St. John's Church (also known as St John the Baptist Church) is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

church in

Fortuneswell Fortuneswell is a village in Underhill, Dorset, Underhill on the Isle of Portland, in Dorset, England. It lies on steeply sloping land on the northern edge of the island, known as Underhill, where Chesil Beach connects the island to the mainland ...

, on the

Isle of Portland The Isle of Portland is a tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. The southern tip, Portland Bill, lies south of the resort of Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A barrier ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

. It was built between 1838–40 and has been a Listed Grade II building since January 1951. The churchyard walls, gate piers, railings, and steps of St. John's Church, dating from 1839–40, became Grade II Listed in September 1978. At this same time, two headstone monuments, about 5 metres north east from the west tower of the church became Grade II Listed. Designed by Edward Mondey or Charles Wallis, the church cost £2,315. Built of Portland stone, the church has a Gothic design in Commissioners' Early English style. It has also been described as

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

in its architecture. The church remains active, as part of the Portland Parish - a host of three churches; St John's Church (St John the Baptist),

All Saints Church All Saints Church, or All Saints' Church or variations on the name may refer to: Albania * All Saints' Church, Himarë Australia * All Saints Church, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory * All Saints Anglican Church, Brisbane, Queensland *All ...

and the

Avalanche Memorial Church The Avalanche Memorial Church, also known as the Church of St Andrew, is a Church of England church in Southwell, Dorset, Southwell, on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. It was built in 1879 and remains active as part of the Portland Parish ...

(St Andrew's Church).

History

St George's Church, built between 1754–66, was the island's only parish church into the 19th century. However, by the 1830s, it had become too small and inconvenient for the increasing population within Underhill. It was decided that a new church should be built for Underhill as a sister church to St George's. The church's construction commenced in 1838, and was completed by 1840, with the work undertaken by John Hancock of Weymouth. In 1865 Underhill became a parish in its own right, with St. John's becoming the parish church. During 1876 the church underwent renovation and was also enlarged. This included the addition of a chancel and organ chamber by George Crickmay. During 1901 a new Parish room for the church was built and opened at the north end of Ventnor Road. When the Second World War drew to a close, on VJ Day, the 14th Port Regiment of the US Army presented its Stars and Stripes colours to St John's Church, as a memento of its close association with the people of Portland, both service and civilian. In 1968 a

Father Willis Henry Willis (27 April 1821 – 11 February 1901), also known as "Father" Willis, was an English organ player and builder, who is regarded as the foremost organ builder of the Victorian era. His company Henry Willis & Sons remains in busin ...

Organ was brought from St Paul's School, Kensington, London for £2,000, and installed after the balcony was reinforced. The organ fell into disrepair due to lack of use, with repairs quoted at an unachievable £100,000. In 2013 it was sold to the Parish Church of Our Lady of Loretu,

Għajnsielem Għajnsielem (; meaning "Spring of Sielem") is a municipality on the southeastern coast of the island of Gozo in Malta, including the entire island of Comino. It has a population of 3,200 residents (as of March 2014), and is the first Gozitan vil ...

Gozo Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...

References

External links

*
Portland Parish website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John's Church, Portland Isle of Portland

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Grade II listed churches in Dorset 1840 establishments in England