Holy Trinity Church, Hove
Encyclopedia
Holy Trinity Church is a former Anglican church in Hove
, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built in the early 1860s to provide extra capacity for Anglican worshippers in the rapidly growing town of Hove, its use declined in the 20th century and it was closed in 2007 following a Diocesan
review. As of 2009, its future is uncertain, and a heritage group
has described it as one of Britain's top ten threatened Victorian
and Edwardian buildings. The church has Grade II listed status, reflecting its architectural and historic importance.
. The land was bought by four businessmen from Brighton and was developed with nearly 300 houses, in various architectural styles, in the next nine years.
St Andrew's, the old parish church of Hove, was close to the newly developed streets, but its capacity was often reached at services. Rev. John Fraser Taylor, a curate at St Andrew's, started planning a new church in 1861; a site was found and bought for £250 (£ as of ) on Eaton Road (now Blatchington Road). James Woodman, a local architect, was responsible for the design, and a builder named Cane constructed it. This took 14 months and cost a further £9,000 (£ as of ). The Bishop of Chichester
, Ashurst Turner Gilbert
—who laid the foundation stone on 7 April 1863—consecrated the church on 15 June 1864. At that time, it consisted of chancel
, nave
, side chapels and a south aisle; its tall tower on the south side was added in 1866. A spire was never added, although one had been planned. In 1868, an aisle was built on the north side at a cost of £1,200 (£ as of ).
In 1912, the church was given an open-air pulpit
. This rare feature, usually associated with churches with an evangelical tradition, was unique in Brighton and Hove. Later additions included rooms under the wooden gallery
in 1949, a vicarage in 1952 and a church hall in 1953.
At first, Holy Trinity Church operated as a chapel of ease
to St Andrew's Church. After All Saints Church
was built in 1892 and gained the status of parish church, Holy Trinity became part of its parish. This arrangement continued after the church was threatened with closure in the 1920s because of falling attendances, although it was allocated its own district.
The Diocese of Chichester
carried out a review of Anglican churches in the city of Brighton and Hove between 2002 and 2003. Its report, published in June 2003, recommended that Holy Trinity Church should close. It was said to have "no future" within the proposed Central Hove Collaborative Ministry, whose area would incorporate six places of worship in Hove. It was stated that the nearby Holy Cross church offered a similar type and tradition of worship, and no other church communities in the city were found to be suitable for church planting
(i.e. moving one congregation and community wholesale into another building). The Diocese of Chichester
declared the church redundant on 1 September 2008, meaning it was no longer open for regular public worship.
, Early English and Eclectic. The design has been criticised as "ignorant beyond belief", echoing architect and architecture lecturer Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel
's comments about another Hove church, St John the Baptist's
, in 1918.
Holy Trinity Church has a nave of four bays
, aisles on each side, chancel, apse
, gallery at the west end with two rooms below, organ
chamber on the northeast side (containing an organ originally installed in 1883 and later converted to electric operation), vestry
at the southeast corner and entrance porch on the south side, above which the battlement
ed tower rises in three stages. (The porch is incorporated into the base of the tower.) The font
was made in 1878 and consists of Caen stone
and marble from Sicily
. The interior is plain. Some of the windows contain stained glass
; one commemorates Rev. John Fraser Taylor's parents, and he has his own memorial tablet in the chancel.
, have campaigned against this. The diocesan review in 2003 proposed using the building as second-stage accommodation for homeless people who had lived in the St Patrick's Church homeless shelter
. Brighton and Hove City Council has also considered using the land for a new primary school. In 2008, The Victorian Society
, an architectural study and preservation group and national charity, identified the church as one of Britain's ten most threatened Victorian
and Edwardian
structures. In March 2011, Brighton and Hove NHS Trust
announced that it was considering combining two local doctors' practices and moving them from their existing premises in central Hove into the former church. If local people approved and planning permission was granted, the Trust would create a "spacious, fully accessible medical centre on three floors within the shell" of the church, possibly by the end of 2012.
The church was listed at Grade II by English Heritage
on 2 November 1992. It is one of 1,124 Grade II-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of Brighton and Hove.
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built in the early 1860s to provide extra capacity for Anglican worshippers in the rapidly growing town of Hove, its use declined in the 20th century and it was closed in 2007 following a Diocesan
Diocese of Chichester
The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was created in 1075 to replace the old Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey from 681. The cathedral is Chichester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Chichester...
review. As of 2009, its future is uncertain, and a heritage group
The Victorian Society
The Victorian Society is the national charity responsible for the study and protection of Victorian and Edwardian architecture and other arts in Britain....
has described it as one of Britain's top ten threatened Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and Edwardian buildings. The church has Grade II listed status, reflecting its architectural and historic importance.
History
Hove expanded rapidly in the second half of the 19th century, and the Cliftonville estate—developed from 1852—was one of its earliest areas of growth. It was situated directly east of the old centre of Hove village on high-quality agricultural land which had been used to grow food for the nearby Brunswick estateBrunswick (Hove)
Brunswick Town is an area in Hove, in the city of Brighton and Hove, England. It is best known for the Regency architecture of the Brunswick estate.-History:...
. The land was bought by four businessmen from Brighton and was developed with nearly 300 houses, in various architectural styles, in the next nine years.
St Andrew's, the old parish church of Hove, was close to the newly developed streets, but its capacity was often reached at services. Rev. John Fraser Taylor, a curate at St Andrew's, started planning a new church in 1861; a site was found and bought for £250 (£ as of ) on Eaton Road (now Blatchington Road). James Woodman, a local architect, was responsible for the design, and a builder named Cane constructed it. This took 14 months and cost a further £9,000 (£ as of ). The Bishop of Chichester
Bishop of Chichester
The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the Counties of East and West Sussex. The see is in the City of Chichester where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity...
