---
title: "Portsmouth Cathedral"
description: "Located in Portsmouth, Hampshire. Built 1877–81; crossing 1886; chancel 1893; west front and bell turrets 1906. Diocese of Portsmouth. Grade II. Decorated Gothic Revival style."
category: "Church"
tags: ["Church","Catholic Church","Hampshire","Portsmouth","Grade II","Cathedral","Gothic Revival"]
canonical: "https://thebritishgazette.com/post/portsmouth-cathedral-rc-portsmouth"
pubDate: "2026-09-06T02:32:40.317Z"
dateModified: "2026-09-07T16:07:03.418Z"
location: "Portsmouth, Hampshire"
country: "England"
county: "Hampshire"
town: "Portsmouth"
address: "Bishop Crispian Way, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 3HG"
postcode: "PO1 3HG"
built: "1877–81; crossing 1886; chancel 1893; west front and bell turrets 1906"
consecrated: "29 March 1887 (dedicated 10 August 1882)"
architect: "John Crawley; Joseph Hansom; Canon Alexander Scoles"
denomination: "Catholic Church"
diocese: "Portsmouth"
grade: "II"
style: "Decorated Gothic Revival"
materials: "Red brick in Flemish bond, Portland stone dressings, plain tile roof"
website: "https://www.portsmouthcatholiccathedral.org.uk/"
openingHours: "Open weekdays 6.30am tp 6pm and weekends 7.30am to 7.30pm."
parish: "Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist"
listEntryUrl: "https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1104269"
gridReference: "SU 639 004"
accessNotes: "Non-accessible toilets in church. Level access to the main areas. Accessible toilets nearby. Accessible toilets in church"
---

# Portsmouth Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist on Edinburgh Road is the Roman Catholic cathedral of the Diocese of Portsmouth, a Grade II Decorated Revival church begun in 1877 and dedicated in 1882.

## Overview

Historic England records a cathedral of 1877–81 by John Crawley, continued 1881–96 by Joseph Hansom after Crawley’s death, with the west portal and octagonal bell turrets of 1906 by Canon Alexander Scoles. It is built of red brick in Flemish bond with Portland stone dressings and a plain tile roof. The plan has a six-bay nave with clerestory and aisles, crossing and transepts (1886), and a chancel with apse and chapels (1893). St Patrick’s Chapel was added in 1924.

Land was bought from the War Department in 1877; the Duke of Norfolk contributed to the building. The church opened on 10 August 1882 as the mother church of the new Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth, formed that May, and was consecrated by Bishop John Vertue on 29 March 1887. Bombing in 1941 destroyed the Bishop’s House and most of the stained glass; the south-transept rose window survived. The cathedral was restored in 1945–50 and reordered in 1971, 1982 and 2001. Listed Grade II on 10 January 1953 (NHLE 1104269).

## Further Information

- [Portsmouth Catholic Cathedral](https://www.portsmouthcatholiccathedral.org.uk/)
- [Historic England list entry 1104269](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1104269)
- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_St_John_the_Evangelist,_Portsmouth)