The earliest mention of a chapel at Hinton goes back to the 12th century in King Stephens time. It then belonged to the Canons of Christchurch who still had it in 1419. Hinton is the village and Hinton Admiral is the name of Sir George Meyrick's house, the history of the church being very much connected with the Meyrick family, bearing the name of Tapps Gervis Meyrick. The nave of the present church was built as a chapel of ease for the residents of Hinton and Beckley the foundation stone being laid by Joseph Jervis Clarke on 2nd April 1772. The chapel was completed 1774. When Joseph Jervis Clarke died in 1778, he provided in his will for the land and the building of the chapel to be given to the church authorities.
The succession to Hinton Admiral was by Mr. Clarke's great nephew George Ivison Tapps who was made the first baronet in 1791. In accordance with the wishes expressed in the will, Sir George I. Tapps and the Vicar of Christchurch (The Rev. William Jackson) petitioned the Bishop of Winchester, that, because the Christchurch parish was so big, and Hinton Admiral was three miles away, the chapel at Hinton be consecrated. This was granted by a document of 15th July 1786 when the church (that is the present nave, a small belfry and a graveyard to the north) with an access from the Hinton turnpike, now the A35, was transferred and the chapel consecrated on 3rd August 1786. Sir George Tapps and his successors were the patrons.
There is a commemorative plaque in the clergy vestry which says, "A legacy of £1,000 India Annuities was given to this chapel by the late Mrs. Martha Pyle of the city of New Sarum, daughter of the late Joseph Hinxman of North Hinton. This chapel was consecrated the 3rd day of August in the year 1786."
In 1884, to celebrate the wedding of their son George to Jacintha Phipps, Sir George & Dame Fanny Tapps-Gervis-Meyrick of Hinton Admiral gave a ring of five bells to the Church of St Michael and All Angels at Hinton. The bells were cast by Taylors of Loughborough, and the main frame is of oak, each of the bells being supported on a cast-iron “A” frame. The bells are hung on timber headstocks with gudgeons working in plain bearings.
The inscriptions on the bells all relate to the Meyrick family:
The Treble: “Fanny Augusta. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Psalm 150”
The Second: “Clara. I will give thanks unto the Lord with my whole heart. Psalm 9”
The Third: “Emma Douglas. O give thanks unto the Lord for He is gracious and His mercy endureth forever. Psalm 107
The Fourth: “George Augustus Eliott. Praise the Lord O my soul and forget not all His benefits. Psalm 103
The Tenor: “These bells are a thanks offering to God from Sir George Meyrick and Dame Fanny his wife, 1884. Rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that weep. George, Emma, Clara, Fanny – they filled our home with glee”
Many thanks to the vicar The Revd Dr Ben Sargent for giving permission to place this cache.
Congratulations to Oscar CacheCockatiel for the First To Find
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