Catholic Parish of Jesus Prince of Peace
Southeast Hampshire
Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth
Bringing people closer to Jesus Christ through His Church
St Patrick's Church
St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church was built in 1924-1925 by James Henry and Wilfrid Clarence Mangan, an architect’s practice based in Preston.
Under Bishop Cotter and his successors they were commissioned to design and build a number of other churches in the Diocese of Portsmouth including English Martyrs, Reading, St Saviour’s, Totland, St Patrick’s, Romsey, Our Lady of Lourdes, New Milton, St Joseph’s, Newbury and, locally, the original Sacred Heart church in Waterlooville, and St Colman’s in Cosham.
The Mangans began work on St Patrick’s in 1924. The land for the church had been bought from a local resident in 1914 when what is now the main aisle of the church was built as a small chapel. The original high altar also dates from this period.
The Mangans built their churches in distinctive Italian style, possibly to make a statement in contrast to the typical Anglican parish church and to express their loyalty to Rome. The use of skilled Italian bricklayers and suppliers of Italian marble is evidenced in both Sacred Heart and St Patrick’s in the decorative plasterwork around the nave, columns and other features in scagliola, a kind of coloured faux marble, in mosaic work and in the use of terrazzo.
When completed in 1925, since Hayling was then part of Havant parish, the church was handed over to its parish priest, Canon Bailey. The church was designed to seat 130 people and cost £12,000 to build.
In 1927, Hayling became a parish in its own right and its first parish priest was Fr James McGuckin who stayed initially at a convent on the sea front, also called St Patrick’s, where the sisters ran a sanatorium for children. It later became the cathedral choir school and has since been demolished.
The Stations of the Cross installed in St Patrick’s in 1991, came from the convent which closed in the 1960s. Also in the 1960s, Fr Edward Casey organised the building of the two transepts, effectively enlarging the capacity of the church from 130 to 350 at a cost of £26,000. Possibly owing to a debt, the church was not consecrated until 28th September 1984. The presbytery was added in 1973 and the church hall built in 1979.
In September 2026 St Patrick's parish ceased to be a parish in its own right and became a community within the new Jesus Prince of Peace Parish, Southeast Hampshire.
Key dates:
17th March - the Solemnity of St Patrick, our Patron
28th September - the Solemnity of the Anniversary of Dedication
