St Catherine's Church
Hoarwithy church was originally a chapel built in 1840 and when William Poole was appointed vicar of the parish in 1854 he wanted to “beautify the chapel”. The result was the impressive Italianate Romanesque and Byzantine building designed by J.P.Seddon.
Inside there are wooden carved choir stall figures, marble columns and altar with lapis lazuli with the central cross made of tiger-eye, and a fine Burne-Jones window at the apex of the cluster of windows on the west wall. Over the altar there is a wonderful mosaic of Christ in Glory and the hanging lamps are lit at Christmas.
The conversion of an old building beside the church now provides a small meeting room, kitchen area and toilet which greatly helps as we welcome visitors throughout the year, also the church is an excellent venue for concerts.
The stonework and masonry on the church tower has recently been restored with the help of grants from English Heritage and others.
The churchyard contains five war graves, three British Army soldiers and a
Royal Navy seaman of World War I and a Royal Naval Reserve officer of World War II.
Alan Brooks and Nikolaus Pevsner, in the revised 2012 Herefordshire volume of the Pevsner Buildings of England series, describe it as "the most impressive Victorian church in the county”. Simon Jenkins in his book: England's Thousand Best Churches considers the church; "a complete work of revivalist art, rare for its date, an astonishing creation."