Listed Building: CHURCH OF ST JUDE (1245534)

Church. 1851. By TE Owen (built as part of his Southsea development). Vestry and chapel flanking chancel to north and south, west face of nave, and internal balcony to aisles 1897. By JH Ball. Flint and rock-faced stone with stone dressings. Welsh slate roofs. PLAN: 5-bay aisled nave, 2-bay chancel, north-east vestry and south-east chapel (converted to church offices and coffee rooms c1973). EXTERIOR: west face: lofty nave with facing stone coped gable, flanking stepped buttresses rising to window springing level. At centre is a tall 5-light wide stone traceried window with pointed arch, rusticated stone jambs and sillband. South face: low projecting porch to left with recessed 2-leaf boarded door set behind splayed stone surround with pointed arch, dripstone and dropped bosses. Facing stone coped gable with kneelers. Stone corbels to eaves. To right the aisle has, between the first 3 bays, a projecting memorial chapel set between buttresses with a small pointed stone traceried cusped window. Oculus set within facing stone coped gable with kneelers. Flanking 2-light reticulated stone tracery stone windows with cusped hood to each light set under pointed arch with dripstone and dropped bosses. Further right projecting chapel has 2 similar windows. Low flat-roofed projection to front of chapel with 3-light stone plate traceried window. Nave has six 2-light geometrical stone traceried clerestory windows each with pointed arch and rusticated jambs. The right hand 4 windows have dripstones with dropped bosses. Stone corbels to eaves. To right of aisle is a projecting screen wall with pointed stone arched opening arch rusticated jamb, facing stone coped gable with kneelers and finial. Further right is a low projecting hipped roof wing with stone parapet containing Church offices. 3-light stone plate traceried window. Right of aisle, projecting from south face of chancel is a tower and spire with clasped stepped buttresses ascending to head level of tower windows. Projecting porch with 2-leaf recessed boarded door set under pointed stone arch with dripstone, splayed stone jambs. Facing stone coped gable with finial. Stone traceried oculus set within gable. Each face of tower has at high level 2 tall narrow stone geometrical tracery 1-light wide louvred openings, each with dripstones, set within recessed flint walled panel with clock face over. Broached spire has on each face a 2-light opening each with cusped heads and facing gable with dripstone. East face: lower roofed chancel has a 5-light reticulated stone traceried window, facing stone coped gable with finial. To left the lower hipped roof church offices has two 2-light stone plate traceried windows with, at centre, a stone chimney stack. Stone coped parapet. North face: similar to south face but with a flat roofed porch to right with a 2-leaf boarded door set under stone flat pointed arch with rusticated jambs. Stone parapet. At junction of aisle with nave is a 3-sided stair access tower with a 1-light stone traceried window. To left aisle has 5 2-light reticulated stone traceried window with flanking stepped buttresses. Stone corbels to eaves. Further left vestry has at centre a 1-light wide stone traceried window with dripstone and dropped bosses. A low porch to right of vestry with facing gable and kneelers. INTERIOR: aisled nave to north and south with square chamfered stone piers and pointed arches; short round attached columns below springer of each arch. Balcony set over vestibule and running for 3 aisled bays eastwards (balcony now partitioned 1973 to form church rooms). Chancel pointed arch similar to arcade. On north side of chancel left bay has carved timber screen with 5 front stalls, door to right with timber fretwork to top of panel. Further right is a 2-light reticulated stone traceried window. South side of chancel has similar window and to right is door to church offices and organ loft. East window 5-light reticulated, reredos below with open upper tracery rising above sill of window. Nave and chancel roofs hammer beamed with curved braces set off stone corbels, diagonal boarded between rafters. West face has timber screened vestibule with leaded lights, 2-leaf boarded entrance door. Porch to left and right with timber stairs to balcony. Aisles and chancel windows have stained glass and to south of south aisle is a mausoleum for members of the Lanyon family c1887-93 with stone ribbed and embossed vaulting. (Balfour A: Portsmouth: Highgate Hill, London: 1970-: 48; Lloyd DW: Buildings of Portsmouth and its Environs: Portsmouth: 1974-: 125; The Buildings of England: Pevsner N & Lloyd DW: Hampshire and the Isle of Wight: Harmondsworth: 1967-: 440; Offord J: Churches, Chapels & Places of Worship on Portsea Island: Southsea: 1989-: 42, 43, 44). Selected Sources Books and journals Balfour, A, Portsmouth, (1970), 48 Lloyd, D W , Buildings of Portsmouth and its Environs, (1974), 125 Offord, J , Churches Chapels and Places of Worship on Portsea Island, (1989), 42,43,44 Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, (1967), 440