THE HISTORY OF THE PARISH
29/05/07
The history of the parish of St. Cuthbert’s. Copnor. though not very long, has been quite eventful. The Domesday Book mentions the Manor of Copenore, which adjoined the Manor of Portsea, being abounded on the East by the Salterns, on the West by Gatcombe and the Liberty of Portsmouth, and on the North by the parish of Wymering. By the reign of Elizabeth I, it is probable that the Manor of Copnor with Portsea was part of the possessions of Titchfield Abbey. In these early days, the population of the Island was quite small, and the little village church of St. Mary’s provided enough accommodation on Sundays for all the inhabitants outside the town which, itself, was served by the Parish Church of St. Thomas a Becket. These two parishes remained unchanged until the Nineteenth century, when, as the town began to increase in population with the development of the Navy, new parishes were separated off. By 1909, there were seventeen parishes, and three mission districts including St. Cuthbert’s.
The largest parish was the mother parish of St. Mary’s with a population of 40,000 and a staff of fifteen clergy who served six mission churches besides the parish church itself.
The second largest parish up until 1903 was St. James’, Milton, formed in 1841. For many years it was regarded as a country parish with a few hundred inhabitants living around the village of Milton, a few in Eastney and a few in cottages scattered on the farmlands around the ancient manors of Great Salterns and Copnor, towards the north eastern part of the Island. It included the whole of the eastern portion of Portsea Island, four miles long and one mile wide, and was served by a small church which would hold 200 people. By 1903, the population had grown to 8.000, most of the increase being around Eastney, and so a large part of that district was separated off as the parish of St. Margaret’s.
By 1911, the remainder of the parish had grown to a population of 18,000, excluding the asylum, prison. Infirmary, fever hospital and RMA barracks, which had all been built in the area. To help meet the need, two mission churches were built, one in the remaining portion of Eastney and one in Copnor, where over 2,000 people lived.
THE MISSION CHURCH
In 1908, Rev Samuel Taylor was placed in charge of the Copnor part of the parish, which initially contained about 300 people, using a small unoccupied house in Dudley Road as a meeting place. At his first service, there were twelve children and five adults, two of whom were the Governor of the Prison and his wife. The population was growing fast and the Vicar of Milton began raising funds to build a mission church. This church, designed by Douglas Hoyland, and built of terracotta brick on part of the site of the present Parish Hall, was dedicated to St. Cuthbert by the Bishop of Southampton on June 9th 1910. It could hold 180 people and it served as a Church, Schoolroom and Concert Hall. While the mission church was being planned and built, the population of Copnor had grown to 5,000. It was decided to separate this area as an independent district with Rev. G.A.Hope as Curate-in-Charge. The Bishop of Southampton conducted the service of Induction on April 20th 1913. Soon after his appointment, Rev. Hope began raising money for an extra room at the south end of the mission. The room was formally opened by Mrs. Fowler, wife of the Vicar of St. James’, Milton on April 16th 1914,
THE BUILDING OF ST. CUTHBERT’S CHURCH
Meanwhile, the decision to build a church had been taken and St. Cuthbert’s was selected as one of the Bishop of Winchester’s “Six Churches”, to be built from a fund of that name. A grant of £6,500 was given, £600 of which was to be used to purchase additional land for the siting of the church.
Edwin Stanley Hall, a contemporary of Rev. Hope at New College, Oxford, who later designed Liberty’s in London, was appointed as architect. At first it was planned to build only a portion of the church. However, Rev. Hope received a letter from the Bishop stating that a gentleman who had been a donor of £5000 to the fund would like it to go to one church, so that he could take an interest in it. Shortly afterwards, Colonel and Mrs. Bashford held a parish garden meeting which the donor, Mr. Heath Harrison, attended. After hearing about the parish and its needs, he decided to donate a further £5000 so that the church might be completed straight away. That left about £1200 for the parish to raise.
