Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Portsmouth facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St John the Evangelist, Portsmouth |
|
|---|---|
| Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist | |
 |
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| OS grid reference | SU639004 |
| Location | Portsmouth, Hampshire |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | portsmouth catholiccathedral.org.uk |
| History | |
| Status | Cathedral |
| Consecrated | 1882 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 10 January 1953 |
| Architect(s) | Joseph Hansom |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Years built | 1882 |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Portsmouth (since 1882) |
| Province | Southwark |
The Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist, often called St John's Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Portsmouth, England. It is the main church for the Portsmouth area and where the Bishop of Portsmouth, currently Philip Egan, has his official seat. This important church was officially opened on 10 August 1882.
Portsmouth has two cathedrals. St John's is the Catholic one, and the other is the Church of England Cathedral Church of St Thomas, which is about a mile away.
History of St John's Cathedral
In 1791, a priest named Rev. John Cahill started holding church services in a private house in Portsmouth. Later, in 1796, a small chapel was opened. As Portsmouth was a military town, the number of Catholic people grew, and they needed a bigger place to worship.
In 1877, Rev. John Horan bought some land from the War Department. He hired an architect named John Crawley to design a new church. Building began in 1879, thanks to a generous gift from the Duke of Norfolk. The church opened in 1882. It was the first cathedral built in Portsmouth.
When the Diocese of Portsmouth was created in May 1882, St. John's was chosen to be its cathedral. The first bishop of the new diocese, John Vertue, officially made it a cathedral on 29 March 1887. He also made the cathedral bigger and decorated its inside. He built a house for the bishop and a large hall next to the cathedral. These buildings together look very artistic and are important structures in Portsmouth.
During World War II, on 10 January 1941, the Bishop's House next to the cathedral was destroyed by a bomb. The main part of the cathedral was mostly safe, but almost all of its beautiful stained glass windows were broken. Only the round window in the south transept survived. The Bishop's House was rebuilt after the war. The damage to the cathedral was slowly fixed, with all repairs finished by the early 1960s. In 2010, a statue of Saint John by Philip Jackson was placed outside the cathedral.
Architecture and Design
The cathedral was designed in the Gothic Revival style. This style brings back the look of medieval Gothic churches. The first architect, John Crawley, started the design in 1877. He died just as building began. His partner, Joseph Hansom, then took over the project and changed the design a bit. He worked on it until 1896.
The church is built with red bricks from Fareham and decorated with Portland stone. In 1900, John Cahill became the new Bishop of Portsmouth. He finished the front part of the cathedral. The bell towers, designed by Canon Alexander Scoles, were added in 1906. The last new part to be built was St Patrick's Chapel in 1924, added by Bishop Timothy Cotter. The cathedral does not have a tall spire because the ground conditions are not suitable to support one.
A special chapel was made at the east end of the north aisle. It is dedicated to Our Lady Immaculate and St Edmund of Abingdon, who are important figures for the Diocese of Portsmouth. This chapel remembers Bishop Vertue. Outside the cathedral, there is a bronze statue of St John the Evangelist by sculptor Philip Jackson. It was put there in 2010 and stands eight feet tall.
In 1970, some big changes were made inside the cathedral. This was done by Bishop Derek Worlock to update the church's interior. The fancy canopy above the main altar was removed. Many paintings on the walls by Nathaniel Westlake were painted over. A new altar and a new font (a basin for baptisms) were put in, and the whole sanctuary area was made more modern.
However, many of these changes did not last long. Some were changed back in 1982 by Bishop Anthony Emery. More changes were made in 2001 under Bishop Crispian Hollis. The 2001 changes included replacing the modern font with one that looked more traditional.
See also
In Spanish: Catedral de San Juan Evangelista (Portsmouth) para niños
