The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity is the cathedral for 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, ...

Diocese of Europe. 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 Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

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. The cathedral is particularly notable for its

Moorish revival architecture Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centu ...

, particularly in its use of

horseshoe arch The horseshoe arch (; ), also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is a type of arch in which the circular curve is continued below the horizontal line of its diameter, so that the opening at the bottom of the arch is narrower than the ar ...

es. This is an architectural style inspired by

Moorish architecture Moorish architecture is a style within Islamic architecture that developed in the western Islamic world, including al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula) and what is now Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (part of the Maghreb). Scholarly references on Is ...

, 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 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 ...

worshippers among the civil population of Gibraltar, as the King's Chapel 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 territories, British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of ...

in 1820, persuaded the

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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 The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

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 of yellow fever. The church was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

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 n ...

Queen Adelaide, 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 hi ...

. 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. In ...

of George Tomlinson 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war had come to an end, Bishop Harold Buxton made an appeal for the purpose of "Saying Thank You to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

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 of a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spent nearly one-fi ...

and the creation of a second chapel in the south

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

of the cathedral, to be dedicated to

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 ...

and in memory of all who lost their lives in the Mediterranean area during the war. A stone from

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midla ...

, which was ruined in

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

, 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, while 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 in charge of the building and its ministry is called the Dean, currently Ian Tarrant ( John Paddock 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 (officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese in Europe in the Province of Canterbury. Overview The diocese provides the ministry of Anglican ch ...

is based in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, where there is another pro-cathedral.

Gallery

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

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

. 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 A bema is an elevated platform used as an orator's podium. The term can refer to the raised area in a sanctuary. In Jewish synagogues, where it is used for Torah reading during services, the term used is bima or bimah. Ancient Greece The Anci ...

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

lectern A lectern is a standing 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 ...

and

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

. 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 churches in Gibraltar

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

Diocese in Europe Moorish Revival architecture in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Gibraltar 19th-century Anglican church buildings in the United Kingdom Anglican church buildings in Gibraltar Church of England church buildings in Europe