Portsmouth Cathedral
Encyclopedia
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
of the City of Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and is located in the heart of Old Portsmouth
Old Portsmouth
Old Portsmouth is a district of the city of Portsmouth. It is the area covered by the original town of Portsmouth as planned by Jean de Gisors. It is situated in the south west corner of Portsea Island....
. It is the seat of the Bishop of Portsmouth.
The Anglican cathedral is one of the two cathedral churches in the city, the other being the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Portsmouth
Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Portsmouth
The Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Portsmouth, England. It is the mother church of the Portsmouth Diocese and seat of the Bishop of Portsmouth, currently the Right Reverend Crispian Hollis...
which is located about one mile to the north.
History
Around the year 1180 Jean de GisorsJean de Gisors
Jean de Gisors was a Norman lord of the fortress of Gisors in Normandy, where meetings were traditionally convened between English and French kings. It was here, in 1188, a squabble occurred that involved the cutting of an elm....
, a wealthy Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
merchant and Lord of the Manor of Titchfield
Titchfield
Titchfield is a village in southern Hampshire, by the River Meon. The village has a history stretching back to the 6th century. During the medieval period, the village operated a small port and market...
, gave land in his new town of Portsmouth to the Augustinian canons of Southwick Priory
Southwick Priory
Southwick Priory was a priory of Augustinian canons originally founded in Portchester Castle and later transferred to Southwick, Hampshire, England.-Foundation:...
so that they could build a chapel "to the glorious honour of the martyr Thomas of Canterbury, one time Archbishop, on (my) land which is called Sudewede, the island of Portsea". This chapel was to become in turn a parish church in the 14th century and then a cathedral in the 20th century. Of this original building, the chancel and transepts remain.
The church survived a French raid in 1337 but in 1449 the Bishop of Chichester
Bishop of Chichester
The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the Counties of East and West Sussex. The see is in the City of Chichester where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity...
was murdered by local sailors. The town's inhabitants were excommunicated and the church was closed. In 1591 Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
worshipped in St Thomas's church. In 1642 during the English Civil War the church was bombarded by Parliamentarian forces. In 1683-93 the old tower and nave were taken down and replaced by a new nave, aisles, and west tower.
Between 1902 and 1904 the church was closed for restoration work to be carried out. In 1927 the Diocese of Portsmouth
Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth
The Diocese of Portsmouth is an administrative division of the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England. The diocese covers south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight...
was created. In 1932 Sir Charles Nicholson
Charles Nicholson
Sir Charles Nicholson, 1st Baronet was a British-Australian politician, university founder, explorer, pastoralist, antiquarian and philanthropist...
published plans to enlarge St Thomas's. In 1939 due to the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
work on the extension scheme stopped, and was not recommenced until 1990. Whilst incomplete a blank brick wall ended the west end of the nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
. However, as the building had been used for many years without extension it was quite usable, and there was no urgency to finish the work. In the mid 1980s, however, the temporary brick wall was found to have become unstable and in danger of collapse which made the completion work more urgent. Originally the nave was intended to be longer, in the traditional style of an English cathedral, but the changing needs of the diocese meant that the building was finally built with a foreshortened nave, the final west wall being located close to where the temporary structure had been. In 1991 the completed building, much smaller than the original plans envisaged, was consecrated in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Queen mother
Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...
.
The central tower contains a ring of 12 bells which were cast at Taylors Bell Foundry at various dates. They are hung in the wooden octagonal part of the tower.
In 2005 the Duke of York
Duke of York
The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
unveiled a plaque to the 111 British service men killed in the British naval and air-force action in the Baltic
Baltic region
The terms Baltic region, Baltic Rim countries, and Baltic Rim refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea.- Etymology :...
in 1919 which led to freedom for the Baltic states
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
. This was a duplicate of one already in the Estonian capital Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
and later another was unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh
Duke of Edinburgh
The Duke of Edinburgh is a British royal title, named after the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, which has been conferred upon members of the British royal family only four times times since its creation in 1726...
in the Latvian capital Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
.
Music
The Cathedral Choir consists of men and boys who sing five services each week. David Price (musician)David Price (musician)
David John Chandler Price GTCL DMus HonFASC is a British choral conductor and organist.- Biography :David Price studied organ at Trinity College of Music, graduating in 1991. He was also organ scholar at Croydon Parish Church. During his last year at Trinity, he was organ scholar at Rochester...
is the Organist and Master of the Choristers, and Marcus Wibberley
Marcus Wibberley
Marcus Wibberley is an English cathedral organist, conductor and choir trainer. He has been Sub-Organist at Portsmouth Cathedral since 2005 and was Diocesan Music Adviser for the Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth until 2009.- Biography :...
is the Sub-Organist. Andrew Cleary acts as Assistant Sub-Organist: directing the youth choir, Cantate.
The Parish Choir sings at the Parish Eucharist on Sunday mornings, and is directed by the Sub-Organist.
Organ
Details of the organ from the National Pipe Organ RegisterOrganists
- 1927 Hugh Burry
- 1933 T. H. Newboult
- 1944 John Davison
- 1959 Maxwell Menzies
- 1964 Peter Stevenson
- 1968 Christopher Gower (later Organist at Peterborough Cathedral)
- 1977 Tony Froggatt (previously Assistant Organist at Guildford Cathedral)
- 1990 Adrian LucasAdrian LucasAdrian Lucas is an English conductor and organist. He is artistic director of the Worcester Three Choirs Festival.He became organist and director of music at Worcester Cathedral in 1996. He is also conductor of the Worcester Festival Choral Society and musical director of the City of Birmingham Choir...
(later Organist at Worcester Cathedral) - 1996 David PriceDavid Price (musician)David John Chandler Price GTCL DMus HonFASC is a British choral conductor and organist.- Biography :David Price studied organ at Trinity College of Music, graduating in 1991. He was also organ scholar at Croydon Parish Church. During his last year at Trinity, he was organ scholar at Rochester...
(previously Assistant Organist at Ely Cathedral)
Sub-Organists
- 1930 Mr Pease
- Hugh Davis
- 1978 David Thorne
- Rosemary Field
- 2005 Marcus Wibberley
See also the List of Organ Scholars at Portsmouth Cathedral.
Clergy
- Very Rev'd David Brindley (Dean)
- Rev'd Canon Michael Tristram (Canon Pastor)
- Rev'd Canon Nicholas BiddleNicholas BiddleNicholas Biddle may refer to:* Nicholas Biddle , officer in the American Continental Navy* Nicholas Biddle , American banker and President of the Second Bank of the United States...
(Canon Precentor) - Rev'd Canon David Isaac (Diocesan Director of Education)
- Rev'd Canon Nick Ralph (Social Responsibility Advisor)