Royal Garrison Church, Portsmouth
The Royal Garrison Church in Portsmouth, Hampshire is a deconsecrated church, in Old Portsmouth overlooking Spithead. It was built in about 1212 by the Bishop of Winchester as part of a hospital and hostel for pilgrims. This monastic institution was dissolved at the Reformation.
The church was used as an ammunition store after the Reformation, and became part of the residence of the Governor of Portsmouth during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The church was restored in the 19th century, and although the nave was badly damaged in a 1941 firebomb raid on Portsmouth, the chancel is still roofed and furnished. Fine 20th-century stained-glass windows depict scenes from the Second World War and from the church’s own history.
It is now also known as the Royal Garrison Church and is an English Heritage property and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
History
The church was founded by Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester in about 1212 as the Hospital of St Nicholas and St John the Baptist, and was known also as 'Domus Dei'. It was an almshouse and hospice, which had a regular staff of 13 consisting of a Master who held overall responsibility for 6 nuns and 6 monks.
In 1450 an unpopular advisor to the king, Bishop Adam Moleyns of Chichester was conducting a service at the chapel of Domus Dei when a number of naval seamen (resentful of being only partially paid and only provided with limited provisions) burst in to the church, dragged out the bishop and murdered him. As a result of this the entire town of Portsmouth was placed under the 'Greater Excommunication', an interdict which lasted until 1508, removed at the request of Bishop Fox of Winchester. One of the conditions for the removal of the interdict included the building of a chantry chapel next to the hospital.
In 1540, like other religious buildings, the hospital was seized by King Henry VIII and until 1560 was used as an armoury. After 1560, a mansion built close by the south-side became the home of the local military governor. Throughout this time the chapel attached to the hospital remained in use. In 1662 the mansion hosted the wedding of King Charles II to Princess Catherine of Braganza.
Towards the end of the seventeenth century it fell into disrepair until it was restored in 1767 to become the Garrison Church.
Once again, the Church fell into disrepair and in 1865 a new restoration project began under the direction of G.E. Street of the Royal Artillery, which lasted several years.
On 10 January 1941 the buildings of the Garrison Church were partially destroyed in an attack by German bombers; all the stained-glass widows were blown out and the nave was rendered roofless by incendiary bombs and a single high explosive bomb. New glazing was fitted between 1947 and the late 1980s.
Apart from the east window with its traditional design, all the other windows show much of the British Army's relationship to the Church and the City of Portsmouth.
The church today
The Garrison Church is in the care of English Heritage. The chancel remains, but the nave is still roofless. It is a popular tourist attraction.
In 2003, the church featured in the Hornblower television series, as the set for Horatio Hornblower's wedding (in the episode named Duty).
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Royal Garrison Church, Portsmouth) |
- Location map: 50°47’20"N, 1°6’14"W
- Memorials in the church
- HCC details
- FOOPA details
- Royal Garrison Church, Portsmouth – English Heritage
Refernces
- Henry Press Wright (1873). The Story of the 'Domus Dei' of Portsmouth: Commonly Called the Royal Garrison Church. James Parker and Co.
