NEWS STORY
Posted: 20/06/1839 12:00:00

Holy Trinity Church

In the grounds of Trinity House, Anchor Gate Road, can be seen the last remains of Holy Trinity Church.

Holy Trinity Church was built between 1837-1841 on a site at the end of North Street, Portsea, at the request of the Dockyard workers. "It having been represented to the Ordnance Office that another place of worship was needed by men in Government Employment", so began the life of the third Anglican Church in Portsea, on land given by the Government.

St. Mary's the parish church for Portsea, was rather a long walk over rough paths and lanes, especially in winter, passing brick fields, market gardens, farms and marshy ponds. Therefore as the population of Portsea, and the importance of the Dockyard grew, there was intensive pressure to have a new church built near to their homes and work.

The foundation stone for Holy Trinity Church was laid on 20th June 1839, the architect was Augustus F. Livesay of Portsea, who was well known for many other church buildings which lie had designed. The new church was to serve a district of 7.000 people. It was built at a total cost of £3,300 of local flint and Portland stone, while inside walls were plastered. The church consisted of a nave, north and south transepts and a small belfry. The benefice paid £150 per annum and was in the patronage of the Vicar of the Portsea Parish Church, St. Mary's. On 30th September 1841 Holy Trinity Church and St. James Church, Milton, were consecrated by the Bishop of Winchester, and so began the diverse career of Holy Trinity Church, in Portsea.

Due to the introduction of "High Ritual" by the Vicar, the Reverend Thomas Duodecimos Platt BA in 1854 it soon became the most talked about church in Portsea, with a very large, strongly devoted congregation. Holy Trinity was a typical Parish Church. as found in a very poor district of a town like Portsea, where though the people were very poor, their faith was robust. Reverend Platt introduced the use of Eucharistic Vestments, incense, altar lights, and genuflections and many other customs where high ritual is elaborately followed.

Amongst the many good works connected with Holy Trinity and it's parish were to he found the Portsea Nursery, Hospital for Children, Sisters of Mercy and teaching the poor children of the parish. Reverend Platt's curate at Holy Trinity was the Reverend Reginald Shute who in 1866 established the Mission of the Good Shepherd at the poorest end of the parish, in an area which was dominated by filth, poverty and prostitution. By 1870 the Sunday School had 350 children on its books. There was also a Ragged School. Shoe-Black Society, Nursery Clothing Club, Penny Bank and Coal Club. The Reverend Shute was one of the most remarkable of Portsea's divines during the closing years of the last century. He was a ritualist of the extreme type, and amongst other things, introduced into the parish the separation of sexes during divine service, he was a man gifted with rare eloquence, and a fascinating personality. It was through his efforts that there was established a "Mission for the Reclaimation of Fallen Women" in the worst class of brothels in White's Row, Portsea. Reverend Shute died on 12th October 1892 and was mourned by all who loved him.

The Dockyard workers and their families learned to love their church of the Holy Trinity and when repairs or alterations were needed they carried out the work in their spare time and at their own expense. In 1887 extensive repairs and improvements were undertaken by Dockyard Shipwrights. As the years passed, the once thriving congregation of Holy Trinity was lost, it has been said that the parishioners of Portsea were now either Nonconformists or irreligious and so the Church was closed for worship in 1906. The Church Commissioners in 1906 sold Holy Trinity Church and Parsonage to the Admiralty for the sum of £5,000, the money from the sale was divided between St. Mary's and St. Georges. As the Admiralty required to extend the Dockyard, the Old Church and Parsonage could now be enclosed within the Dockyard walls.

In 1907 Holy Trinity Church was reopened as the Church for the Royal Naval Barracks, and the Parsonage became the residence of many Officers working in the Dockyard. This was after a great deal of restoration work had been undertaken. Those who had been acquainted with the Church prior to its being closed for public worship would certainly not recognise it now. A very difficult undertaking at the best of times, the Admiralty was none too lavish with the money it allowed for the purpose of restoration.

The Chaplains at the Royal Naval Barracks, and Signal School were in charge of all the restoration arrangements, their first priority was to try and improve the windows of the Old Church, many of which had been partly filled in, others had been covered with coloured paper, the result of this was to cause a "Dim Religious Light", throughout the Church amounting to a dark depressing gloom inside the Church.

The Gallery at the west end of the church was lowered and practically rebuilt. Another important improvement was the removal of the former side chapel, and the blocking up of the entrance on the south side of the building. A new entrance was built for Officers, opening into a large porch. After the re-arrangement of the interior, Holy Trinity Church could now provide seats for between 600 and 700, for the ordinary church parade services the transepts were reserved for officers and the nave for other ranks.

On Sunday mornings there was the usual Church Parade at 10.30 which was strictly confined to the Officers and men of the Royal Naval Barracks, and the general public would not be admitted. However at the evening service at 6.30 the public was welcome to attend, gaining entrance to the Dockyard through Anchor Gate.

From the initial service as the Church for the Naval Barracks in 1907 a surpliced group of ten men and twelve boys formed the choir, while Mr Clewitt the former organist was re-appointed, the organ having been thoroughly overhauled.

During the First World War an unknown sailor was buried in Holy Trinity Church to represent the many that fell in the war and had unknown graves. 1937 saw Holy Trinity Church redecorated and on the inside walls some fine wall paintings were added. The Royal Naval Barracks continued to use Holy Trinity Church until it was destroyed by bombs in 1941, though Trinity Parsonage, or Trinity House as many know it today was spared any serious damage and is still in daily use. The Church lost its roof and suffered severely from fire damage, there was however, considerable salvage of many of the Church treasures and fittings, which were then put to good use in other churches and in the new chapel in the Royal Naval Barracks. A simple service of deconsecration was conducted by the Bishop of Portsmouth. Dr. W. L. Anderson, amid the ruins of Holy Trinity on Wednesday 21st April 1948. It only lasted about 15 minutes and was attended by a congregation of only 12. The form of the dc-consecration service was new, and was designed to meet many cases in various parts of the Country, where blitzed churches were not to be rebuilt, because of plans to change the areas and centres of parishes.

Only the walls were left standing, the roof was gone and weeds and small trees had grown on the ground previously covered by a beautiful parquet floor. Today all one can see of the ruins of Holy Trinity Church is a small part of one wall. This makes rather a picturesque background to the garden of Trinity House.

The preceding article, from the D. Welch Collection, was taken from the Hampshire Telegraph and gives only a brief account of the reasons for closure of the church however, it is thought that the editor of that time may have been somewhat influenced by personal feelings rather than facts.

- MORE NEWS -