Cathedral of St Michael and St George, Aldershot

Cathedral Church of St Michael and St George
Cathedral Church of St Michael and St George
Cathedral Church of St Michael and St George Shown within Hampshire
Coordinates: 51°15′36″N 0°45′35″W / 51.2599°N 0.7598°W / 51.2599; -0.7598
Location	Aldershot, Hampshire
Country	England
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	Official website
Architecture
Style	Romanesque
Years built	1892
Specifications
Number of spires	1
Administration
Diocese	Bishopric of the Forces
Province	Westminster
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Richard Moth

Cathedral Church of St Michael and St George serves as the Roman Catholic cathedral for the Bishopric of the Forces. Located on Queens Avenue in Aldershot, England, the building was originally intended to be the principal church for the Anglican chaplaincies of the British Army but since 1973 it has been the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Forces.

The church was designed in 1892 in the Early English Gothic Revival style by Ingers Bell and Aston Webb of the War Office. The church was built by J. Davey of Brentwood and was dedicated to St George.

Because the building was originally intended as the principal church for the Anglican chaplaincies of the British Army, the foundation stone was laid by Queen Victoria on 27 June 1892. The trowel and mallet she used in the ceremony are exhibited in the cathedral’s west porch.

St George's was consecrated on 7 October 1893 by the Rev. Anthony Thorold, the Bishop of Winchester in the presence of Queen Victoria and other members of the Royal Family.

The Catholics, in the meantime, were worshipping in the Church of St. Michael and St. Sebastian which had been erected in 1855 opposite the Louise Margaret Hospital. This church was a large wooden building not unlike a barn in appearance, and was constructed mainly of cast iron with internal wooden pillars. The nave had many windows filled with stained glass.

By the early 1970s St George's was not required by the Anglican chaplaincies because the Church of England had two underused churches in the area while the number of Catholic soldiers was increasing; so, in 1973 it became the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Forces instead and was dedicated to St Michael and St George.