Portsmouth Cathedral, Portsmouth

In 1180, Jean de Gisors, founder of Portsmouth, donated land to build a chapel "to the glorious honor of the martyr Thomas of Canterbury." This Church of Saint Thomas of Canterbury was to become Portsmouth Cathedral.

The religious edifice, dedicated in 1188, had a cruciform shape and a high tower. The tower and nave, ruined in the civil war, were restored by Charles II. The church survived French raids in the 100 Years' War. Queen Elizabeth I worshipped there in 1591.

In 1927 the Church of Saint Thomas of Canterbury became the Anglican pro-cathedral of Portsmouth. Architect Charles Nicholson was commissioned to extend the size of the church, which would dignify its cathedral status. Nicholson chose a "Neo-Byzantine" style.

In 1991 Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother attended the consecration. Bronze doors designed with an ancient symbol representing the renewal of life, "Tree of Life" by artist Bryan Kneale guard the main entrance. The nave is square, closed in by a vaulted ambulatory.

The font, made to a Greek design of the 9th century, is placed centrally between the nave and the quire. In the transept of the south tower is a bronze statue of John the Baptist by sculptor David Wynne. The main altar stands on a podium of Purbeck stone, with mosaic work by sculptor and stonemason Richard Noviss. The pulpit dates from 1693 and is all that remains of a three-decker pulpit. The extension of the cathedral used granite from a quarry in Singapore.