The foundation stone was laid on May 9th 1914 by Mr. Heath Harrison. Beneath the stone is a bottle containing copies of the Times, the Daily Mail, the Portsmouth Churchman’s Handbook, the Annual Report of the Portsmouth Church Extension Association with a map of the town divided into parishes, a photograph of the Milton clergy, and a threepenny bit, penny, halfpenny and a penny stamp. The service was conducted by the Bishop of Southampton, with a great many clergy in attendance. The church was consecrated sixteen months later on October 1st 1915, (also the birthday of Mr. Heath Harrison). The Bishop of Winchester, Bishop Talbot, conducted the service at 6.30 pm and the church was crowded, 900 people being seated, with many more standing near the doors. The consecration was completed with a celebration of Holy Communion the following morning at 7.30 am, with the Bishop officiating. According to the vicar, Rev. G A Hope, “Many felt the church to be one of the finest modern churches in the country”.
THE VICARAGE
The original house used by the clergy was at 30 Milton Road. It was rented accommodation, but the general condition of the house was not very satisfactory. The present Vicarage, designed by E Stanley Hall, was built in 1924. During the war, the Vicarage became an open house to all. When the church buildings were lost, the study was converted to a chapel and 331 children were baptised there, using the original copper bowl from the Mission Church. The Vicarage itself was also affected by bomb damage, and the vicar found himself confined to one room for several years.
ST. CUTHBERT’S IN THE WAR YEARS
The vicar, Rev. E.E.Smith, wrote in his Pastoral letter of summer 1946, how very trying it was for those anxious to keep going the various parochial organisations.
Before 1939, there was a very large Sunday School, 600 strong. It was so overcrowded that there were many awaiting entry to the lowest section. Admission to the school was not easy. Members had to be from homes within the parish, and a large number of applications from outside the parish had to be refused. There was also a Sunday Evening Club for Adolescents, the Court of the Round Table (a Christian youth movement) as well as 30 altar servers. However, by the end of 1939, 75% of the children and adolescents at the Sunday School had gone, and communicants diminished by 40% in the last four months of the year. The Sunday School had to be suspended as there were no air-raid shelters in the immediate vicinity. When air-raids occurred during services, those who lived nearby would withdraw to their shelters, while others who lived further afield took shelter in the church storehold, where, if the raids were long, the service would be continued.
The vicar and his curate (Rev. W.T. Simpson) were always out and about whenever raids occurred. For four years, they never undressed at night, always on the alert. They would patrol as far as Baffin’s Pond, and during bad raids, would shelter against the rain of shrapnel, at the north-east corner beneath the trees. They were in a fairly central position in the parish, ready to go where they were needed. On warm nights, they would sheep on benches by the pond. A woman, not far from the Vicarage, once said, “Those two men at the top of the road puts confidence into us. What should we do without them?”
The Parish Hall (formerly the Mission Hall) was used by the Air Raid Precaution (A.R.P.) authorities. It also became the sleeping quarters for soldiers, and a field kitchen. The upper room in the church became the soldiers’ rest and recreation room. The men became a part of St. Cuthbert’s and it was with great sadness that the soldiers were transferred to Hilsea following the complete destruction of the Parish Hall.
The first damage to the church buildings occurred on November 10th 1940, when a high explosive bomb fell, tearing a hole in the North side of the nave. Because part of the roof was open to the sky, the congregation had to bring umbrellas on rainy days. On April 17th 1941, a landmine in Hayling Avenue destroyed the East end of the church, severely damaging the rest of the building and completely flattening the Parish Hall. The following day, the vicar erected a large wooden cross on the rubble and nailed to it a victory V.
The church building was classified by the authorities as “plain substitute building”, meaning that it was, in effect, destroyed and would have to be rebuilt in a much reduced and simplified form. For the next eight years, services were held in the hall of Langstone School, where there is now a plaque, and in a study at the Vicarage which was converted to a chapel.
Although there was no church building, the parishioners kept the life of the church going strongly and prayed for the day when it might be restored.
