Holybourne

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Holybourne is a small village in Hampshire, England, east of the town of Alton. It has a population of around 1,500. Holybourne is also the village where Treloar College has one of its sites. It is a college for physically handicapped secondary school pupils. Holybourne also houses a pub (the White Hart) and a small store.

1 History
2 Holybourne Church
3 Holybourne Youth Theatre
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Holybourne is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Haliborne.

The name is thought to be derived from the Old English Haligburna which means sacred stream, referring to the small stream whose spring is near Holybourne Church whence it runs through the village.^[1]

English author Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) bought a house in Holybourne in 1865. She died suddenly when visiting the house on 12 November 1865.

[edit] Holybourne Church

The Church of the Holy Rood in Holybourne has foundations dating from the 12th century,^[2] and the nave, west end and lower part of the tower appear to date from this time. The chancel was added later, completing the building by the 13th century. However, two centuries later the floor of the building was raised, possibly because of nearby springs. The north aisle was replaced in 1879.

[edit] Holybourne Youth Theatre

Holybourne Theatre is an amateur dramatic group with over half a century of experience, that puts on a wide variety of productions each year.^[3] Starting each year, the pantomime in January and February plays over three weekends. During spring and summer the Youth theatre presents productions like Alice in Wonderland, Wind in the Willows, Kes, Blood wedding and even Shakespeare. There is an autumn production by the adult theatre (from 16 years old and upwards); these have included The Crucible and My country's good.

Holybourne Youth Theatre is open to children from school year 1 to 11 (6 to 16 years old), and offers the chance to participate in all aspects of theatre work. Classes run all day Saturday and are split into four different age groups. The Youth Theatre have played an integral part in Holybourne Theatre since 1978, staging their various Youth Theatre productions. providing the chorus for the pantomime as well as putting on "end of term" shows for parents demonstrating Saturday morning activities. The Youth Theatre is a great social environment, builds confidence, develops skills and many have gone on to study drama at a higher level as a result. All classes are supervised by CRB checked adults.

Holybourne Theatre's history goes back to the foundation of the Holybourne Dramatic club in January 1948, the month that British Rail was born. The first play on the present site was performed in November 1950 in a Nissen hut left over from the war, the hut lasted as our theatre until the new one was ready for its first production in 1971. The First production in the new theatre at Holybourne was "Cat on the Fiddle" by John Dole and the first night was Thursday 6 May 1971 when Sir Michael Redgrave opened the theatre.