Church in the Wood

The manor of Hollington (also spelt Horintune, Holintun, Horintone, Halinton and Halyngtone early in its existence) existed at the time of the Domesday survey in 1086: before the Norman conquest of England the land was held by Godwin, Earl of Wessex and another lord, Alstan, and amounted to 4½ hides. Afterwards it passed to Robert, Count of Eu. The manor house and village (a scattered, mostly rural settlement rather than a nucleated village) were 2.5 mi northwest of Hastings and a similar distance north of St Leonards-on-Sea on a ridge of high land. No chapel or church was mentioned in the Domesday survey, but the will of a later Count of Eu written in 1139 states that one existed on the…

.]] The 19th-century restoration of Church in the Wood defines its present appearance. Faith and Hope are depicted in an 1886 window in the south side, and Charity is shown in a north-wall window of 1875. These were probably by the Clayton and Bell firm.

Church in the Wood was designated a Grade II Listed building on 19 January 1951. The approximate boundaries of the parish are Battle Road, between the borough boundary in the north and Hollington Old Lane; the residential streets between Hollington and neighbouring Silverhill; the railway line between West St Leonards and Crowhurst railway stations (including some of the rural land west of it); and Breadsell Lane. There is one service every Sunday at 10.30am at Church in the Wood and one every Sunday at 9.30am at St Anne's Church, except in months with five Sundays; on these occasions, the churches hold a joint service.