The Church celebrated its 150th Anniversary in 1994. During that year amongst the celebrations, the history of the church was documented. this brief synopsis gives the background on the Parish of Milton from 1844 to today.
How it all began
There are unlikely to be many people living in Portsmouth who will not be aware that in 1994 we celebrated the 800th year of Portsmouth being a city. It was this year also when the western world came together to commemorate the 50th anniversary of D-Day, a momentous historic event so very closely associated with the city and its environs. Perhaps not so widely known is the additional and special significance of 1994 to the parishioners of Milton, for it was in 1994 that we celebrated the 150th birthday of the Parish of Milton.
When reaching a milestone of special significance it is normal to pause and reflect on events leading to and occurring during the journey taken. This we briefly do by first looking at early 17th and 18th century maps where we see that the eastern side of Portsea Island is predominantly wild heath and bog land. Small areas of pasture land do exist where, presumably, the ground level is sufficiently above the high water mark not to be flooded and the composition of the ground is more supportive. For good reason therefore, the maps show very few buildings in this part of the Island. Inspection of the maps produced in the late 18th century and early 19th century, however, show the gradual spread of urban development eastwards and northwards from the main city area located in the Portsmouth harbour vicinity. Significant to population growth commencing within the eastern coastal strip was clearly the introduction of legislation which allowed former common land to be privatised. This change undoubtedly provided the incentive to increase engineering activity geared to improving access and drainage.
The pastoral needs of the steadily growing number who chose to dwell in the Copnor, Milton and Eastney areas were met initially by the parish church of Saint Mary's, Portsea (otherwise known as Kingston Church and "Mother Church" of a parish established as far back as 1167). Later, as population figures increased still further, the need for an additional daughter church was recognised and it is largely thanks to public subscription, Church society grants, and the generous gift of a building site, that on the 30th September, 1841 a church, dedicated to St James, was consecrated in the village of Milton.
Records tell us that the "old" church was small (congregational capacity. 200), built on an east-west axis, Romanesque in style with a semi-circular chancel and a bell tower in one corner. Little of the building remains today except for a small section of the southern external wall, which now serves as a garden wall to the vicarage, and a richly coloured stained glass window which was transferred to the Good Shepherd Chapel of the present church. Having an arcadian setting the church attracted couples wishing a quiet 'out-of-town' marriage and later became known affectionately as the 'Runaway Church'
Within three years of building St James' Church the ecclesiastical parish of St. James Milton. came into being. Territorially the parish was much larger than the one we see today. It once extended north to Port Creek and encompassed roads such as Fawcett Road and St Augustine Road; much of the land to the east of the railway line in fact.
As the ruthless spread of urbanization continued, other churches appeared around the parish. In 1899, St. Margaret's Church in Highland Road, formerly St. Columba's Mission, was started and in 1906 the foundation stone of St. Patrick's Church was laid to mark the eventual replacement of' the earlier Mission which opened in 1905 at 61 Pretoria Road. St. Cross Mission served many in the Eastney area and in 1913, St. Cuthbert's Church, Copnor. was also established. In more recent time (1973) an outpost of St. James' was established behind St. Andrew's Church, (the Royal Marine Church) in Henderson Road Eastney. Life within the parish was suitably attended.
To return to the Mother Church of St James. Whilst partitioning to create more parishes within Portsmouth resulted in the Parish of Milton having less area, population growth continued. In the very early years of the 20th century it became apparent that the size of St James' was too small to serve its growing needs. A new much larger church was clearly needed to present the faith to the new families moving to the area and, with the timely availability of funds, human effort and determination was rewarded with the consecration of a new church in 1913. Built this time on a north-south axis and in Gothic form, it was, until later altered, able to accommodate 950 worshippers. The addition of the "Jesse Tree" stained glass east window, inserted to mark the church's 21st anniversary, enhances greatly the otherwise dignified although austere brick and timber interior. The window by Sir Ninian Comper shows the descent of Jesus, through Mary, from King David, the youngest son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite.
150 years ago the Parish of Milton started with one church. Because of a combination of modern dictates, financial pressures and the attitudes of society, the parish returns to that earlier situation - hopefully to start again. But there is much good that has happened during the course of the intervening years and a great deal for which to be thankful. The parish is still very much alive - and may it continue for many anniversaries to come.
