Holy Trinity
Colden Common, Hampshire
Our small Victorian, village church has a pleasant ambiance, set within natural surrounds that are registered as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC).
The church dates from the reign of King Edward (1272 – 1307), with the tower added in 1675. A delightful village church on the ‘Pilgrim’s Trail’ between Winchester & Portsmouth. Picnic tables on the adjacent field for your coffee or lunch stop. On a clear day, look out for The Spinnaker, in Portsmouth, just visible.
The entrance door frame originates from the old Marwell Manor. There is a hole in the wall behind the altar, towards the left-hand side. It is said to be where a bullet stopped after passing through the vicar, who had been continuing to practise the Latin Mass, disobeying orders to change to the Protestant Holy Community by King Edward VI after the death of King Henry VIII.
In 2011, a mystery was solved by art historian Max Donnelly regarding mystery stained-glass windows referred to in a letter from Vincent Van Gogh to his brother Theo, whilst living in London in 1873.
At the age of 23 and yet to pick up a paint brush, Van Gogh wrote: ‘I saw sketches for two church windows, one, the portrait of an elderly lady, such a noble face, with the words 'Thy will be done' inscribed above'. In the other window, the portrait of her daughter, with the words 'Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen'. However, before the windows were made, the inscription on the daughter's version was changed to 'Fear not, only believe'. Van Gogh scholars had long searched for these church windows; Max Donnelly came across them whilst researching the glazier, Daniel Cottier, and put two and two together in a serendipitous leap.
A leaflet about the history of the church is at the back of the church for your interest.