Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Gibraltar

Cathedral of the Holy Trinity
Gibraltar
Status:	Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Gibraltar
	Church of England
	Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe
Location
Location:	36°8’18"N, 5°21’15"W
History
	Built 1825–32
	Moorish Revival
Information
Website:	holytrinitygibraltar.com

The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, otherwise known as Gibraltar Cathedral, stands in Cathedral Square in Gibraltar. It is the cathedral for the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe, within the Church of England.

The cathedral is of a striking design, in the Moorish revival style, characterised in particular in its use of horseshoe arches. This is an architectural style inspired by Moorish architecture, appropriate given the period of Moorish control in Gibraltar's history.

History

19th century

The church was originally built to meet the needs of Anglican worshippers among the civil population of Gibraltar, as the King's Chapel in the Governor's residence was primarily reserved for military use. John Pitt, Earl of Chatham, who had arrived as Governor of Gibraltar in 1820, persuaded the British Government to sell a derelict building and use the money to build a church on the land.

Building work began in 1825 and the church was completed in 1832. The architect is unknown; Colonel Pilkington of the Royal Engineers was in charge of the work. During the building process, the partially completed church had to be used for a short time as an emergency hospital during an epidemic of Yellow Fever.

The church was consecrated in 1838 by Archdeacon Edward Burrow in the presence of the Dowager Queen Adelaide, widow of King William IV. It was raised to cathedral status in 1842, with the creation of the Diocese of Gibraltar at the time of enthronement of George Tomlinson as the first Bishop of Gibraltar.

20th century

The cathedral suffered no significant damage during the Second World War. After the war had come to an end, Bishop Harold Buxton made an appeal for the purpose of "Saying Thank You to Malta and Gibraltar", with the intention of raising funds to be spent on improvements for St Paul's Pro-Cathedral, Malta and the cathedral in Gibraltar. In Gibraltar the money raised was used for the construction of new vestries and the creation of a second chapel in the south aisle of the cathedral, to be dedicated to St George and in memory of all who lost their lives in the Mediterranean area during the war. A stone from Coventry Cathedral, which was ruined in the Blitz, is let into the wall behind the baptismal font. It is a small stone with a cross.

The explosion of the RFA Bedenham on 27 April 1951 caused substantial damage to the cathedral, lifting the roof and smashing the stained glass. The windows in the sides of the building were re-glazed with plain glass, whilst the gathered fragments of coloured glass were used to construct the new stained glass window which remains in the east wall, above the communion table. The cathedral required extensive repair work and was not in use until Christmas of that year.

Clergy

As with all Church of England cathedrals, the priest in charge of the building and its ministry is the Dean, and he has an Assistant Priest who also acts as Port Chaplain to the Port of Gibraltar. The third priest at the cathedral is a non-stipendiary (unpaid) honorary minor canon.

The Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe is not resident locally; rather he lives in Brussels, near the Pro-cathedral of the Holy Trinity.

Pictures

• 
  Cathedral's portico.
• 
  Cathedral's main entrance.
• 
  Cathedral's nave.
• 
  Cathedral's bema.
• 
  Cathedral's lectern and pipe organ.
• 
  Cathedral's southern aisle.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Gibraltar)

• "The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Gibraltar". http://anglicancathedralgibraltar.weebly.com/. Retrieved 2012-11-23.  - Official website
• "The Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on". DiscoverGibraltar.com. http://www.discovergibraltar.com. Retrieved 2012-11-23.