Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth

For the Catholic diocese, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth.

The Diocese of Portsmouth is an administrative division of the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England. The diocese covers south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The see is based in the City of Portsmouth in Hampshire, where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury.

Diocese of Portsmouth Dioecesis Portus Magni
Portsmouth cathedral
Coat of arms
Flag
Location
Country	England
Ecclesiastical province	Canterbury
Archdeaconries	Portsdown, the Meon, Isle of Wight
Headquarters	Peninsular House, Portsmouth
Statistics
Parishes	133
Churches	173
Information
Denomination	Church of England
Cathedral	Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury
Language	English
Current leadership
Bishop	Jonathan Frost, Bishop of Portsmouth
Archdeacons	Steve Daughtery, Archdeacon of the Isle of Wight Kathryn Percival, Archdeacon of the Meon Archdeacon of Portsdown (vacant)
Website
www.portsmouth.anglican.org

Origin

The Diocese of Portsmouth was created on 1 May 1927^[1] under George V from the Diocese of Winchester. It consists of the three archdeaconries of:

• Portsdown (comprising the deaneries of Portsmouth and Havant);
• The Meon (comprising the deaneries of Fareham, Gosport, Petersfield and Bishop's Waltham);
• The Isle of Wight (comprising the deanery of the Isle of Wight).

Bishops

The Bishop of Portsmouth leads the diocese as one of three diocesan bishops in the Church of England not assisted by a suffragan bishop, the others being the Bishop of Hereford and the Bishop of Sodor and Man

Alternative episcopal oversight (for parishes in the diocese which do not accept the ordination of women as priests) is provided by the provincial episcopal visitor, the Bishop suffragan of Richborough. On 10 December 2024, it was announced that the next Bishop suffragan of Richborough, Luke Irvine-Capel, will be "based" in the diocese.^[2] There are also two former bishops living in the diocese who are licensed as honorary assistant bishops:

• 2012–present: Timothy Bavin, oblate master at Alton Abbey, is a retired Bishop of Portsmouth.^[3]

• 2012–present: John Hind, retired Bishop of Chichester, lives in Emsworth, Hampshire.^[4]

Safeguarding

The Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth had a number of sexual abuse convictions in the 1980s and 1990s.^[5] Timothy Bavin was the Bishop between 1985 and 1995 and during this time a number of serious safeguarding issues took place. For example, Bavin did not report Fr Terry Knight to the police when parents raised their concerns to him in 1985.^[5] Knight was allowed to continue in his position until he was later convicted for sexually abusing boys in 1996 and again in 2016.^[6] Bavin had also allowed a convicted paedophile Fr Michael Gover to resume working for the church on his release in 1990. Gover was convicted in 1985 at around the same time as parents raising their concerns about Knight.^[7] Bavin stood down in 1995 whilst Knight's police investigation and court case was taking place.^[8]

Archdeaconries and deaneries

Diocese	Archdeaconry	Deanery	Paid clergy	Churches	Population	People/clergy	People/church	Churches/clergy
Diocese of Portsmouth	Archdeaconry of Portsdown	Deanery of Havant	16	26	149,426	9,339	5,747	1.63
		Deanery of Portsmouth	23*	26*	202,016	8,783	7,770	1.13
	Archdeaconry of the Isle of Wight	Deanery of the Isle of Wight	21	60	138,259	6,584	2,304	2.86
	Archdeaconry of the Meon	Deanery of Bishop's Waltham	7	17	28,844	4,121	1,697	2.43
		Deanery of Fareham	14	13	117,854	8,418	9,066	0.93
		Deanery of Gosport	8	10	82,625	10,328	8,263	1.25
		Deanery of Petersfield	12	20	40,808	3,401	2,040	1.67
Total/average			104	170	759,832	7,306	4,470	1.63

*including Cathedral

Deaneries of the Diocese of Portsmouth

List of churches

Not in a deanery

Benefice	Church	Link	Founded (building)	Clergy	Pop. served[9]
Cathedral[10]	Cathedral of St Thomas of Canterbury, Portsmouth		Medieval	4	4,396

Deanery of Havant

Benefice	Church	Link	Founded (building)	Clergy	Pop. served[9]
Bedhampton (St Nicholas's Mission Church) (St Thomas)[11]	St Thomas, Bedhampton		Ancient (Medieval)	1	9,874
	St Nicholas, Bedhampton		1959
Blendworth (Holy Trinity) with Chalton with Idsworth[12]	Holy Trinity, Blendworth		1851	0	1,055
	St Michael & All Angels, Chalton		Medieval		77
	St Hubert, Idsworth		Ancient		150
Catherington (All Saints) and Clanfield[13]	All Saints, Catherington		Medieval	0	9,086
	St James, Clanfield		Medieval (1875)		3,745
Cowplain (St Wilfrid)[14]	St Wilfrid, Cowplain		1923	2	13,421
	Westbrook Church
Crookhorn (Good Shepherd)[15]	Good Shepherd, Crookhorn		1978	1	2,989
Portsdown (Christ Church)[16]	Christ Church, Portsdown		1872	1	6,285
Purbrook (St John the Baptist)[17]	St John the Baptist, Purbrook		1858		8,426
Denmead (All Saints)[18]	All Saints, Denmead		1880	1	6,758
Hartplain (Not Known)[19]	Hart Plain Church (CoE/Methodist)			1	8,974
Havant (St Faith)[20]	St Faith, Havant		Medieval	3	8,487
	St Nicholas' Chapel, Langstone		1869
Hayling Island (St Andrew) Eastoke[21]	St Andrew, Eastoke		c. 1940 (1964)	1	4,687
Hayling, North (St Peter)[22]	St Peter, North Hayling		Medieval		1,798
Hayling, South (St Mary)[23]	St Mary, South Hayling		Medieval		10,894
Leigh Park (St Francis)[24]	St Francis, Leigh Park		1963	1	13,099
Warren Park (St Clare)[25]	St Clare, Warren Park		1970		3,278
Leigh, West (St Alban)[26]	St Alban, West Leigh		1957 (1966)	1	9,830
Rowlands Castle (St John the Baptist)[27]	St John the Baptist, Rowlands Castle		1838	0	2,357
Warblington (St Thomas À Becket) with Emsworth[28]	St Thomas à Becket, Warblington		Ancient (Medieval)	2	10,709
	St James, Emsworth		1840
Waterlooville (St George the Martyr)[29]	St George, Waterlooville		1831 (1970)	1	13,447

Deanery of Portsmouth

Benefice	Church	Link	Founded (building)	Clergy	Pop. served[9]
Cosham (St Philip)[30]	St Philip, Cosham		1938	1	4,266
Wymering (St Peter and St Paul)[31]	SS Peter & Paul, Wymering		Medieval		6,608
Farlington (St Andrew) (Church of the Resurrection)[32]	St Andrew, Farlington		Medieval (1875)	2	15,146
	The Resurrection, Farlington		1930
Milton (St James) (St Andrew's Church Centre) (St Patrick)[33]	St James, Milton		1841 (1913)	1	23,326
Paulsgrove (St Michael and All Angels)[34]	St Michael & All Angels, Paulsgrove		1957	1	11,834
Portsea (All Saints)[35]	All Saints, Portsea		1828	0	5,236
Portsea (St Mary) (St Faith and St Barnabas) (St Wilfrid)[36]	St Mary, Portsea		Ancient (1889)	2	21,635
	St Faith, Portsea
	St Wilfrid, Portsea
Southsea (St Luke) (St Peter)[37]	St Luke, Southsea		1861	1	13,431
Portsea (St Alban)[38]	St Alban, Copnor		1914	2	5,542
	Harbour Church Portsmouth		2016
Portsea (St George)[39]	St George, Portsea		1753		4,567
Portsea (St Cuthbert)[40]	St Cuthbert, Copnor		1908 (1915)	0	12,167
	St Aidan, Anchorage Park
Portsea (St Saviour)[41]	St Saviour, Portsea		1901 (1913)	3	6,261
Portsea (The Ascension)[42]	Ascension, North End		1908 (1913)		7,882
Portsea North End (St Mark)[43]	St Mark, North End		1868 (1970)		20,608
	St Nicholas, North End		1930
	St Francis, Hilsea		1930 (1936)
Southsea (Holy Spirit)[44]	Holy Spirit, Southsea		1858 (1958)	2	13,462
Southsea (St Jude)[45]	St Jude, Southsea		1851	2	8,783
Southsea (St Margaret of Scotland)[46]	St Margaret's Community Church, Southsea		2017 (1903)	0	7,554
Southsea (St Simon)[47]	St Simon, Southsea		1858	0	9,312

Deanery of the Isle of Wight

Benefice	Church	Link	Founded (building)	Clergy	Pop. served[9]
Arreton (St George)[48]	St George, Arreton		Medieval	1	940
Newchurch (All Saints)[49]	All Saints, Newchurch		Medieval		2,397
Barton (St Paul)[50]	St Paul, Barton		1844	0	5,184
Bembridge (Holy Trinity) (St Luke's Mission Church)[51]	Holy Trinity, Bembridge		1827 (1846)	1	3,679
	St Luke's Chapel, Bembridge
Binstead (Holy Cross)[52]	Holy Cross, Binstead		Medieval	1	4,490
Havenstreet (St Peter)[53]	St Peter, Havenstreet		1852		491
Wootton (St Edmund)[54]	St Edmund, Wootton		Medieval		3,653
	St Mark, Wootton Bridge		1909
Bonchurch (St Boniface) (St Boniface Old Church)[55]	St Boniface, Bonchurch		1848		568
	Old St Boniface, Bonchurch		Medieval
Ventnor (Holy Trinity)[56]	Holy Trinity, Ventnor		1862		1,291
Ventnor (St Catherine)[57]	St Catherine, Ventnor		1837		1,929
Wight, West, Comprising Brighstone, Brook, Calbourne, Freshwater, Mottistone, Newtown, Shalfleet, Shorwell with Kingston, Thorley, Totland Bay, and Yarmouth[58]	St Mary, Brighstone		Medieval	2	1,357
	St Mary, Brook		Medieval (1864)		135
	SS Peter & Paul, Mottistone		Medieval		81
	St Peter, Shorwell		Medieval		659
	St James, Kingston (?)		Medieval (1892)
	All Saints, Calbourne		Medieval		355
	Holy Spirit, Newtown		1835		317
	St Michael the Archangel, Shalfleet		Medieval		1,573
	All Saints, Freshwater		Medieval		5,428
	St Agnes, Freshwater (?)		1908
	St James, Yarmouth		Medieval (c. 1626)		591
	St Swithun, Thorley		1871		274
	Christ Church, Totland Bay		1869 (1875)		2,868
Carisbrooke (St Mary the Virgin)[59]	St Mary, Carisbrooke		Medieval	1
Carisbrooke (St Nicholas in the Castle)[60]	St Nicholas in Castro, Carisbrooke		Medieval (1904)
Gatcombe (St Olave)[61]	St Olave, Gatcombe		Medieval

Benefice	Churches	Link	Clergy	Population served	Ref
Chale (St Andrew)	St Andrew, Chale		Rector: Nigel Porter	3,331	[62]
St Lawrence (Old Church) (St Lawrence)	St Lawrence, St Lawrence				[63]
Whitwell (St Mary and St Rhadegunde)	SS Mary & Radegund, Whitwell				[64]
Niton (St John the Baptist)	St John the Baptist, Niton				[65]
Cowes (Holy Trinity) (St Mary the Virgin)	Holy Trinity, Cowes		Vicar: Andrew Poppe	5,835	[66]
	St Mary the Virgin, Cowes
Gatten (St Paul)	St Paul, Gatten		Priest-in-Charge: Mark Williams NSM (Sandown): Tony Richards	9,487	[67]
Sandown (Christ Church)	Christ Church, Sandown				[68]
Godshill (All Saints)	All Saints, Godshill St Alban the Martyr, Ventnor		Vicar: John Ryder NSM: Corinne Smith	3,631	[69]
Gurnard (All Saints) with Cowes St Faith	All Saints, Gurnard		Vicar/Rector: Amanda Collinson Curate: Stephen Sutcliffe NSM: Diana Netherway	9,405	[70]
Northwood (St John the Baptist)	St John the Baptist, Northwood				[71]
Lake (Good Shepherd)	Good Shepherd, Lake		Priest-in-Charge: David Lawrence-Marsh NSM: Corinne Smith (see above)	5,271	[72]
Shanklin (St Saviour On the Cliff)	St Saviour-on-the-Cliff, Shanklin				[73]
Newport (St John the Baptist)	St John the Baptist, Newport		Priest-in-Charge: Alison Kerr NSM: Janet Hallam NSM: David Brown	5,790	[74]
Newport (St Thomas)	SS Thomas Minster, Newport		Vicar: Kevin Arkell NSM: Janet Hallam (see above)	5,666	[75]
Ryde (All Saints)	All Saints, Ryde		Priest-in-Charge: Vacant	10,226	[76]
Swanmore (St Michael and All Angels)	St Michael & All Angels, Swanmore				[77]
Ryde (St James) Proprietary Chapel	St James, Ryde		Curate-in-Charge: James Leggett	N/A	[78]
Ryde (St John the Baptist) Oakfield and Holy Trinity	St John, Oakfield Holy Trinity, Ryde		Priest-in-Charge: Sue Theobald	10,501	[79]
Sandown, Lower (St John the Evangelist)	St John the Evangelist, Sandown		Priest-in-Charge: Vacant Curate: Jonathan Hall NSM (Sandown): Tony Richards (see above)	6,189	[80]
Shanklin (St Blasius)	St Blasius, Shanklin				[81]
Seaview (St Peter), St Helens, Brading and Yaverland	St Peter, Seaview St Helen, St Helens St Catherine's Chapel, St Helens St Mary, Brading St John the Baptist, Yaverland		Rector: Alison Morley	6,148	[82]
Whippingham (St Mildred) with East Cowes	St Mildred, Whippingham St James, East Cowes		Rector: Susan Paterson	8,439	[83]
Wroxall (St John the Evangelist)	St John the Evangelist, Wroxall		Hon. Priest-in-Charge: Vacant	1,724	[84]

Deanery of Bishop's Waltham

Benefice	Churches	Link	Clergy	Population served	Ref
Bishop's Waltham (St Peter)	St Peter, Bishop's Waltham		Rector: James Hunt NSM: Jane Beloe NSM: Keith Wickert	7,324	[85]
Upham (All Saints) (Blessed Mary of Upham)	Blessed Mary of Upham, Upham				[86]
Botley (All Saints)	All Saints, Botley		Rector: Gregg Mensingh	6,371	[87]
Curdridge (St Peter)	St Peter, Curdridge				[88]
Durley (Holy Cross)	Holy Cross, Durley				[89]
Meon Bridge, Comprising Droxford, Exton, and Meonstoke with Corhampton	St Mary & All Saints, Droxford SS Peter & Paul, Exton Corhampton Church St Andrew, Meonstoke		Rector: Antony Forrest Curate: Samantha Martell	1,739	[90]
Shedfield (St John the Baptist) and Wickham	St John the Baptist, Shedfield		Rector: Jane Isaac NSM: Brian McHugh Hon. Curate: Juliet Montague	6,308	[91]
	St Nicholas, Wickham
Soberton (St Peter), Newtown and Hambledon	SS Peter & Paul, Hambledon		Priest-in-Charge: Vacant	2,715	[92]
	St Peter, Soberton Holy Trinity, Newtown
Southwick (St James) with Boarhunt	St James, Southwick St Nicholas, Boarhunt		Priest-in-Charge: Simon Brocklehurst	1,456	[93]
Swanmore (St Barnabas)	St Barnabas, Swanmore		Vicar: Claire Towns	2,931	[94]

