THE ARCHITECTURE OF BRIGHTON'S RELIGIOUS STRUCTURES

ST NICHOLAS 

St. Nicholas's Stood On Raised Ground Outside The Original Rectangle Of The Old Town. The Present Buildings Date From Around The 14th Century, Though A Church Was Recorded On This Site In The Doomsday Book Of 1086.

Up Until 1785 St. Nicholas Was Brighton's Only Church, And In 1853 Henry Michell Wagner Commissioned R. C. Carpenter To Supervise Restorations. 

Today The Flint Tower, The Chancel Arch And The Nave Arcades, Are The Only Parts That Can Be Truly Dated To The 14th Century. 

SYNAGOGUE

The Synagogue Was The Subject Of A Competition In 1874 And Was Won By Thomas Lainson.

The Front Is Vaguely Byzantine And Uses Light Yellow Chichester Brick. The Window Arches Are Blue And Red Tiles And Openings Are Punctuated With Corinthian Pillars.

ST. PETER'S

St Peter's On The Level Was Designed By Charles Barry After Winning A Competition In The 1820'S Much To The Annoyance Of Busby And Wilds, Who Had Expected To Get The Commission From Henry Michell Wagner.

The Foundation Stone Was Laid In 1825 And The Church Was Consecrated In 1828. It Is A Large Yet Delicate Design, With Pinnacles And Buttresses In The Perpendicular Gothic Style.

ST. PETER'S

Barry Regretted The Absence Of The Spire Which He Originally Designed To Cap The Tower. But In Spite Of This Omission This Is One Of His Most Important Buildings And One Of The First, And Finest Of The Gothic Revival Churches.

Barry Used Gothic With Serenity And Purity, Of The Classical Spirit. The Three Sided Apsidal Chancel Was Replaced In 1906 By Somers Clarke.

ST. GEORGE'S

St. George's The Martyr, Kemptown Was Built By Charles Busby For Thomas Read Kemp And Opened In 1825.

The Main Body Is A Plain Box Of Yellow Brick With Two Tiers Of Windows Under Heavy Cornice. The West Front Has A Pair Of Ionic Columns Recessed Between Pilasters On Either Side Of The Entrance, And Is Topped By An Attractive Square Tower And Cupola.

ST. GEORGE'S

In 1830 A " Sky Parlor " Was Added, At This Time Busby's Interiors Were Destroyed And The Pilasters Were Replaced By Cast Iron Columns Decorated With Acanthus Capitals.

It Was One Of Busby's Most Successful Buildings And Was A Favorite Of Queen Adelaide, Unfortunately It Is Only One Of A Few Georgian Churches Left In Brighton.

ST. MARY MAGDALENE

Designed By The Distinguished Architect Gilbert Blount, Marked The Formation Of A " West Brighton Missionary District " Following The Use Of A Temporary Chapel At Sillwood House In 1858.

The Subsequent Expansion Of The Mission Was Due To The Efforts Of Father George Oldham Who Was Formerly An Anglican Curate In Hove From 1846 - 50.

 HOLY TRINITY

Built By Amon Wilds In 1817 To House Thomas Read Kemp's Own Sect. The Sect Was Unorthodox And Its Chapel Was Unconventional.

The East Facing Front Was Formed By A Doric Tetra - Style Portico And The Interior Was Lit By A Glass Roof Lantern.

It Was Taken Over By The Church Of England In 1825 And The Portico Was Replaced By A Severe Five Bay Front With Plain Pediment. In 1867 It Was Substantially Rebuilt Behind A Gothic Front.

ST. PAUL'S

Built By R. C. Carpenter And Opened In 1848, This Is One Of Brighton's Most Impressive Victorian Churches. It Was Commissioned By Henry Michell Wagner For His Son Arthur Douglas, And Was Perhaps His Most Outstanding Achievement.

The Church Has Conventional West - East Orientation And The Sanctuary Faces Onto West Street. The Narthex Was Added To The West And By Bodley In 1887 And A Long Passageway Running Along The Entire South Wall Was Built By Denman.

ST. PAUL'S

Unusual For A Brighton Church, The Walls Are Built From Napped Flint With Limestone Quoins. The Lower Tower Was To Have A Stone Spire But The Present Timber Spire Was Added By Carpenters Son In 1873.

This Formed A Major Landmark And Was Used By Sailors As A Beacon. The Interior Is Extremely Simple, The Quatrefoil Piers And Plain Arches Are Painted White In Contrast With The Black Roof With Its Arched Braces. When These Photograph's Were Taken By Me In 1989 The Church Was Undergoing Renovation. 

ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S

Commissioned By Arthur Wagner And Designed By Edmond Scott, It Was Based On The Dimensions Of Noah's Ark Given In The Genesis Account Of The Bible.

St. Bartholomew's Nave Is One Meter Higher Than That Of Westminster Abbey In London And Is The Highest Of Any Parish Church In The Land.

The Wall Plate Is Twenty - Seven Meters Above Floor Level And The Ridge Plate Forty - Two Meters, The Use Of Marble And Chalk On The Interior, Are Similar To Westminster Cathedral And Are Most Impressive.

ST. MICHAEL'S

St Michael's Is Really Two Churches In One. The First Was Built By G. F. Bodley And Opened In 1862, Built In Red Brick With Sandstone Coursing. 

The Second, An Extension Built In 1895. After The Death Of The Designer William Burgess, Is A Fine Example Of 13th Century Pastiche On A Grand Scale With Soaring Brick - Vaulted Nave, Triforium And Clerestory.

The Stained Glass In The Western Window Of Bodley's Original Nave, And East And West Ends Of The South Aisle, Are The Earliest Examples From The Firm Of William Morris. The Interiors Of This Strange Looking Double Church Are Particularly Interesting.

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