Church of Our Lady and St Andrew, Portland

[1] During the 19th-century, the influx of workers for the new prison establishment, and the construction of the breakwaters of Portland Harbour, led to the need for a Catholic church.

[2] Designed by the prolific English architect Joseph Hansom, the church was erected at Grove Road in 1868 by George Poole,[2] and dedicated to Our Lady and St Andrew.

Sailors would have a service at 9am, whilst another would follow immediately after at 10:30am for the military and civilians.

[4] Right from the opening of the church, it proved a valuable establishment for the community as well as to the various Regiments in Garrison and the Royal Navy.

[5] The church's future remained uncertain until 2008 when Christopher Budd, Bishop of Plymouth, decreed that the parishes of Our Lady & St Andrew, Portland, St Augustine, Weymouth and St Joseph, Weymouth, be united to form a new parish, Our Lady Star of the Sea.