The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

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 Britai ...

Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe The Diocese in Europe (short form for the Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe) is a diocese of the Church of England. It was originally formed in 1842 as the Diocese of Gibraltar. It is geographically the largest diocese of the Church of England and th ...

. Located in Cathedral Square, it is sometimes referred to simply as Gibraltar Cathedral, although it should not be confused with the Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned, which is Gibraltar's

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

cathedral. The cathedral is particularly notable for its Moorish revival architecture, particularly in its use of

horseshoe arch The horseshoe arch (; Spanish: "arco de herradura"), also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is an emblematic arch of Islamic architecture, especially Moorish architecture. Horseshoe arches can take rounded, pointed or lobed form. Hi ...

es. This is an architectural style inspired by

Moorish architecture Moorish architecture is a style within Islamic architecture which developed in the western Islamic world, including al-Andalus (on the Iberian peninsula) and what is now Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (part of the Maghreb). The term "Moorish" com ...

, 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 King's Chapel is an American independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed ...

was primarily reserved for military use. John Pitt, Earl of Chatham, who had arrived as

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the ...

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 original architect was Peter Harrison who prepared a design around 1740, without Moorish arches. More than eighty years later Colonel Pilkington of the Royal Engineers was in charge of the work, and the design was modified. During the building process, the partially completed church had to be used for a short time as an emergency hospital during an

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious ...

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

. The church was consecrated in 1838 by Archdeacon Edward Burrow in the presence of the

Dowager A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property—a " dower"—derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, ''dowager'' usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles. In popular usage, the noun ...

Queen Adelaide , house = Saxe-Meiningen , father = Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen , mother = Princess Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen, Holy ...

, widow of

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

. It was raised to cathedral status in 1842, with the creation of the Diocese of Gibraltar at the time of

enthronement An enthronement is a ceremony of inauguration, involving a person—usually a monarch or religious leader—being formally seated for the first time upon their throne. Enthronements may also feature as part of a larger coronation rite. ...

George Tomlinson George Tomlinson (21 March 1890 – 22 September 1952) was a British Labour Party politician. Biography George Tomlinson was born at 55 Fielding Street in Rishton, Lancashire, the son of John Tomlinson, a cotton weaver, and his wife Alice, n� ...

as the first Bishop of Gibraltar.

20th century

The cathedral suffered no significant damage during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. After the war had come to an end, Bishop

Harold Buxton Harold Jocelyn Buxton (20 June 1880 – 13 March 1976) was a British Church of England cleric. He was Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe, Bishop of Gibraltar from 1933 to 1947. Buxton was born into a noble family, the son of Sir Thomas Buxton, 3r ...

made an appeal for the purpose of "Saying Thank You to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

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 A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquially ...

and the creation of a second chapel in the south

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

of the cathedral, to be dedicated to

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

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 The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

, 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 high altar. The cathedral required extensive repair work and was not in use until Christmas of that year.

Clergy

As with most

cathedrals, the

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

in charge of the building and its ministry is called the

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

, currently Ian Tarrant (

John Paddock Alvin John Paddock (born June 9, 1954) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player, currently the senior vice-president of hockey operations of the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He is a former head coach of t ...

retired in 2017). The Canon Theologian is Robin Gill.Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Gibraltar — Clergy
(Accessed 7 January 2018) Adrian Mumford is the honorary Lay Canon Precentor. The

Bishop in Europe The Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe, commonly known as the Bishop in Europe, is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese in Europe in the Province of Canterbury. Overview The diocese provides the ministry of Anglican chaplains, not onl ...

is based in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Gallery

File:Cathedral of the Holy Trinity portico.jpg, Cathedral's portico. File:Cathedral of the Holy Trinity main entrance.jpg, Cathedral's main entrance. File:Cathedral of the Holy Trinity nave.jpg, Cathedral's

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. File:Cathedral of the Holy Trinity bema.jpg, Cathedral's bema. File:Cathedral of the Holy Trinity lectern and organ.jpg, Cathedral's

lectern A lectern is a reading desk with a slanted top, on which documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a scripture reading, lecture, or sermon. A lectern is usually attached to a stand or affixed to some other form of support. ...

and pipe organ. File:Cathedral of the Holy Trinity southern aisle.jpg, Cathedral's southern aisle.

References

External links

* - Official website * {{navboxes, list1= {{Deans of Gibraltar {{Diocese in Europe {{Cathedrals of the Church of England {{Gibraltar topics Churches completed in 1832 19th-century Anglican church buildings Holy Trinity Holy Trinity Diocese in Europe Moorish Revival architecture in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Gibraltar