St Agatha’s Church is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the

Landport Landport is a district located on Portsea Island and is considered the city centre of modern-day Portsmouth, England. The district is centred around Commercial Road and encompasses the Guildhall, Civic Centre, Portsmouth and Southsea Statio ...

district of Portsmouth. It is now affiliated to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

through the

Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England and Wales is a personal ordinariate in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church immediately exempt, being directly subject to the Holy See. It is within the territory of the Catholic B ...

. It is situated on the Marketway next to the

Cascades Shopping Centre Cascades Shopping Centre is an enclosed shopping centre in the city centre of Portsmouth on the South Coast of England. It has a wide range of High Street retailers, and its own multi-storey car park connecting straight into the malls by lifts a ...

. It was built in 1838 for the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

and is a Grade II* listed building.Church of St Agatha, Portsmouth
from British listed building, retrieved 11 February 2015

History

Construction

Originally, the site had a small mission church situated in an area of extreme deprivation. The church was built because of the efforts of Father

Robert William Radclyffe Dolling Robert William Radclyffe Dolling (1851–1902), often referred to as Father Dolling, was an Irish Anglo-Catholic priest who served mainly in London and Portsmouth. Life Dolling was born on 10 February 1851 in Magheralin, County Down, the son of ...

, an Irish

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...

priest. He worked to alleviate the social ills of the area. At the same time he received donations from the residents of

Old Portsmouth Old Portsmouth is a district of the city of Portsmouth. It is the area covered by the original medieval town of Portsmouth as planned by Jean de Gisors. It is situated in the south west corner of Portsea Island. The area contains many historic bu ...

to build a new church. 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, but the nature of the ritual led to a row with the

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

Establishment

Dolling's successor, Father Tremenheere, continued to decorate 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. Tremenheere's successor, Father C. W. Coles, was to serve the parish through two world wars until 1954 when the last service was held.

Traditional Anglican Communion

For the next 40 years it became a naval store until the

Traditional Anglican Communion The Traditional Anglican Church (TAC), formerly the Traditional Anglican Communion, is an international church consisting of national provinces in the continuing Anglican movement, independent of the Anglican Communion and the Archbishop of Cant ...

took it over for a form of worship very similar to that originally provided by Dolling. The church survived this time largely intact although the lady chapel was demolished in 1964.

Present

The church is now also used for concerts. It has been described as a magnificent building, as having a sumptuous interior, and the “Cathedral of the car parks” in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

's shopping district.Geograph image
/ref> Following the reception of the retired Bishop of Matabeleland,

Robert Mercer Robert Leroy Mercer (born July 11, 1946) is an American hedge fund manager, computer scientist, and political donor. Mercer was an early artificial intelligence researcher and developer and is the former co-CEO of the hedge fund company Renaissan ...

, who worshipped at the church, into the

, and other members of the church's clergy, St Agatha's began to be used as a place of worship for the ordinariate.Portsmouth Ordinariate Group
from

, retrieved 11 February 2015 The church has one Sunday

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

at 11:00 am. It also has weekday Masses at 11:00 am on Monday, Friday and Saturday.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landport, Saint Agatha Religious buildings in Portsmouth Roman Catholic churches in Hampshire Grade II* listed churches in Hampshire Roman Catholic churches completed in 1895 Anglo-Catholicism Personal ordinariates 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom