our 10.45 Sunday services at which there are a variety of worship styles and opportunities, followed by coffee and biscuits.   For more information and bookings please contact Anne Sanyal on (01202) 880201 or e-mail: brian-anne@freeuk.com

Here are a couple of pictures of the completed hall - one was taken from the field at the back of the hall which really gives the impression of a church in the woods and the other one was taken from the side which also shows nearby Horton Tower.  It is this field that has recently been purchased. 

2010 LATEST NEWS -  Country and gospel music legend George Hamilton IV appeared at Holtwood on 20th February to present "Easter in the Country" supported by Becky Shears and myself.  The evening was a real blessing for the audience who had come from near and far - thank you all for your support. 

The Holtwood Summer Fete will be on Saturday 3rd July and will be opened by Marilyn Barber, news editor of the Dorset Stour and Avon Magzine.

Dorset Police Male Voice Choir will be in concert on 18th December.

2009 HIGHLIGHTS SO FAR:- 

March - at the HPC on the 6th photographer Roger Holman presented his acclaimed  "Dorset Landscapes and the Jurassic Coast".   Roger is a local photographer with an international reputation and you can visit his website here.

April - the HPC on Friday 3rd featured Revd. Stewart Timbrell with his talk "Clerical Errors".

May - on Bank Holiday Monday 4th we held an enjoyable a Rural Ramble followed by a barbecue.

June - on Friday 5th the HPC had an illustrated talk by Pearl and Roger Higgins on the Alpha India Foundation.  There was also an opportunity to buy Indian products. 

July - on Saturday 4th our Summer Fete was officially opened by Ruth Oliver who is a BBC Radio 4 producer, the "Faith Matters" columnist for the Bournemouth Daily Echo and a former presenter with Hope FM.  You can find out more about Ruth by clicking here   The fete kicked off with a barbecue and ended with strawberry cream teas.  There was a full day of musical entertainment from Pete & Sarah Emberley and Sharon Pearcey, Adrian Bowyer Band, Route 66 Band, Ralph Ward & Rob Aston (unplugged).  There was also be a visit from Wimborne Community Theatre, a dancing display from the Dolphin Cheerleaders and some ceilidh dancing with Dotty Crochets & caller Sandra Singleton  .... and that's not all - there was a wide variety of stalls, games for all ages and a balloon race.  Thank you to everyone who helped to make the fete such a success - as well as making many new friends and having a great time, more than £1,250 was raised which will help tremendously in helping the church to make ends meet!

September - we were delighted to welcome The Yetties in concert at Holtwood Hall on 19th September.  The hall was packed, a great time was had by all and about £350 was raised.  Click here to visit The Yetties website.

October - after its summer break the HPC returned with a talk (with DVD) by Brian & Pat Dryden on Rotary Club Emergency Boxes, a charity evening to support the project which delivers a tent, sleeping bags and other essentials to those who have lost their homes in earthquakes, floods, etc - all in one box!   Each emergency box costs £500 and, following the HPC evening, we were delighted that a box has been funded.  We can even track it to the exact place where it will be delivered!

December - on the 4th Becky Shears and myself gave a concert of Christmas & Advent songs & carols - with about 40 percussionists! 

2007 Highlights

In January 2007 New Year fundraising events kicked off with the actor Ray Sargent presenting "Two Victorian Tales", an evening of Dickens and Hardy story-telling in a spell-binding, incredibly atmospheric presentation which raised £404 for the hall fund.  Sadly Ray passed away in March 2008, before he could return to Holtwood.

