National Gazetteer (1868) - Hordle

"HORDLE, (or Hordwell), a parish in the hundred of Christchurch, Lymington division of county Hants, 6 miles S.E. of Brockenhurst railway station, and 4 S.W. of Lymington, its post town. The village is situated on a lofty eminence near the coast of the English Channel, commanding a view of the Needles and the Isle of Wight. Many rare fossils, shells, &c., are found in the cliffs along the shore, which are composed of layers of bluish clay alternated with gravel. It is mentioned in Domesday as having salt-works. The land is divided between arable and pasture, with about 120 acres of garden ground. The tithes were commuted for land and a money payment under an Enclosure Act obtained in 1811.

The living is a perpetual curacy* in the diocese of Winchester, value £90, in the patronage of Queen's College, Oxford. The church, dedicated to All Saints, is a modern structure erected in 1831, with square tower containing three bells. The Baptists have a chapel, and there is a National school. Hurst Castle is situated in this parish. The principal residences are Horle House, Downton, and Arnewood. "ARNWOOD, a tything in the parish of Hordle, and hundred of Upper Christchurch, Upper Lymington division of the county of Southampton, 2 miles from Lymington."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]