St Joseph's Portishead
History of St Joseph's Parish
Following more than 100 years of service to the Parish of St. Joseph’s in Portishead, the Franciscans left the Parish in 1985, leaving behind many fond memories and with the gratitude of all parishioners for their legacy of devoted and faithful service through many generations.
A new chapter in the history of the Parish began when Father William O’Callaghan (later to be Canon O’Callaghan) took up the reins as the first diocesan priest to arrive.
Canon O’Callaghan remained as the Parish Priest for a number of years, continuing to serve the parishioners even beyond the normal retirement age of 75. Following a period of ill-health he retired in 2001 and shortly afterwards in 2002 we welcomed Father Gerry Walsh as the new Parish Priest. During this time the Parish continued to grow and welcome new members and the fabric of the Church buildings was adapted to meet the needs of the congregation and to provide facilities to support the Parish.
In 2006, the present hall was built beside the church with a lobby connecting the two. The grounds were landscaped, a new car park was laid out and a new west door inserted.
The Parish grounds also incorporated a memorial garden with views out over the Bristol Channel, a tranquil place where the ashes of a number of Parishioners are interred. There is also a memorial board with the names of a number of people that will be familiar to many long-standing parishioners. People who faithfully and diligently served the Parish through the years with their quiet service and who all contributed faithfully to what the Parish is today.
Father Gerry was replaced by Father Tom Dubois and this coincided with the decision for one priest to cover both the Parishes of Nailsea and Portishead.
At this time, it was identified that more space was needed in the church and a fund-raising project was launched to raise money to expand the capacity within the church. The unusable and limited gallery space was increased to include gallery seating and a new staircase was built. Numerous other changes were made to the aesthetic of the building whilst still maintaining the character of the original church.
Another key initiative for the joint Parishes of Portishead and Nailsea was the successful recruitment and appointment of a children’s, youth and family worker.
After more than 10 years service which included the very challenging time of the COVID lockdowns, Father Tom was replaced by Father Richard Elson in 2021 who served the Parish for three years before the arrival of Father Frank Wainwright in 2024.
Throughout the parish history, the relationship with St. Joseph’s School has been integral to the life of the Parish. At the time of the handover from the Franciscans to the diocese, the school was was still attached to the Convent on West Hill and led by the Sisters of La Sainte Union. Sister Marie was the Head and Sister Dominic one of the long standing teachers at the school.
The trusteeship of the school was transferred to Clifton Diocese in 1995 and the school moved to new, modern premises in 2003.
Many current parishioners and school staff are former pupils and the relationship between the school and parish still remains strong.
Throughout the history of the Parish, whilst many things have changed there remains a continuous thread of faithful service to inspire each new generation which is something to be cherished and celebrated.
