Church of St Francis

CHURCH OF ST FRANCIS, FUNTLEY HILL

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Explore this list entry

Overview

1836 with later alterations, architect probably Jacob Owen.
Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1094310
Date first listed:
22-Oct-1976
List Entry Name:
Church of St Francis
Statutory Address:
CHURCH OF ST FRANCIS, FUNTLEY HILL
User submitted image
Contributed by ChurchCare This photo may not represent the current condition of the site. Over 400,000 images and stories have been added to the Missing Pieces Project so far. Share your story.
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places. 

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

Icon Buildings
Icon Scheduled monuments
Icon Parks and gardens
Icon Battlefields
Icon Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Images of England Project

To view this image please use Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or Edge.
Archive image, may not represent current condition of site.
Date:
1999-08-20
Reference:
IOE01/01924/01
Rights:
© Mrs Brenda M Palmer. Source: Historic England Archive

Local Heritage Hub

Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.

Discover more

Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1094310
Date first listed:
22-Oct-1976
List Entry Name:
Church of St Francis
Statutory Address 1:
CHURCH OF ST FRANCIS, FUNTLEY HILL

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:
CHURCH OF ST FRANCIS, FUNTLEY HILL

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:
Hampshire
District:
Fareham (District Authority)
Parish:
Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:
SU 56494 08005

Details

899/21/332 FUNTLEY HILL 22-OCT-76 FUNTLEY (West side) CHURCH OF ST FRANCIS

II 1836 with later alterations, architect probably Jacob Owen

Materials: Painted stucco with clay tiled roof and timber bellcote.

Plan: T-shaped plan, with the bar forming the nave (formerly the schoolroom), the stem a short north-facing chancel. Entrance porch to south; a second porch (now organ chamber) to north-east. Modern vestry extension to north-west.

Exterior: Georgian 'Gothick' style. Windows and doorways are two-and four-centred arches with hood-moulds. East, west and north gables formerly had tall polygonal chimney stacks, now removed. East and west windows of three-lights with intersecting tracery. North (chancel) gable has two-light window. Other window openings are blocked. Porch doors bear simple applied tracery designs; south porch has traceried overlight.

Interior: Extremely simple. Single space with boarded roofs to nave and chancel. Pews removed, with only the wrought-iron frontals remaining. Choir stalls now freestanding at rear of nave. All other fittings moveable. East and west nave windows have plain diamond glazing. Cancel window contains richly-coloured glass depicting the Nativity and Ascension, originally of c.1850 from St Peter's Church at Duntisbourne Abbots in Gloucestershire and said to have been designed by John Ruskin, brought to Funtley c.1890.

History: The building now known as St Francis' Church was originally built in 1836 as a school for the industrial hamlet of Funtley, on land acquired for the purpose by the Revd Sir Henry Thompson, vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Fareham. Jacob Owen, architect of another nearby church, All Saints', is thought to have provided the design. The school's two classrooms were originally divided by wooden partitions that could be folded back to allow the building to be used as a mission chapel on Sundays. The building was leased by the Fareham School Board in 1876, but finally passed out of educational use in 1880 when the Board built larger school nearby. In 1885, following a reordering of the interior, the church was formally licensed for public worship. From this point on it was effectively a chapel-of-ease to Holy Trinity, although the building remained in private hands until it was bought outright by the parish in 1933. In 1976 the M27 motorway was built within yards of the church; plans were put forward to move to a new site, but were not carried through.

Sources: Graham, J and Low, M., The stained glass window of the Little Church of St. Francis, Funtley, Hampshire (2006). Low, M., The Little Church of St Francis, Funtley (n.d.).

Reasons for Designation: St Francis' Church, Funtley, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Architectural interest: a late-Georgian 'Gothick' building of considerable charm. * Stained glass: the attribution of the chancel window to John Ruskin, although not conclusively verified, adds to the interest of the church.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:
141583
Legacy System:
LBS

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Ordnance survey map of Church of St Francis

Map

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 10-Jun-2026 at 19:02:08.

Download a full scale map (PDF)
© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Previous Overview
Next Comments and Photos