Cathedral Of St Michael And St George, Aldershot
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Cathedral Church of St Michael and St George serves as the
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
for the Bishopric of the Forces. Located on Queens Avenue in
Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...
,
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, the building was originally intended to be the principal church for the Anglican chaplaincies of the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
but since 1973 it has been the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Forces.


History

The church was designed in 1892 in the Early English Gothic Revival style by Ingers Bell and
Aston Webb Sir Aston Webb, (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in par ...
of the
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. The church was built by J. Davey of Brentwood and was dedicated to St George. Because the building was originally intended as the principal church for the
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
chaplaincies of the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
, the foundation stone was laid by
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
on 27 June 1892.''The History of St Michael and St George'' - Guide Book published by the Cathedral of St Michael and St George, Aldershot (N.D.) The
trowel A trowel is a small hand tool used for digging, applying, smoothing, or moving small amounts of viscous or particulate material. Common varieties include the masonry trowel, garden trowel, and float trowel. A power trowel is a much larger ga ...
and
mallet A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. General overview The term is descriptive of the ...
she used in the ceremony are exhibited in the cathedral's west porch. St George's was consecrated on 7 October 1893 by the Rt. Rev. Anthony Thorold, 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'' the offic ...
, in the presence of Queen Victoria and other members of the
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. The Catholics, in the meantime, were worshipping in the Church of St Michael and St Sebastian which had been erected in 1855 opposite the Louise Margaret Hospital. This church was a large wooden building not unlike a barn in appearance, and was constructed mainly of cast iron with internal wooden pillars. The nave had many windows filled with stained glass. By the early 1970s St George's was not required by the Anglican chaplaincies because the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
had two underused churches in the area while the number of Catholic soldiers was increasing; so, in 1973 it became the seat of the Roman Catholic
Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
of the Forces instead and was dedicated to St Michael and St George. The wooden Church of St Michael and St Sebastian, no longer being required as a Catholic place of worship, became an Army store until it burned in 1983. The
Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...
has had a very long and close association with the church, holding a memorial service there each year on a Sunday in July. The Corps' Chapel of Remembrance stands to the South of the Sanctuary and contains memorials and books of remembrance.


Architecture and interior

Long and red-brick with
Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...
facings and with a tall tower topped by a red-brick spire, the church is a prominent local landmark. Above the main door is a relief of
Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...
standing over the slain dragon. The yellow-brick interior has broad aisles and a wide nave of five bays of Early English style arches and a debased Romanesque clerestory of two windows above each arch. On the south aisle are a series of red marble tablets set in a carved
Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...
frieze commemorating members of the
Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...
(RASC) who died on active service 1882 - 1920. The cathedral has many fine stained glass windows of saints and Biblical scenes by Heaton, Butler and Bayne. One window in the south wall of the
Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...
Memorial Chapel is dedicated to the memory of Julia Horatia Ewing, the wife of Colonel Alexander Ewing who wrote the hymn '' Jerusalem the Golden''. Mrs Ewing was an author who chronicled and illustrated the everyday life of the ordinary soldier in Aldershot. The reason some of the stained glass windows do not fill their niches is because these were moved to the cathedral following the closure of the Church of St Michael and St Sebastian in 1973. The ornate east end, with a rich 1930s mosaic on the
reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...
portraying the
Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...
, contrasts with the simplicity of the rest of the chancel, which was reordered to provide room for a free-standing plain altar. The East Window over the altar is dedicated to the men of the
Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...
who lost their lives during the
Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
of 1899–1902. Tablets in the Sanctuary commemorate the 376 men who died. The window depicts The Ascension, The Translation of
Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...
, The Crucifixion,
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and the brazen serpent and
Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...
carrying off the Gates of Gaza. The memorial to those who fell in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
consists of the mural decorations in the Sanctuary and Chancel. The Blessed Sacrament Chapel on the south side of the
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 ...
was constructed in 1998. The brass panels in the lower part of the screen were originally in the
altar rail The altar rail (also known as a communion rail or chancel rail) is a low barrier, sometimes ornate and usually made of stone, wood or metal in some combination, delimiting the chancel or the sanctuary and altar in a church, from the nave and ot ...
of the Church of St Michael and St Sebastian. The Lady Chapel has a particularly fine
mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
dedicated to the Army Chaplains who lost their lives in the
Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
of 1899–1902. The chancel furnishings are sparse and modern. On the south side of the chancel, the bishop's throne is a simple, substantial wooden chair, surmounted by a banner. The cathedral is sometimes the venue for musical concerts. The main organ was built and installed by Hele & Co of
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
in 1908 at a cost of £950. However, despite a comprehensive refurbishment this organ is no longer used mainly because of asbestos being found in the organ pipe gallery. The Allen organ currently used in the cathedral originally belonged to the noted organist Carlo Curley and was obtained in 2014 after his death. The wooden screens to the two side chapels were carved by Robert 'Mouse' Thompson with each displaying his characteristic mouse. In 2015 a sanctuary crucifix made from the parts of 23 aircraft dated from the 1930s to the present was blessed and dedicated in the cathedral. Constructed by Yorkshire-based blacksmith Chris Raw, the crucifix was described as "a fitting and deeply significant link to those of us who serve in the Royal Air Force and our colleagues who went before us especially those who lost their lives in the service of their country." The cathedral was
Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
in 1979 for its special architectural and historic interest.


Gallery

File:St Michael & St George Cathedral Trowel.jpg, Trowel and mallet used by
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
at the dedication ceremony in 1892 File:Queen Victoria Foundation Stone Aldershot 1892.jpg, The foundation stone laid by Queen Victoria in 1892 File:St Michael & St George Cathedral Nave High.jpg, The nave from the balcony File:Interior of Cathedral of St. Michael and St. George, Aldershot.JPG, The nave File:St Michael & St George Cathedral Chapel.jpg, The Lady Chapel File:St Michael & St George Cathedral Tabernacle.jpg, The Blessed Sacrament Chapel


See also

*
Catholic Church in England and Wales The Catholic Church in England and Wales (; ) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See. Its origins date from the 6th century, when Pope Gregory I through a Roman missionary and Benedictine monk, Augustine, ...
* Bishopric of the Forces


References


External links


Bishopric of the Forces site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint George, Aldershot Roman Catholic cathedrals in England Roman Catholic churches in Hampshire Churches in Aldershot Roman Catholic churches completed in 1892 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Grade II listed churches in Hampshire Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Cathedrals of military ordinariates