Anglican Chaplaincy in Malta and Gozo

In the middle of the 19th century, it became clear that there was a requirement for an Anglican church and vicarage to serve the needs of the growing Anglican community in Sliema. In response to an appeal for funds by the Bishop of Gibraltar, the Rt Rev Dr Walter John Trower, two well-known English merchants of the time, Mr Ingham and Mr Whitaker, each donated £100 to add to the Bishop's promised gift of £1000.
The total estimated building cost for the Church was £4000. The Bishop therefore undertook to be responsible for the remainder, to be provided as building progressed.

On 7th April 1866, the villa known as the Bishop’s House and the adjoining land on which the church was to be built was acquired by the Bishop’s daughter, Miss Jane Trower. Her intention was to transfer the property to the Episcopal See of Gibraltar. However, under the law, an unmarried woman, in the lifetime of her father, could not make a donation of greater than £50 without his consent. Thus the Bishop became party to the Deed of Gift and also refunded to his daughter the purchase price of £1,050.

In the early years, a Sliema Church Endowment Fund was inaugurated by Bishop Trower with a sum of £100, increased in 1871 by his successor The Rev’d Charles Amyand Harris, with a gift of £2,000. The interest that this amount generated paid stipend to the incumbent Minister of £72 annually. The money generated from the offertory, after expenses had been deducted further increased this. The Chaplains residence, known since 1905 as Bishop’s House, was built in 1855. Memorials and gifts in Holy Trinity Church reflect its military and civilian connections.

DONATIONS
Brass eagle in 1891.
Font in 1898.
Chancel screen in 1891.
Organ chamber in 1934.
Oak panelling in the nave in 1915.

Henry Joseph Corbett Knight, the 6th Bishop of Gibraltar, Fellow of the College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary of Cambridge received a gift of a Pastoral Staff from the Master, Fellows and Friends in Our Lord on the Festival of St James in the year of our Salvation 1911. Subsequently, in 1921 Bishop Knight bequeathed the Staff to Holy Trinity Church, Sliema, Malta.
In 2002 the 16th Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe: Geoffrey Rowell, himself a former member of Corpus Christi College, requested that the Chaplaincy council allow him to use the Crozier in his Episcopal duties around the Diocese, and in January 2003 it was agreed that he could have it on loan, but that it should remain the property of, and be returned to, Holy Trinity Church, Sliema, Malta when he ceases to be the Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe.

Those who died defending Malta during the Second World War are commemorated in a number of ways. The St George window in the northwest corner of the nave is dedicated to the memory of the worshippers in this Church, members of HM Forces and Civilians who lost their lives through enemy action 1939 – 1945.
On the west wall is a brass plate in memory of those who were lost, and to the right of the Chancel steps is a memorial to the men who served and fell defending the Island in the 10th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery.

A more detailed guidebook, compiled by Margaret Weaver, can be obtained by e-mail from Anglican@onvol.net
Price, including postage and packing, is £3.00 sterling.