THE PARTIAL REBUILDING OF THE CHURCH
The task of rebuilding the church, classified by the Diocesan Office as “extensively destroyed”, was immense. The sanctuary, vestries, Lady Chapel and eastern bay of the nave were destroyed. In the North wall of the nave was torn a large hole. Doors and windows were broken, and the plaster domes were battered and hanging from the roof. Most of the floor, furniture and hangings were destroyed. Tiles were blown off the roof and the whole roof structure was badly twisted. For several years, it stood exposed to the elements and the building suffered further deterioration. Roof timbers became rotten and the brickwork even more unsafe.
In 1945, the vicar, Rev. E.E. Smith, requested urgent action for the rebuilding of the church, and there followed a lengthy correspondence. Mr. E Stanley Hall was unable to undertake the architectural work, but he agreed to hand over the original specifications, and suggested John Grey as architect. Grey produced plans for making the nave of the church reusable as the whole of the East end had to be pulled down,
The preliminaries of rebuilding were begun, but the Ministry of Works refused a licence for the work to begin, as housing took priority over church repairs.
Early in 1948, Rev, E. E. Smith, suffering seriously from shock and nervous strain, found the prospects of rebuilding the parish church so far away, that he was compelled to take semi-retirement. He had begun at St. Cuthbert’s with a debt of £2000, and within two years of his arrival in 1936, he had cleared the debt and packed the church.
In October 1948, a licence was granted for partial restoration, credit for which must go to the Portsmouth Diocesan Reorganisation Committee and the Hon. Sec. of St. Cuthbert’s Parochial Church Council, Mr. C J Rogers. The work permitted was the restoration of the nave of the church, and the blocking up of the East end with a temporary wall at the chancel steps. Linked with this work was the clearing up of the East end itself and the demolition of all unsafe masonry abutting Hayling Avenue.
Once the licence was received, a great deal began to happen. Revised tenders were received from Messrs Samuel Salter Ltd and Messrs Jno. Croad Ltd. the latter being accepted. Mr. D F Martin Smith, (John Grey’s assistant), was engaged as architect.
An important resolution was passed by the F.C.C. that nothing was to be done in the temporary church that would prejudice the church eventually being rebuilt to its former glory.
Work began on December 21st, with the erection of scaffolding, to be followed ten days later by the demolition of the remains of the eastern end, the vestries and the brick arch which was in danger of falling into the road. Everything was salvaged, brick, stone and wooden blocks.
The main structure was then made safe. The hole in the North wall was bricked in using some of the old bricks which had been cleaned. The roof was completely reconstructed and the parapet walls enclosing the roof guttering were also taken down and rebuilt. All the remaining window frames were taken out and repaired.
Internally, the columns and capitals were steam cleaned as they were weathered and dirty. New sanctuary steps, which were placed at the East end, rested on temporary brick walls which also rested on felt to protect the original flooring underneath. The domes were rebuilt and replastered, and the aisle roofs repaired and redecorated. Oak panelling, which could later be adapted and reused when the sanctuary itself was rebuilt, was fitted into the temporary sanctuary backed by a whitewashed wall, which divided the main structure from the site of destruction. Evidence of this wall can be seen in the brickwork on either side of the steps leading to the chancel. Beautiful green and gold curtains were hung across the new sanctuary arches, and the new Lady Chapel at the western end of the nave was curtained off with dull gold hangings.
On Friday 25th November 1949, the church was rehallowed by the Bishop of Portsmouth. Rt. Rev. W.L.S. Fleming. A congregation of 700 was present including the architects, a strong contingent from the builders and their associates including several of the craftsmen most closely connected with the rebuilding, the Headmaster and Headmistress of Langstone Schools and representatives of Copnor Baptist church. There were more than twenty visiting clergy including three former vicars, as well as clergy and service chaplains of Portsmouth. The rehallowing was completed with a celebration of Holy Communion on November 27th at 9.30 am, the celebrant being the Bishop of Portsmouth.