, Ashurst Turner Gilbert
Ashurst Turner Gilbert
Ashurst Turner Gilbert was an English churchman and academic, Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford from 1822 and bishop of Chichester.-Life:...
—who laid the foundation stone on 7 April 1863—consecrated the church on 15 June 1864. At that time, it consisted of chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
, side chapels and a south aisle; its tall tower on the south side was added in 1866. A spire was never added, although one had been planned. In 1868, an aisle was built on the north side at a cost of £1,200 (£ as of ).
In 1912, the church was given an open-air pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
. This rare feature, usually associated with churches with an evangelical tradition, was unique in Brighton and Hove. Later additions included rooms under the wooden gallery
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
in 1949, a vicarage in 1952 and a church hall in 1953.
At first, Holy Trinity Church operated as a chapel of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
to St Andrew's Church. After All Saints Church
All Saints Church, Hove
All Saints Church is an Anglican church in Hove, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It has served as the parish church for the whole of Hove since 1892, and stands in a prominent location at a major crossroads in central Hove.-History:...
was built in 1892 and gained the status of parish church, Holy Trinity became part of its parish. This arrangement continued after the church was threatened with closure in the 1920s because of falling attendances, although it was allocated its own district.
The Diocese of Chichester
Diocese of Chichester
The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was created in 1075 to replace the old Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey from 681. The cathedral is Chichester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Chichester...
carried out a review of Anglican churches in the city of Brighton and Hove between 2002 and 2003. Its report, published in June 2003, recommended that Holy Trinity Church should close. It was said to have "no future" within the proposed Central Hove Collaborative Ministry, whose area would incorporate six places of worship in Hove. It was stated that the nearby Holy Cross church offered a similar type and tradition of worship, and no other church communities in the city were found to be suitable for church planting
Church planting
Church planting is a process that results in a new Christian church being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, new worship centre or fresh expression is created that is integrated into an already established congregation...
(i.e. moving one congregation and community wholesale into another building). The Diocese of Chichester
Diocese of Chichester
The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was created in 1075 to replace the old Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey from 681. The cathedral is Chichester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Chichester...
declared the church redundant on 1 September 2008, meaning it was no longer open for regular public worship.
Architecture
The church is built mostly in red brick with stone dressings and some black and yellow brickwork. Its architectural style is difficult to specify; cases have been made for "Lombardo-Gothic", Italian Gothic, standard GothicGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
, Early English and Eclectic. The design has been criticised as "ignorant beyond belief", echoing architect and architecture lecturer Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel
Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel
Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel was an English architect and writer, also a musician.-Life:He was educated at Eton College, and read music at Trinity College, Cambridge. He worked shortly for Sir Charles Nicholson, and then set up his own architectural practice...
's comments about another Hove church, St John the Baptist's
St John the Baptist's Church, Hove
St John the Baptist's Church is an Anglican church in Hove, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It was built between 1852 and 1854 to serve the community of the Brunswick area of Hove, which had originally been established in the 1830s.-History:...
, in 1918.
Holy Trinity Church has a nave of four bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
, aisles on each side, chancel, apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
, gallery at the west end with two rooms below, organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
chamber on the northeast side (containing an organ originally installed in 1883 and later converted to electric operation), vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
at the southeast corner and entrance porch on the south side, above which the battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
ed tower rises in three stages. (The porch is incorporated into the base of the tower.) The font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
was made in 1878 and consists of Caen stone
Caen stone
Caen stone or Pierre de Caen, is a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone quarried in northwestern France near the city of Caen.The limestone is a fine grained oolitic limestone formed in shallow water lagoons in the Bathonian Age about 167 million years ago...
and marble from Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. The interior is plain. Some of the windows contain stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
; one commemorates Rev. John Fraser Taylor's parents, and he has his own memorial tablet in the chancel.
The church today
From March 2009, the church was threatened with demolition; if this happens, the site would then be used for housing. Local residents, including actor Brian CapronBrian Capron
Brian Capron, born 11 February 1947 at Eye in Suffolk, is a British actor, who trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art . His father was an Algerian pilot, of French descent, who died in a plane crash before Brian was born....
, have campaigned against this. The diocesan review in 2003 proposed using the building as second-stage accommodation for homeless people who had lived in the St Patrick's Church homeless shelter
St Patrick's Church, Hove
St Patrick's Church is an Anglican church in Hove, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. Situated on a narrow site in Cambridge Road, off Western Road close to the boundary with Brighton, it is still in use as a place of worship, but since 1985 it has also been used as a night shelter for...
. Brighton and Hove City Council has also considered using the land for a new primary school. In 2008, The Victorian Society
The Victorian Society
The Victorian Society is the national charity responsible for the study and protection of Victorian and Edwardian architecture and other arts in Britain....
, an architectural study and preservation group and national charity, identified the church as one of Britain's ten most threatened Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
and Edwardian
Edwardian architecture
Edwardian architecture is the style popular when King Edward VII of the United Kingdom was in power; he reigned from 1901 to 1910, but the architecture style is generally considered to be indicative of the years 1901 to 1914....
structures. In March 2011, Brighton and Hove NHS Trust
NHS Trust
A National Health Service trust provides services on behalf of the National Health Service in England and NHS Wales.The trusts are not trusts in the legal sense but are in effect public sector corporations. Each trust is headed by a board consisting of executive and non-executive directors, and is...
announced that it was considering combining two local doctors' practices and moving them from their existing premises in central Hove into the former church. If local people approved and planning permission was granted, the Trust would create a "spacious, fully accessible medical centre on three floors within the shell" of the church, possibly by the end of 2012.
The church was listed at Grade II by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
on 2 November 1992. It is one of 1,124 Grade II-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of Brighton and Hove.