St Agatha's, Landport

St Agatha’s Landport^[1] is an historic church in the Landport district of Portsmouth.

History

Originally situated in an area of extreme deprivation^[2]today it stands proudly alone, the “Cathedral of the car parks”^[3] in Portsmouth's shopping district. A magnificent building^[4] it replaced a much simpler mission church^[5]. The church was built due to the inspirational leadership of Father Robert William Radclyffe Dolling, an Irish Anglo-Catholic priest whose social conscience lead him to fight against a range of domestic ills for his impecunious parishioners. At the same time he was able to charm astonishing amounts of money out of the wealthy residents of nearby Old Portsmouth^[6]. The formal opening of the church took place on 27 October 1895 with a ceremony involving mass being said at the old mission church followed by a procession to the new church.^[7] The inside of the church was equally sumptuous^[8] but the intensity of the ritual lead to a row with the Bishop of Winchester ^[9]. His successor Father Tremenheere continued to beautify the interior until 1914 when another long serving incumbent arrived. Work done during this time included the completion of the murals and the addition of a wooden pulpit.^[10] Tremenheere's successor Father C.W Coles was to serve the parish through two world wars^[11] until 1954 when the last service was held. For the next 40 years it became a naval store until the Traditional Anglican Communion took it over for a form of worship very similar^[12] to that originally provided by Dolling. The church survived this time largely intact although the lady chapel was demolished in 1964.^[10] The church is now also used for concerts^[13] but faces an uncertain future as its locale is developed as part of the “Northern Quarter” initiative^[14].

References