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{{Short description|Church in Hampshire, England}}{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}{{Use British English|date=July 2015}}

factoids

| gbgridref = SZ 63269 99205| location = Old Portsmouth| area = Hampshire| built = ca 1212| architect = Early English Period>Early English| governing_body = | owner = English Heritage| designation1 = Grade II| designation1_offname = Royal Garrison Church| designation1_date = 18 Mar 19991245790}}| designation2 = | designation2_offname = | designation2_date = | designation2_number = | designation3 = | designation3_offname = | designation3_date = | designation3_number = | designation4 = | designation4_offname = | designation4_date = | designation4_number = | designation5 = | designation5_offname = | designation5_date = | designation5_number = }}(File:Interior of Domus Dei church.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The interior of the church)Domus Dei (Hospital of Saint Nicholas and Saint John the Baptist) was an almshouse and hospice at Old Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. It is now also known as the Royal Garrison Church and is an English Heritage property and a Grade II listed building.{{National Heritage List for England|num=1245790|desc=Royal Garrison Church|accessdate=28 November 2018}}

History

The hospice was established by Peter des Roches (sometimes wrongly named as de Rupibus), Bishop of Winchester and William of Wrotham in around 1212 A.D.BOOK, O’Brien, Charles, Bailey, Bruce, Pevsner, Nikolaus, Lloyd, David W., 2018, The Buildings of England Hampshire: South, Yale University Press, 458–460, 9780300225037, In 1450 an unpopular advisor to the king, Bishop Adam Moleyns of Chichester was conducting a service at the chapel of Domus Dei when a number of naval seamen (resentful of being only partially paid and only provided with limited provisions) burst into the church, dragged out the bishop and murdered him.WEB,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070714043720weblink">weblink dead, 14 July 2007, Beginning of the Wars of the Roses, The Orb, 28 November 2018, As a result of this the entire town of Portsmouth was placed under the Greater Excommunication, an interdict which lasted until 1508, removed at the request of Bishop Foxe of Winchester.WEB,weblink 148, The story of the 'Domus Dei' of Portsmouth, commonly called The Royal Garrison church, H.P., Wright, James Parker & Co, 1873, In 1540, like many other chantry buildings, it was seized by King Henry VIII and until 1560 was used as an armoury. After 1560, a mansion built close by the south-side became the home of the local military governor.WEB,weblink Royal Garrison Church, Portsmouth Guide, 16 December 2020, In 1662 the mansion hosted the wedding of King Charles II and Princess Catherine of Braganza.BOOK, Elliott, Julia, Heritage Unlocked - Guide to free sites in London and the South East, 2005, English Heritage, London, 1-85074-881-0, 72–73, Towards the end of the seventeenth century it fell into disrepair until it was restored in 1767 to become the Garrison church. Once again, the Church fell into disrepair and in 1865 a new restoration project began under the direction of G. E. Street which lasted ten years.On 10 January 1941 the buildings of Domus Dei were partially destroyed in an attack by German bombers, when all the stained glass windows were blown out and the nave was rendered roofless by incendiary bombs and a single high explosive bomb. New glazing was subsequently fitted. Apart from the East window with its traditional design, all the other windows show much of the British Army's relationship to the Church and the City of Portsmouth. The chancel is intact, but the nave remains roofless.The aisles but not the central nave were re-roofed in 1995. In October 2021, the building was one of 142 sites across England to receive part of a £35-million grant from the government's Culture Recovery Fund.WEB,weblink Heritage and Craft Workers Across England Given a Helping Hand, Historic England, 22 October 2021, 23 October 2021,

See also

• List of places of worship in Portsmouth

Further reading

• BOOK, The Story of the 'Domus Dei' of Portsmouth: Commonly Called the Royal Garrison Church, Henry Press Wright, James Parker and Co, 1873,

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category|Royal Garrison Church, Portsmouth}}

• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20060503194006weblink">Memorials in the church
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070807152936weblink">HCC details
• FOOPA details
• Royal Garrison Church page at English Heritage