THE P RTAL
January 2014
UK Page 1
A “Gem” Is Restored
Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane visit Saint Agatha’s, Portsmouth
S
t Agatha’s,
Portsmouth is famous in Anglo-Catholic circles because of Fr Dolling. He was at St
Agatha’s from 1885. His time there is recorded in Ten Years in a Portsmouth Slum (London, 1896). Not
only did he reform the liturgy, he was also active as a social reformer, particularly with regard to the slum
housing in the area at the time.
like a carcass stripped by
vultures
The parish suffered during WWII,
as bombing took its toll on the poorly
constructed dwellings. The Church,
however, just about survived. In Paul and Adam Pettigrew
1954 the church was closed. A year
later, stripped like a carcass by vultures, the
church was compulsorily purchased for
use as a naval store. A floor was inserted,
just below the level of the capitals and the
whole building was divided into storage
pens. Lorries backed in and out, cobwebs
formed and store-men talked of a ghostly Brian Hillier
figure who seemed to haunt the church.
High Mass of Thanksgiving
Later a sixteen year old lad was shown the
building from the outside by his mother,
who informed him it was where she once
attended Mass. He never forgot, and later
managed to gain entry as a lorry backed into Christopher Emerson
the building. In 1970 he started a campaign
to save the building, threatened once again
by the construction of an urban motorway.
Eventually a Public Enquiry ruled in favour
of the building, only for its verdict to be
overturned by the then Government.
Various upheavals in Local Government Darel Stutters
caused delay until, in 1998, St
Agatha’s was handed over to the
newly formed Saint Agatha’s
Trust. The church had been
consecrated in 1898, so in 1998 a
High Mass of Thanksgiving was
celebrated to mark the restoration.
Of course, during the intervening Dr John and Sstella Newbery
years much has been done to make the
church as beautiful as it is now, and a loyal
band of worshippers have kept things
going through TAC years and into the
Ordinariate.
re-development
The church is rather close to the Catholic Fr John Maunder,
Cathedral of Portsmouth, but
relations between the two are good.
There are plans to re-develop the
area once again and if these come to
pass, it will be at the heart.
We asked the present priest, Fr John
Maunder about the plans to downgrade the
naval dockyard. He said, “Portsmouth is
not rich. We hope the redevelopment will
help us. Will we become a residential area
again? We hope so. It is a slow process.
Anglican Patrimony
“My worry is who will follow me here?
Where are the priests who will stay in a place
for most of their lives? I am very keen on
Anglican Patrimony. The Church is the local
hospital. It is where people come who are
spiritually needy.”
the highest standard
On the Sunday we attended the 1100 High
Mass, which was celebrated beautifully. The
Three Sacred Ministers, the eight servers,
the music, the homily: all were to the highest
standard. If the congregation was small at
twenty-five, it was also devout. After Mass
we were given tea and delicious cake, and as
we drank and ate we chatted (difficult to do!)
with some of those present.
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Joanna Emerson is musical
director and violist of F