Golden Barque - Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK
Posted by: ashberry
N 50° 47.429 W 001° 06.259
30U E 633612 N 5628239
Weathervane called 'Golden Barque' on the bell tower (121 feet/ 37 m high) of the Portsmouth Anglican Cathedral
Waymark Code: WM14YQD
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/13/2021
Views: 1
"Above the cupola is a gilt model of a ship, the Golden Barque, in the form of a weather vane, this ship is 6ft 10ins long. The Golden Barque was installed on the cupola in 1710, in 1954 it was blown down during a storm and is now on display inside the cathedral, mounted on oak timbers recovered from HMS Victory. The current Golden Barque, along with the entire bell tower, underwent a major restoration project in 2015."
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"The Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, commonly known as Portsmouth Cathedral, is an Anglican cathedral church in the centre of Old Portsmouth in Portsmouth, England. It is the cathedral of the Diocese of Portsmouth and the seat of the bishop of Portsmouth.
The Anglican cathedral is one of the two cathedral churches in the city, the other being the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Portsmouth, about one mile to the north.
During the English Civil War, when the Parliamentary forces attacked the town in 1642, the Royalist garrison used the church tower to observe the movement of enemy forces. Parliamentary gunners positioned in Gosport fired on the tower and inflicted damage to the church. This resulted in the ruin of the medieval tower and nave. With the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 came the authorisation by Charles II for a collection in churches across the country to raise the £9,000 required to rebuild the tower and nave, which took place from 1683 to 1693. The nave was built in the classical style. Galleries were added in 1708 to cater for growing congregations, and were extended in 1750. The wooden cupola with a lantern for shipping was added to the top of the tower in 1703. A ring of eight bells was given at the same time. Two additional bells were cast in 1957 and currently the central tower contains a total of 12 bells. All of the bells were cast at Taylor's Bell Foundry and are hung in the wooden octagonal part of the tower. Various repairs and alterations were made during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries."
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