THE REBUILDING OF THE PARISH HALL
The first steps to rebuild the Parish Hall were taken in 1949, when negotiations were opened with the War Damage Commission. The general principle of War Damage was that the Government would undertake to pay for a new building “exactly similar” to the one destroyed, but in this case there were no plans or accurate records of the old hall. After prolonged and complicated negotiations, it was agreed that an economical building of exactly the same area and similar accommodation should be built. It was possible to establish the area of the old building by making a careful survey of the outline of the original foundations and by collecting evidence of accommodation from members of the congregation who had been familiar with the original hall.
The next step was to decide on the design and siting of the new hall. The old building ran North to South, parallel with Kimbolton Road. After considering several alternatives, it was decided that the most satisfactory position would he running East-West, with the main entrance in Hayling Avenue. This meant a more effective architectural grouping with the church itself, leaving a large open space at the rear for car-parking. It also made possible a more direct link between the stage end of the hall and the vestry end of the church when the latter was eventually rebuilt.
The construction of the hall is of reinforced concrete posts at the corners, supporting a light concrete barrel-vaulted roof, lined with insulating board. This form of construction was adopted to avoid as far as possible the use of timber which was at that time almost unobtainable. The smaller rooms surrounding the hall all have roofs covered with asphalt.
The licence for building was eventually granted in October 1952 and the work was started in the spring of 1953. The foundation stone was taken from a larger piece of stone from the damaged part of the church. It was laid by the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Frank Miles, on May 30th 1953. The hall was dedicated by the Bishop of Portsmouth, Rt. Rev. W L S Fleming, on January 2nd 1954.
THE FINAL REBUILDING OF THE CHURCH
The final stage of rebuilding the church was started when a faculty was issued in March 1957.
The foundation stone for the new chancel and sanctuary was laid on Friday July 18th 1958 by Mrs. E M A Hope, wife of the first vicar of St. Cuthbert’s and dedicated by the Rt. Rev. A L Kitching, Assistant Bishop of Portsmouth. During the service, the lesson was read by Rev. S J L Lawry, the previous vicar of St. Cuthbert’s, and the sermon was preached by Ven. M.D.S. Peck, Archdeacon of Portsmouth.
Unfortunately the funds made available from the government for the rebuilding were not sufficient to cover the cost of restoring the church to its former glory. As so much money would be needed for the internal furnishings, it was decided to rebuild the church on modified lines.
The roofs of the chancel, the Lady Chapel and the parish room are all lower than the original building. The chancel and the Lady Chapel both have squared-off ends and the third dome which was destroyed, was replaced with a barrel vaulted roof. Where it was possible, use was made of the existing fabric.
The stained glass window, which was installed in the temporary wall in 1953, was erected in the new East wall, along with two complementary windows. The oak panelling behind the altar was also reused. New rails were made for the High Altar and an oak tester above it.
The final rehallowing was on July 30th 1959 by the Bishop of Portsmouth. Dr. W.L.S. Fleming. The church was filled to capacity, with over 700 people present including the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, Councillor & Mrs L J Evans, other civic representatives, and those associated with the rebuilding. The Lady Chapel was hallowed by the Assistant Bishop of Portsmouth. Rt. Rev. B.P. Robin, and the pulpit and organ by the former Assistant Bishop. Rt. Rev. A L
Kitching. The preacher was Rev. S J L Lawry, the vicar of East Meon, and the service was conducted by the vicar, Rev. B.F. Forster.
Five Royal Marine trumpeters sounded fanfares, while the scouts, guides and sea rangers formed a guard of honour.
At one point during the service, there was a power failure which meant that the organ would not work. Without any fuss, Mrs Leggatt played the piano as she had done since the destruction of the original organ.
The rehallowing was completed with celebrations of Holy Communion on Sunday August 2nd.
