For more than a thousand years Hythe was just a very small settlement almost midway between Dibden and Fawley.‘Hythe’ is an Old English word meaning a gravely landing place on a river and the village has a recorded history as a shipbuilding settlement and a landing place since 1295.

In Memory of LIEUTENANT VICTOR A. EWART R.N. who commanded a Turret on Board HMS QUEEN MARY and lost his life at the Battle of jutland May 31 1916 And of his Comrades-in-Arms from the Parish who fell in the Great War S.G. HAYWARD G. KING E.F.LAMBOURNE E.E.LANE W.G.NAIRNE     S.C.PECK R.PUSEY W.STEPHENS W.TANNER F.W.VINE T.H.WHITTEN   THEY WERE A WALL UNTO US BOTH BY NIGHT AND DAY

HMS Queen Mary exploding.  German observers estimated that the plume of smoke was 2,000 feet high, turret roofs were thrown over 100 feet up and Tiger, next ship in the line, was showered with hot wreckage.  Only eight survivors were picked up, 1268 crew were lost.

Until 1886 Hythe was part of the parish of Fawley and much of the land was owned by the Drummond Family of Cadland Estate in Fawley, In 1823 it was decided to build a small chapel here to seat 250 people and the first curate was the Rev the Honourable Augustus Irby.

The first Baptism was conducted in the chapel on 29 June 1823 but the first marriage could not take place until 1844, when Hythe was designated an Ecclesiastical District of the Parish of Fawley.

During the Victorian era Hythe became a fashionable area for summer residences and a ring of large houses was built as the homes of well to do sportsmen and yachtsmen. The population was then 700 and growing slowly. The Rev J Marriott made plans for a larger church and the present building was consecrated in 1874. Hythe became an ecclesiastical Parish in its own right in 1886.

The beautiful East window has, as its central scenes the nativity with Kings and Shepherds. Above that is the Crucifixion with The Virgin Mary to one side and St John the Evangelist on the other and below it the Annunciation.

The interior of St John's church

On the left, Elizabeth is seen alone and with the Virgin Mary and on the right John the Baptist is depicted both alone and baptising Jesus.

In the North wall of the sanctuary is the St Cecilia window in memory of Ruby Sedgewick. St Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians. It was dedicated by the Bishop of Southampton in 1925, In the south wall of the sanctuary is a
window depicting the Pentecost. This is dedicated to the memory of Charlotte Martell and is dated 1883.

The Pulpit

Other windows in the Choir represent St John. the Baptist and there is a beautiful new window in the east wall above the Vestry depicting the Lamb of God.
Do take time. to examine the stone bosses carved to depict animals and characters from the Bible and religious images.