In May we enjoyed a tremendous evening with George Hamilton IV - a really humble country gent!   This sold-out concert was a remarkable achievement for a small, country church like Holtwood and speaks volumes of George's willingness to take the gospel message, as Jesus instructed us, "to the very ends of the Earth".  A bonus was that the concert raised £777 for our hall fund.  Thank you to George and to all who supported the event or helped in any way to make it such a success.  Here's a picture of George, Becky and me after the extremely warm concert under the spotlights!  You can visit George's website at http://www.georgeiv.net

During July the Holtwood Summer Fete which was opened by hugely popular former BBC presenter Hugh Ashley.  The day featured many stalls and garden games, a BBQ, strawberry cream teas and a variety of entertainment from Ghost in the Machine, Holtwood Puppets, Phoebe Ward, Holtwood Mission Band and Becky Shears & myself.  Our special guests were Wimborne Community Theatre who also recruited actor Ray Sargent for the day!  We were delighted to welcome many visitors to Holtwood and, as a bonus, the day was also a financial success - £1,000 was raised towards the Hall Fund.  Thank you all.

2008 Highlights 

February - The HPC on 1st February featured a presentation about Julia's House, a highly regarded local children's hospice not far from Holtwood.  The evening raised £400 for the charity.

April - The HPC on 4th April featured an enthralling evening with Mrs A. Thom speaking about "Adventures of a French Woman in the Resistance" which raised £318. 

May - on Bank Holiday Monday 5th May we enjoyed a barbecue accompanied by music and maypole dancing which was the first event in the newly-acquired field adjoining the church and which, aptly, has traditionally been called "Chapel Ground."  The day raised £91.   

June - The HPC on 6th June featured music from a quartet of lady accordianists and raised £190.  The Bindon Grange Open Garden on 7th June gave us the opportunity to garden games, tennis, croquet, etc or to just chill out in the lovely Dorset countryside.  The weather was glorious and the day raised over £280. 

July - Saturday 5th was the second Holtwood Fete with special guests Forest FM 92.3 .  One of the radio presenters at the Fete was Roger Mathews who, although an upstanding member of the community these days, was once a pirate - well at least he was DJ on pirate Radio Caroline during the 1970s!  You can find out more about Roger here.  You can also listen live to Forest FM by clicking here.  Our other guests included Wimborne Community Theatre, Ghost in the Machine, Holtwood Puppets, Phoebe Ward, Dotty Crochets, HMB and Becky Shears with myself.  We made use of newly acquired land, known as Chapel Ground, adjoining the Church and the teas included wonderful local strawberries from nearby Glen Farm in Holt Forest which is a great place to PYO all summer if you're out this way.   Thank you to all who made the day such a success.  As a bonus we raised just over £1,000.

September - Holtwood Harvest Supper was on 20th September and featured a slide show, "Ancient & Modern", of Ron Bluff's travels in ancient Egypt, modern America and taking in along-the-way the Norwegian Fjords and the Eagles Nest which was Hitler's mountaintop retreat in Austria.  The evening was thoroughly enjoyable and raised £89.  

October - The HPC on 3rd October was a charity night for the RNLI with an illustrated talk which raised £250.  An additional £50 was given to the RNLI from personal donations.

November - on Friday 7th November the former BBC presenter, and a good friend to Holtwood, Hugh Ashley, presented one of his famous "Sing-Ins", with Jane & Nella Joy on piano & organ, supported by HMB which was an altogether excellent opportunity for blowing away any cobwebs in the roof!  Hugh is fondly remembered throughout the south and so, for this evening, the majority of those present were not from Holtwood at all!  Those singing had a great time and donations of £78 were gratefully received.  A special 'thank you' to Hugh and to all those who supported the evening! 

December - George Hamilton IV presented his "Christmas in England" concert at Holtwood on the 5th December with supporting entertainment from local musician Nathalie Green-Buckley.  The concert was sold out and was a real blessing to all who were privilaged to be there.  As a secondary benefit the concert raised over £670 for the Holtwood Building Fund.   We're hoping that George will be able to return to Holtwood during 2010.  The Hot Potato Club (HPC) on Friday 12th December included a Seasonal Quiz and music from Pete & Sarah Emberley and Sharon Pearcey, formerly of HMB and  the professional Christian group Lovelight, and who incidentally toured extensively with George Hamilton IV some years ago.