ITEMS FROM THE MINUTES
October 1910. Consideration was given to the use of the spare land behind the mission for allotments. It was decided to let four allotments of 12 rods (60 metres) at a cost of 1/- (5p) per rod.
May 1911. A request was made to the council that the new road from Hayling Avenue to Langstone Road be called St. Cuthbert’s Avenue, hut “Kimbolton” had already been allocated.
November 1913. The Local Education Authority agreed to rent rooms in the mission church for £80 per annum for use as a school.
1914. Rev. G Hope encouraged the formation of Baffins Cricket Club (for men), Boys’ Cricket Club, Baffins Lawn Tennis Club, Girls’ Club (13 plus) and King’s Messengers (children’s missionary organisation).
July 12th 1914. At 6.55 am, St Cuthbert’s Mission Hall was struck by lightning. The floor was strewn with bricks. The damage, paid by the insurance company, amounted to £7-17-6d.
June 1915. Mr Malan started a scout troop, with a few boys who would form the nucleus of St. Cuthbert’s Troop. By September, the troop was over twenty strong. In February 1916, the troop was formally registered as 28th Portsmouth. By July 1916, Wolfcubs were associated with the troop.
July 1915. A troop of Girl Guides was formed with Mrs Hall as president: Mrs Jeffard, secretary; Mrs Hickish, captain; and Miss Jeffard, lieutenant. They met weekly on Friday evenings. By September, the troop also met on Tuesdays to make items for soldiers and sailors. In February 1917, Brownies became associated with the troop. In July 1917, the Girl Guides were honoured by the Countess of Selborne, who kindly consented to be their patron. From that date, the troop, the 5th Portsmouth, was to he known as the Countess of Selborne’s own. (This company was later renumbered as 1st Portsmouth owing to the closure of several other guide companies).
January 1926. An application was made with regard to St Cuthbert’s being considered as suitable for the new Portsmouth Cathedral, but Portsmouth Parish Church of St. Thomas Becket, dating from 1180, was finally chosen.
1949. 115, Tangier Road was purchased by the Vicar, John Lawry, and given to the church for use by the assistant clergy.
September 4th 1955. The preacher at Evensong was Rev. R.A.K Runcie MC. MA, Vice Principal of Westcott House. Cambridge. He became the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1980.
1976. The area of the North side of the church, which was formerly used for depositing ‘rubbish’, was landscaped by a team from Community Industry and is now used as a play area for the various children’s groups in the parish.
1979. 115, Tangier Road. The house had not been used for housing Assistant Clergy for a number of years and in the light of the low return on capital and the need to extensively modernise the property, the PCC sold the house and established a Trust Fund. Since 1979, the income from the capital has been used towards the extensive maintenance work on the Parish Church as well as funding a housing allowance for the Assistant Curate.
1981. The parcel of land adjacent to the Parish Hall and fronting on to Kimbolton Road was sold as it was surplus to Parish requirements and the Parish lacked the means to develop the site itself. This land, which was originally intended for use as a car park when the Parish Hall was rebuilt, housed a temporary building for use by the youth club, known as the Red Door Club. The capital realised from the sale, with the agreement of the Charity Commissioners, has been established as a Trust Fund with the income available for general parochial needs.
1984. Thanks to the fund raising efforts of the Glaziers Group, the area around the main entrance to the church at the West end was paved and landscaped by John Lay & Co. The City Arborist recommended the planting of two snakebark acers and two amelenciers to replace the Norwegian maples. The trees were given in memory of Charles Hoskins, Winifred Sturgess, Olive Richards and Jack Day.
VICARS OF ST. CUTHBERT’S
George A Hope 1913 - 1921
H Durrant 1921 – 1927
Cyril Norris 1927 – 1935
Edgar E Smith 1936 - 1948
John S L Lawry 1948 - 1957
Bennett F Forster 1957 - 1965
David Jameson 1965 - 1971
Christopher R Abbott 1971- 1987
Mervyn Banting 1988 - 1996
David Power 1997 -