Deanery of Fareham

Benefice	Churches	Link	Clergy	Population served	Ref
Crofton (Holy Rood) (St Edmund)	Holy Rood, Crofton St Edmund, Crofton		Vicar: Richard England Curate: Judith Greenfield Curate: Dan Greenfield NSM: Colin Prestidge	14,947	[95]
Fareham (Holy Trinity) (St Columba)	Holy Trinity, Fareham St Columba, Fareham		Team Rector: Sally Davenport Curate: Wendy May Jacobs	19,250	[96]
Fareham (St John the Evangelist)	St John the Evangelist, Fareham		Priest-in-Charge: Bruce Deans	9,746	[97]
Fareham (St Peter and St Paul)	SS Peter & Paul, Fareham St Francis, Funtley		Priest-in-Charge: Roger Jackson	14,251	[98]
Hook (St Mary) with Warsash	St Mary, Warsash		Vicars (NSM): Mike and Nicky-Sue Terry	9,843	[99]
Locks Heath (St John the Baptist)	St John the Baptist, Locks Heath		Vicar: Gavin Foster Curate: Amy Webb	11,658	[100]
Portchester (St Mary)	St Mary, Portchester		Priest-in-Charge: Ian Meredith	15,618	[101]
Sarisbury (St Paul)	St Paul, Sarisbury Green		Vicar/Priest-in-Charge: Sandy Matheson Curate-in-Charge (Whiteley): Philippa Mills Minister (Whiteley): Amy Adeniran	12,585	[102]
Whiteley Conventional District	Whiteley Church				[103]
Titchfield (St Peter)	St Peter, Titchfield		Priest-in-Charge: Susan Allman NSM: Janet Trevithick	9,956	[104]

Deanery of Gosport

Benefice	Churches	Link	Clergy	Population served	Ref
Alverstoke (St Faith) (St Francis) (St Mary)	St Mary, Alverstoke St Faith, Alverstoke St Francis, Alverstoke		Priest-in-Charge: Andrew Norris Curate: Chris Richardson	16,532	[105]
Bridgemary (St Matthew)	St Matthew, Bridgemary		Vicar: Karen Mitchell NSM (Elson): Margaret Hay	19,046	[106]
Elson (St Thomas)	St Thomas the Apostle, Elson				[107]
Forton (St John the Evangelist)	St John the Evangelist, Forton		Vicar: Carrie Thompson	12,473	[108]
Gosport (Christ Church)	Christ Church, Gosport		Priest-in-Charge: Ray Driscoll Priest: Godfrey Chigumira	8,399	[109]
Gosport (Holy Trinity)	Holy Trinity, Gosport				[110]
Lee-On-The-Solent (St Faith)	St Faith, Lee-on-the-Solent		Priest-in-Charge: Paul Chamberlain Curate: Mary Kells NSM: Brian Williams NSM: Steve Dent	10,863	[111]
Rowner (St Mary the Virgin)	St Mary the Virgin, Rowner		Rector: John Draper	15,312	[112]

Deanery of Petersfield

Benefice	Churches	Link	Clergy	Population served	Ref
Blackmoor (St Matthew) and Whitehill	St Matthew, Blackmoor		Vicar: Alice Wood Vicar: Dominic Clarke	4,484	[113]
Greatham (St John the Baptist)	St John the Baptist, Greatham				[114]
Bramshott (St Mary the Virgin) and Liphook	St Mary the Virgin, Bramshott Liphook Church Centre		Priest-in-Charge: Valentine Inglis-Jones	8,514	[115]
Petersfield (St Peter)	St Peter, Petersfield		Rector: Will Hughes Curate: Samantha Cullen NSM (Buriton): Judith Bee NSM (Petersfield): Helen Mitchell	11,125	[116]
Buriton (St Mary the Virgin)	St Mary the Virgin, Buriton				[117]
Empshott (Holy Rood) and Hawkley with Priors Dean	Holy Rood, Empshott SS Peter & Paul, Hawkley Priors Dean Parish Church		Priest-in-Charge: Peter Sutton	525	[118]
Langrish (St John the Evangelist)	St John the Evangelist, Langrish		Vicar/Curate: Jane Ball Curate: Katy Garner	2,520	[119]
Meon, East (All Saints)	All Saints, East Meon				[120]
Meon, West (St John the Evangelist) and Warnford	St John the Evangelist, West Meon Our Lady, Warnford				[121]
Liss (St Mary) (St Peter) (St Saviour)	St Mary, Liss St Saviour, Liss (?)		Rector: Chris Williams Curate: Richard Hutchins	6,349	[122]
Sheet (St Mary Magdalene)	St Mary Magdalene, Sheet		Vicar: Richard Saunders NSM: Anderson Marsh NSM: Peter Micklethwaite	4,691	[123]
Steep (All Saints) and Froxfield with Privett	All Saints, Steep Stroud Mission Church St Peter, Froxfield St Peter, Froxfield Green		Vicar: John Owen NSM: Christine Prior-Jones NSM: Susie Collingridge	2,600	[124]

See also

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth