Draft:The Crinoline Church

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The Crinoline Church was a pre-fabricated wooden church that served as three different churches in three different places in Southsea, Portsmouth, UK, between 1858 and about 1912.

History[edit]

It was first erected in 1858 as part of a new housing development called Havelock Park. It was built as a temporary church whilst a permanent St Bartholomew's Church was being built.[1]

On the completion of St Bartholomew's Church in 1862 the temporary wooden building was sold to a group of trustees who were building another new church in Waverley Road, Southsea, that was to be named St Simon's Church.[2] It was dismantled, moved across the city and re-erected on its new site in Waverley Road.[3]

It served as St Simon's Church for about four years until the completion of the permanent St Simon's and was then sold to The Admiralty for use by the Royal Marine Artillery.[4] The marines dismantled the church and re-erected it in Cromwell Road, Eastney on a site owned by the War Office, adjacent to the then new Royal Marine Artillery barracks.[5] It was superseded by St Andrew's Church that was opened in 1905 on a plot adjoining the barracks to the north in Henderson Road, intended to serve the Royal Marines and the local community.

The Crinoline Church continued to be used as a Sunday School and Library until it was finally dismantled about 1912.[6]

The Building[edit]

The Church was twenty-sided, 22 metres in diameter and 18 metres high and initially could hold a congregation of 600 but this was later increased to 800 by the addition of a balcony (constructed in two stages).

The timber frame was weatherboarded at the bottom with a timber clad roof rising in sections to a circular lantern light. This produced a conical shape that quickly earned it the nickname of The Crinoline Church, after the dress fashion of the mid-late 19th century. The roof sections were covered by an early form of asphalt sheeting.

There were three entrances, on the north, south and west sides. On the east side was an extension that formed the apse and there was also a small 'lean-to' extension used as the vestry.

Daylight to the interior was provided by the roof lantern, triangular windows above each entrance and five triangular gable windows set into the roof. Additional light was provided by a large 'gasolier' suspended centrally.[7]

Surviving images show that the addition of the balcony and the necessary alterations to the three entrances to provide access to it, were made by the Royal Marines after the church had been moved to Eastney in 1866-67.[8][9] The image above shows it in its original form before these alterations were made.

The Myth[edit]

Local stories said that the building had originally been used in the Crimean War (1853–1856)[10]  and this story was perpetuated by the Royal Marines when they erected a memorial sundial on the site of the church after its final demolition. This memorial bears the inscription:

"This sundial marks the site of the old "Crinoline" church which was built as a hospital for the Crimea. After being brought to England it was purchased by The Admiralty, erected at Eastney and accommodated 800. In 1905 the church of St Andrew's took its place"[11]

In 1904 a report in the Portsmouth Evening News on the laying of the foundation stone for the new St Andrew's includes a paragraph titled 'Unfounded Stories' that clearly rebuts the Crimea myth. The editor of the newspaper, William Gates, was also Portsmouth's most prominent local historian and must have known the building's history well. More recent research has shown that its connection to the Crimea was never mentioned in any contemporary reports in newspapers, guidebooks or local histories. The involvement of a local builder, Luke Camwell, in providing accommodation huts for the War Office for use in the Crimea may be the accidental source of this myth.[12]

Architect[edit]

The architect has never been identified and no plans survive. It has been suggested that the church is the work of Peter Thompson (1800–1874) who produced a number of prefabricated churches in London before building regulations prevented the use of wooden buildings housing large numbers of people.[12]

Memorials[edit]

At the time of its demolition the church contained about 23 memorial tablets and a memorial stained-glass window. Many of these were moved into the new St Andrew's Church when it opened and when that church was converted to housing in 1997-98 as many as possible were removed into the Royal Marines Museum store. The original stained-glass window dedicated to Major Evelyn J W Noble RM was designed so that it could be adapted to fit into the new church and along with the other stained-glass windows of St Andrew's it remains behind the wall-panelling of the apartments.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "St Bartholomew's Temporary Church, Havelock Park, New Southsea". Hampshire Telegraph & Sussex Chronicle. 24 October 1858.
  2. ^ Butcher, Henry (7 June 1862). "To be SOLD by Private Contract". The Times, London.
  3. ^ Portsmouth History Centre, Scrapbook 3, Lewis Edwin Bambury, c. 1960
  4. ^ The National Archives, Admiralty In-letters and papers: From Architect, 1867, ADM 1/6015, No 68
  5. ^ The National Archives, Admiralty In-letters and papers: From Architect, 1867, ADM 1/6015, No 569
  6. ^ Royal Marines Museum, Note by Sergeant Major Beale, Arch 17/6/2
  7. ^ Royal Marines Museum, Photo 13/11/16/064
  8. ^ Portsmouth History Centre, Photo CHU/50/4/1
  9. ^ Royal Marines Museum, Photo 13/11/16/064
  10. ^ "The New Royal Marine Artillery Church", Portsmouth Evening News, 16 March 1904, p.5
  11. ^ Royal Marines Museum, Photo 17/2/5/183
  12. ^ a b Bill, Dennis (2016). The Crinoline Church, Eastney Barracks. Portsmouth, UK: Royal Marines Historical Society. pp. 59–77. ISBN 978-1-908123-13-8.
  13. ^ "The Noble memorial", Globe & Laurel, Vol V:61, 7 June 1898, Royal Marines Museum
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