Queen Adelaide (Adelaide Louise Theresa Caroline Amelia) 13 August 1792 - 2 December 1849
When Queen
Adelaide, the widow of William IV, spent the winter of 1838/39 in Malta
she was dismayed to find no proper Anglican Church. The British
authorities had resisted previous suggestions to build, ostensibly on
the grounds of expense, but partly out of consideration for the Roman
Catholic Maltese population.
Anglican services were held in a room of the Grand Master's Palace and was "insufficient to contain more than the chief English families".The vast majority of English residents were spiritually neglected.
Queen Adelaide's offer to pay for a church (nearly £20,000 at the time) overcame all objections. The British Government provided a site, on the spot where the Auberge d’Allemagne (the conventual home of the German Knights Hospitaller) had stood. Queen Adelaide laid the foundation stone on 20th March 1839.
Queen Adelaide's Banner hangs majestically above the
choir stalls.Anglican services were held in a room of the Grand Master's Palace and was "insufficient to contain more than the chief English families".The vast majority of English residents were spiritually neglected.
Queen Adelaide's offer to pay for a church (nearly £20,000 at the time) overcame all objections. The British Government provided a site, on the spot where the Auberge d’Allemagne (the conventual home of the German Knights Hospitaller) had stood. Queen Adelaide laid the foundation stone on 20th March 1839.
The original building proved unstable and work started again in 1841 under new designs by William Scamp, who had been employed for some years as Clerk of Works to Sir James Wyattville on the remodeling of Windsor Castle.
The Dedication of the Church to St Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, was a reminder of the first Christian missionary to Malta, when he was shipwrecked on the Island in AD 59/60. Scamps plan envisaged the High Altar at the West end and four side doors, giving the additional benefit of a cooling breeze during the hot summer months. The Bishop of Gibraltar insisted on a more orthodox layout with the altar to the east, so Scamp contrived an apse inside the great doors to hold the sanctuary.
Scamp’s rather severe interior with its pillars and fluted engaged pilasters topped by Corinthian capitols supporting a cornice are architecturally in harmony with Malta.
The glass windows seem always to have been plain and had to be completely replaced after the bombing in the Second World War. Further necessary repairs after the war prompted a return to Scamp’s original orientation. The west end was transformed into a choir by building a new stone screen across the nave. The screen incorporated a stone pulpit and lectern, now in wood and presented as a memorial to Sir Winston Churchill.
To mark the centenary of the death of Queen Adelaide, the Archbishop of Canterbury dedicated the new chancel on 2nd December 1949 in the presence of Princess Elizabeth, who was visiting Prince Phillip during his period of Naval service in Malta. The former sanctuary at the east end became a Baptistry. The font was moved, from the centre of the west end to the apse.
The Undercroft, solidly constructed as the foundation of the building, was not used for 80 years. The Bishop opened it on Easter Day 1928 as a church hall. In 1938 it was made a gas proof air raid shelter and in the early days of the conflict was used by the chaplain, his wife and scores of Maltese citizens.
Despite the heavy bombing of Valletta during the Second World War and the prominent and vulnerable position of the Cathedral, it escaped serious damage during the air raids of 1941-42, Thus it survived to bear testimony to the valour of those who fought to defend Malta; and to house the memorials of all units of the Navy, Army and Air Force on the oak panels around the Sanctuary. A Merchant Navy Memorial is located on the North wall and a Submariners Memorial Plaque is situated outside, on the north-west wall of the Cathedral, facing Manoel Island.
The Undercroft has had major renovation work done during 2005, and upgrading of the toilet facilities in 2006.
The Chancellor's Lodge adjoining the Cathedral has had major renovation work done durung 2008-2009.
In 2010 the north east lobby used as the main entrance to the Cathedral was redocorated and the south east lobby below the organ loft, long used for storage, was opened up and decorated as a more convienent entrance for the many visitors to the Cathedral during the week.
former canons of St Paul’s Pro-cathedral, Valletta:
The Reverend Canon John Livingstone (1993)
The Reverend Canon Philip Cousins (1995)
The Right Reverend Eric Devenport (1997)
The Reverend Canon Geoffrey Evans (2000)
The Reverend Canon Jeremy Peake (2000)
The Reverend Canon Gordon Reid (2003)
The Reverend Canon Tom Mendel (2008)
The Venerable Arthur Siddall (2009)
of St Paul’s Pro-Cathedral, Valletta:
1844 J.CLEUGH. D.D
1877 H.WHITE. M.A.
1878 E.A.HARDY. M.A.
1896 A.B.CARTWRIGHT. M.A.
1901 F.De WINTON.LUSHINGTON. M.A.
1903 D.COLLYER. M.A.
1905 C.GULL. M.A.
1907 W.NAISH M.A.
1908 W.EVERED.
1910 A.F.NEWTON. M.A.
1913 F.D.BROCK.
1919 A.H.C.FARGUS. M.A.
1922 A.C.MORETON. M.A.
1926 N.A.MARSHALL.
1931 R,M, NICHOLAS. M.A.
1944 F.W.HICKS. B.A.
1955 C.PATON. O.B.E.
1959 H.R.COLTON .M.A.
1963 R.W.POPE. L.R.N.
1965 L.MacMANAWAY. Q.H.C. M.A. R.N.
1966 DONALD YOUNG. O.B.E. R.N.
1967 H.G.W. MACDONALD. M.A. B.D. R.N.
1969 GORDON HYSLOP. C.B.E. M.A.
1974 HOWARD COLE. Q.H.C. CF(Rtd). B.Sc.
1977 DAVID INDERWICK STRANGEWAYS.
1981 JOHN WALTER EVANS. M.A.
1986 KENNETH W.A.ROBERTS.1989 PHILIP J.COUSINS. M.A.
1996 ALAN G.WOODS. T.D. F.C.C.A.
2004 TOMAS OLIVER MENDEL. SSC. M.A.
2009 SIMON H.M. GODFREY. SSC.
St Paul's pro-Cathedral Friends