Church of St Nicholas, Arne, near Poole, Dorset, August 2010
The little village of Arne is on heathland between Poole and Wareham in Dorset and is now the home of an RSPB nature reserve.
Some of my ancestors, with the surname Kitcat, were born here and my 4-great grandmother Honor KITCAT was christened in the Church of St Nicholas on 14 October 1781.
The village was evacuated for the duration of World War II, the nearby Royal Naval Cordite Factory at Holton Heath having set up decoy targets in the vicinity.
Here are some of my pictures of the lovely little church, which happily is still in use…
The shady lane leading to Arne's Church of St Nicholas
Church of St Nicholas, Arne, near Poole, Dorset, August 2010
Church of St Nicholas, Arne, near Poole, Dorset, August 2010
Church of St Nicholas, Arne, near Poole, Dorset, August 2010
Church of St Nicholas, Arne, near Poole, Dorset, August 2010 - beautiful altar cloth with a nautical theme
Church of St Nicholas, Arne, near Poole, Dorset, August 2010
Church of St Nicholas, Arne, near Poole, Dorset, August 2010 - tapestry - 'Called to be fishers of men'
Church of St Nicholas, Arne, near Poole, Dorset, August 2010 - memorial wall plaque to Thomas Hyde, died 1795, age 68, and his wife Frances, died 1812, age 77
Church of St Nicholas, Arne, near Poole, Dorset, August 2010 - the pulpit
Church of St Nicholas, Arne, near Poole, Dorset, August 2010 - the font
Church of St Nicholas, Arne, near Poole, Dorset, August 2010 - the organ
Church of St Nicholas, Arne, near Poole, Dorset, August 2010 - the plaque below this painting says: A painting by Sarah Massey - commissioned by St Nicholas' Church and given to their organist - Alice Seymour, on her 90th birthday. Alice died on 1st January 1997, in her 95th year. She was still playing the organ just a few weeks before her death. Her painting is now placed in the church in her memory.
Church of St Nicholas, Arne, near Poole, Dorset, August 2010
Church of St Nicholas, Arne, near Poole, Dorset, August 2010 - old stone work above the door
Church of St Nicholas, Arne, near Poole, Dorset, August 2010
The Squirrelbasket 
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Lisa Oram, Pat English. Pat English said: My pix of a pretty little church at Arne, #dorset http://bit.ly/d9qNdh – one of my ancestral places […]
How lovely…
Hi Pat,
What a lovely set of pictures. Did you use a tripod for the interiors views of the church of St Nicholas?
Very skilled composition as well.
Hey, thanks for commenting! No, I don’t use a tripod, which means I have to depend on a bright day and a steady hand! As for the composition, I guess I just point and shoot! Hope to hear from you again soon. I know you are interested in old family churches, too. Do you take pictures? What camera do you have? Best wishes to you both…
Thank you for these beautiful pictures of the church. Our daughter is getting married there in a few weeks.
What an amazing place to get married! I wonder how many guests you can fit in there?
All the best for your celebrations 🙂
Thank you. I believe they are hoping to squeeze in 60-65, but with another 25 outside! Let’s hope it’s good weather.
Sounds lovely we are co.ing to corfe castle tomorrow for 4 days hoping to come here is it open
I wish you luck, but in these times of Covid-19 I have no idea what is open, especially as I live in Wales and the lockdown has different rules here.
Enjoy your stay in this lovely area anyway 🙂
hi, I believe Honor Kitcat is my 5x great grandmother. Do you have any more information about her? Thank you
I have replied by email – sorry about the delay 🙂