Highfield Church (or Christ Church Portswood) in 1900
Posted by Highfield Residents' Association on Nov 10, 2020 in Local History | 0 commentsHighfield Church (or Christ Church Portswood) in 1900 when Portswood was a village! Built in 1846/47 and consecrated in 1847. The architect, Joshua Brandon, died before the Church was completed, and is buried in the churchyard. More below.
1900 Highfield Church, Portswood. Christ Church, Portswood, more often called Highfield Church, was built in 1846-7 and consecrated in 1847. The architect of the church, Joshua Brandon, died before it was completed, and is buried in the churchyard. In c1850 Philip Brannon wrote “Christ Church is a pretty village church, in plain decorated style, wonderfully correct in the revival of Gothic architecture, and is situated in the delightful rural village of Portswood”.
Joshua Arthur Rodrigues Brandon (1822 – 1847) was an English architect and author. Prior to an early death aged twenty-five, his architectural practice (particularly in church architecture) was promising and growing.With his brother Raphael he built the new corn exchange at Colchester, Essex (1845); Portswood Chapel (1847) and Christ Church, Southampton (1847); and All Saints’ Church, Sculthorpe, Norfolk (1847), Holy Trinity Church Leverstock Green, Hertfordshire, for which he accepted the commission in 1846, dying before its completion in 1849.
With his brother he researched three seminal works on Early English architecture.
