St Joseph's Church is 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 ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. It is situated on Bugle Street, in the centre of the city, north of

Town Quay Town Quay is a quay and pier in Southampton, England. History A quay is first recorded on the site in 1411, known as Watergate Quay. By 1450 a crane was present at the quay. Work to lengthen the quay took place in 1613 and 1765. This quay fell ...

. The church chancel was designed by

Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 1812 – 14 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival architecture ...

and built in 1843. It was the first Catholic church founded in Southampton after the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. It was the

pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish Church (building), church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefect ...

of the Diocese of Portsmouth in 1882.History of Portsmouth Diocese
from

Catholic Association Pilgrimage The Catholic Association of the UK, abbreviated to the CA, has been around in one form or another since 1881 and ran its first pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1901. Its objects are set out in the Memorandum and Articles but its main purpose is to masterm ...

, retrieved 13 December 2014 It is a Grade II listed building.

History

Foundation

In 1789, French Catholics fled to Southampton after the French Revolution. They worshipped in secret in a room in 13 St. Michael's Square in the city. In 1792, they opened a chapel in 67 High Street. In 1828, a presbytery was built. Two years later, St. Joseph's Church was built in the presbytery's garden.

Construction

In the early 1840s, a new St Joseph's Church had to be built to accommodate the growing congregation. In 1842,

was asked to design the church. In March 1843, the foundation stone was laid. However, the parish could not afford Pugin's designs. Once the chancel was built, J. G. Poole, an architect and local surveyor, was asked to complete the church. 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 built to his designs and in 1845, the new church was opened.

Pro-cathedral

On 19 May 1882,

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

established the Diocese of Portsmouth. As the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

was under construction, St Joseph's church served as the

until 10 August, when the new cathedral in Portsmouth was opened.

Expansion

In 1888,

Leonard Stokes Leonard Aloysius Scott Stokes (1858 – 25 December 1925) was an English architect and artist. Leonard Stokes was born in Southport (then in Lancashire) in 1858 the son of Scott Nasmyth Stokes, a school inspector. He trained in London and tra ...

was asked to renovate and expand the church. The north and south walls were rebuilt. A seventh window was added to the north side of the church. The height of the church was raised and the ceiling along the nave was replaced. In 1911, the high altar, designed by Pugin was moved from the sanctuary to the Sacred Heart chapel in the church. In 1971, it was moved back and became the main altar. In 1981, a restoration of the church was undertaken.

Parish

In 2006, the diocese reorganised its

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es. St Joseph's parish was merged with the neighbouring St Edmund's parish to form the Parish of St Joseph and St Edmund, which is sometimes referred to as the Southampton City Centre Parish. Attached to the church is the Stella Maris Pastoral Centre. It is situated between St Joseph Church and 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 ...

St. Michael's Church next door. It hosts parish events and meetings of local organisations. St Joseph's Church has two Sunday Masses, one at 6:15pm on Saturday evening and the other at 10:00am on Sunday morning. St. Edmund's Church has four Sunday Masses. They are at 9:00am, 11:00am and 7:00pm on Sunday and there is a

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

in Polish at 7:00pm on Saturday evening.

Exterior

File:St Joseph's Church, Bugle Street - geograph.org.uk - 1720345.jpg, West side of the church File:St Joseph's Catholic Church, Bugle Street.jpg, View along Bugle Street File:Stella Maris Pastoral Centre - geograph.org.uk - 1720314.jpg, Stella Maris Pastoral Centre, attached to the church

References

External links

Southampton City Centre Parish site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph's Church, Southampton

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

Gothic Revival church buildings in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1845 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Roman Catholic churches in Hampshire Grade II listed churches in Hampshire 1830 establishments in England Gothic Revival architecture in Hampshire