Description

PORTSMOUTH

SU6500 FRATTON ROAD, Fratton
774-1/10/256 (East side)
10/01/53 Church of St Mary, Kingston

GV II*

Church. 1887-9. By Sir Arthur Blomfield. Flint with Bath stone
dressings. Plain tile roofs.
STYLE: Neo-Perpendicular.
PLAN: 6 bay nave and aisles, 2-bay chancel with ambulatory.
Lady Chapel to south of chancel (now church hall and kitchen).
2-storey sacristy, organ loft and vestry to north of chancel.
West tower, west, north and south porches.
EXTERIOR: tower: 4 stages, offset stone buttresses with
rusticated quoins and flint infill panels terminating at stage
4 with diamond strip pilasters.
South face, 1st stage: stone capped plinth. Lean-to roofed
porch with, on left, a 2-leaf boarded door with ornate iron
strap hinges set under moulded pointed arch, ogee hoodmould,
rusticated jambs. On right are two 3-light Perpendicular style
traceried windows, moulded stone pointed arch, ogee hoodmould,
rusticated jambs. Flanking diamond strip pilasters. 2nd stage:
moulded sillband, similar 2-light traceried window, ogee
hoodmould, rusticated jambs. Above window is a clockface with
narrow window slot on each side. 3rd stage: moulded sillband
and 2 similar 2-light traceried windows. 4th stage: moulded
sillband with 2 similar 2-light taller Perpendicular style
windows panelled with trefoil headed lights. Embattled
parapet, crocketed pinnacle at each corner.
West face - 1st stage: high moulded stone plinth. At centre 2
stone steps approach a recessed 2-leaf boarded door set under
moulded pointed arch springing off paired colonnettes, ogee
hoodmould, moulded stone jambs. Flanking diamond pilasters
each terminating with pinnacle above arch level. Traceried
stone panels over doorway. Upper stages similar to south face.
North face similar to south. Octagonal stairs access turret to
left. South facing aisle has on far left a low projecting
porch with 2-leaf boarded door, pointed stone arch and jambs
similar to west entrance. Stepped offset buttresses each
terminating with stone pinnacle, facing stone gable with
traceried stone panels. Each left and right return has 3
recessed flint panels. Embattled parapet. To left of porch and
to right 3 Perpendicular style 3-light windows, each with
hoodmould and rusticated jambs. Flanking stepped buttresses.
Moulded stone band and embattled parapet.
Nave has 6 paired 2-light Perpendicular style clerestory

windows, flanking stepped pilasters each rising to diamond
pilaster and crocketed pinnacle.
At junction of nave with chancel is an octagonal stairs access
turret with at top a Tudor type flat arch and traceried window
to each face. Embattled parapet.
To right of aisle is the projecting 2-bay Lady Chapel with two
5-light wide Perpendicular style windows with hoodmoulds,
rusticated jambs. Flanking stepped buttresses with diagonal
buttress to each corner. Embattled parapet. To right of centre
buttress is a small projecting porch with 2-leaf boarded door,
flat pointed moulded stone arch, lean-to stone slab roof.
Similar window on right return. Pedimental embattled parapet.
The chancel lower and narrower than the nave with stepped
offset buttresses each rising into a crocketed pinnacle has to
east face a large 7-light Perpendicular style window with
hoodmould.
North and south faces have similar 3-light window. Facing
shallow pitch parapet gable. Below window sill is a projecting
ambulatory passage with boarded door to north and south
returns, each set under stone pointed arch with hoodmould. At
centre is a 3-light Perpendicular style window with hoodmould.
To right of chancel the 2-storey vestry, sacristy and organ
loft has Tudor-type flat-arched window, moulded sillband to
second floor with 3-light traceried window. North face has
aisle, nave and chancel windows all similar to south face.
To right of north aisle within the 5th bay is a projecting
porch with 2-leaf boarded door with ornate iron strap hinges
set under moulded stone pointed arch with rusticated jambs.
Flanking panelled pilasters, stone parapet.
At far left (east) the 2-storey vestry, chapel and organ loft
with diagonal stepped buttresses and stone capped plinth has
4-light Perpendicular style window set under 3 centred arch.
Second floor stone sillband and 3 long narrow lancet traceried
windows, each with hoodmould. Facing gable with stone parapet,
gargoyle at each corner. Stone stack on left.
INTERIOR: lofty open interior. Nave arcades have octagonal
stone piers, capitals with castellated tops, moulded pointed
arches, rolled hoodmoulds with small ogees above arches rising
as shafts up to the roof corbels. Similar shafts rise from
corbels between springing of arches. Coved hammer beam roof,
gilded angels support hammer off stone corbels which continues
over part of the chancel as a timber barrel vault. The north
chapel opening has wide 3-centred stone moulded arch with
carved foliated spandrels, moulded cornice with carved bosses.
Above is the delicately carved oak organ case with trefoil
headed panels. Behind organ case are 2 tall 3-light wide stone
traceried open screens.
Chancel sanctuary opening with moulded stepped intrados to

pointed arch, flanking colonnettes. To left face of chancel
arch is a doorway leading to the vestry, organ loft and
ambulatory passage. Within right face of arch is doorway to
Lady Chapel. At east end of chancel is an ornate wood panelled
and traceried reredos set against panelled wall surface with
large arched rib intersecting the panel pattern. Above is the
7-light Perpendicular style window with stained glass.
To north of chancel are 2 recessed panelled wall surfaces
traceried and set under moulded pointed arch with hoodmould.
Lower part of north side right-hand panel has opening set
under flat pointed stone arch. Upper tier with moulded stone
band has on right a Perpendicular style window and on left
panelled wall surface with similar rib tracery pattern as
window. Window and wall panels are flanked by colonnettes from
which spring the Lierne vaulted ceiling with carved bosses at
rib intersections. South face has similar window and wall
panels.
Vestibule at west end with doors leading to north and south
porches. Main west entrance door and 4-light window with
stained glass. Engaged column at each corner of vestibule from
which spring the vaulted ceiling. 2-leaf door to nave set
under stone pointed arch springing from flanking pilasters.
West face on nave side has recessed panels and pilasters.
STAINED GLASS to aisle window by Burlison and Grylls
c1890-1920.
FITTINGS: delicate cast-iron chapel screens. Wide octagonal
stone pulpit with sub-structure embellished by miniature
vaulting.
MONUMENT: cartouche in north porch to Thomas Bowerbane 1761.
HISTORY: the original medieval church survived until 1843 when
it was replaced by a church designed by TE Owen. This was
demolished in 1887 and replaced by the present Church. The
foundation stone was laid by Queen Victoria's eldest daughter
Empress Frederick of Prussia on 9 August 1887.
(Balfour A: Portsmouth: Highgate Hill, London N19: 1970-: 60,
61; Lloyd DW: Buildings of Portsmouth and its Environs:
Portsmouth: 1974-: 128; The Buildings of England: Pevsner N &
Lloyd DW: Hampshire and the Isle of Wight: Harmondsworth:
1973-: 441, 442; The Portsmouth Papers: Hubbuck R: Portsmouth:
1969-: 12, 13, 14; Offord J: Churches, Chapels and Places of
Worship on Portsea Island: Southsea: 1989-: 57).

Listing NGR: SU6511600938

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• St Mary's Church at Wikipedia
• St Mary's Church official website
• Wikidata Q7594405

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)