Hove Methodist Church
Encyclopedia
Hove Methodist Church is one of six extant Methodist
churches in the city of Brighton and Hove, England
. Founded on a site on Portland Road, one of Hove
's main roads, in the late 19th century by a long-established Wesleyan
community, it was extended in the 1960s and is now a focus for various social activities as well as worship. The red-brick building has been listed at Grade II by English Heritage
in view of its architectural importance.
and the county town
of Lewes
in 1808, and by the next year 13 members were recorded as living in Hove. After several decades of meeting in houses and other buildings, the growing community decided to found their own church in the 1880s. After one proposed site had to be abandoned because of a lack of money, in 1883 they bought a plot of land on the north side of Portland Road—a main east–west route running from Hove through Aldrington
to Portslade
. The site cost £400 (£ as of ). A second-hand temporary building made of iron was erected, but it had to be taken down in 1892; the congregation, who were Wesleyans, had to share another Methodist church in Hove with its Primitive Methodist
community until they were able to build a permanent structure.
Architect John Wills was commissioned to design a new church in 1895. Eight years earlier he had designed the Holland Road Baptist Church
, also in Hove. His plans were approved in 1896, and the church was founded on 3 June of that year by a group of 20 members, each of whom laid a stone in the floor or below the windows. The official opening date was 17 December 1896. The £4,700 cost of construction was paid off within ten years.
Girls' Brigade
and Boys' Brigade
companies were formed early in the church's history, and from the 1930s the church bought several adjacent buildings to provide more room for social activities. An extension, running north along St Patrick's Road, was opened at a cost of £25,000 in 1965. The church itself was altered externally in 1992, when the distinctive former double staircase leading to the entrance was demolished and a two-storey tower of multicoloured glass was added on the Portland Road façade. A new organ was bought in 1932 to replace a second-hand model from St Michael's Church, Brighton
.
The church has had nearly thirty ministers during its existence, some of whom achieved importance beyond the local area. Robert Bond, the first minister, served from 1896 until 1899 and later served on the Free Church Federation
, having become influential in the wider Methodist community. Ernest Kirtlan, known for his distinctive preaching style during his four-year incumbency from 1908—his loud voice sometimes sent Communion cruets falling from the altar to the floor—was also an expert on medieval English literature
.
with Gothic
elements. He used local bricks, made at the Keymer Brick and Tile Works in Burgess Hill
, for the exterior; the expanses of red brick are combined with pale stone quarried in Wiltshire
. Above the new glass entrance tower, arranged over two storeys, is a large rose window
with twelve spokes, above a group of six lancet window
s surrounded by stonework. The roof is laid with concrete tiles. Internally, the church is a simple rectangle with wooden galleries on three sides, reached by gable
-headed staircases with pairs of windows alongside. Below the hammerbeam roof
, the gallery is held up by cast iron
columns. A ground-floor room below the main body of the church was originally a schoolroom.
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.
The church is part of the Brighton and Hove Circuit of Methodist churches, which includes the city's five other churches: one in Patcham
, one in Stanford Avenue near Preston Park
, one in Hollingbury
, one in Woodingdean
and the Dorset Gardens Methodist Church
in Kemptown
. It is the only remaining place of worship for Methodists in Hove: former churches at Old Shoreham Road, Goldstone Villas and Portslade
have closed. In the early 20th century, under its former name of Portland Road Methodist Church, it was in a six-church Wesleyan-following circuit with the Portslade and Kemptown churches, the former church in Bristol Road, Kemptown
(now closed) and others in nearby Hurstpierpoint
and Southwick
.
There are two services on most Sundays, a monthly breakfast meeting and regular prayer services. Other social activities, Bible study groups and services take place during the week.
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
churches in the city of Brighton and Hove, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Founded on a site on Portland Road, one of 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...
's main roads, in the late 19th century by a long-established Wesleyan
Methodist Church of Great Britain
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is the largest Wesleyan Methodist body in the United Kingdom, with congregations across Great Britain . It is the United Kingdom's fourth largest Christian denomination, with around 300,000 members and 6,000 churches...
community, it was extended in the 1960s and is now a focus for various social activities as well as worship. The red-brick building has been 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...
in view of its architectural importance.
History
Hove was added to the Methodist circuit covering the neighbouring town of BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
and the county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
in 1808, and by the next year 13 members were recorded as living in Hove. After several decades of meeting in houses and other buildings, the growing community decided to found their own church in the 1880s. After one proposed site had to be abandoned because of a lack of money, in 1883 they bought a plot of land on the north side of Portland Road—a main east–west route running from Hove through Aldrington
Aldrington
Aldrington is the name of an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, previously part of the old borough of Hove. For centuries it was meadow land along the English Channel stretching west from the old village of Hove to the old mouth of the River Adur, and it is now a prosperous residential area...
to Portslade
Portslade
Portslade is the name of an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, England. Portslade Village, the original settlement a mile inland to the north, was built up in the 16th century...
. The site cost £400 (£ as of ). A second-hand temporary building made of iron was erected, but it had to be taken down in 1892; the congregation, who were Wesleyans, had to share another Methodist church in Hove with its Primitive Methodist
Primitive Methodism
Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union in 1932. The Primitive Methodist Church still exists in the United States.-Origins:...
community until they were able to build a permanent structure.
Architect John Wills was commissioned to design a new church in 1895. Eight years earlier he had designed the Holland Road Baptist Church
Holland Road Baptist Church
Holland Road Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Hove, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built in 1887 to replace a temporary building on the same site, which had in turn superseded the congregation's previous meeting place in a nearby gymnasium, it expanded to take in nearby...
, also in Hove. His plans were approved in 1896, and the church was founded on 3 June of that year by a group of 20 members, each of whom laid a stone in the floor or below the windows. The official opening date was 17 December 1896. The £4,700 cost of construction was paid off within ten years.
Girls' Brigade
Girls' Brigade
The Girls' Brigade is an international and interdenominational Christian youth organization. It was founded in 1893 in Dublin, Ireland. The modern organization was formed as the result of the amalgamation of three like-minded and similarly structured organizations in 1964...
and Boys' Brigade
Boys' Brigade
For the 80s New Wave band from Canada, see Boys Brigade .The Boys' Brigade is an interdenominational Christian youth organisation, conceived by William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun activities with Christian values...
companies were formed early in the church's history, and from the 1930s the church bought several adjacent buildings to provide more room for social activities. An extension, running north along St Patrick's Road, was opened at a cost of £25,000 in 1965. The church itself was altered externally in 1992, when the distinctive former double staircase leading to the entrance was demolished and a two-storey tower of multicoloured glass was added on the Portland Road façade. A new organ was bought in 1932 to replace a second-hand model from St Michael's Church, Brighton
St Michael's Church, Brighton
St. Michael's Church is an Anglican church in Brighton, England, dating from the mid-Victorian era. Located on Victoria Road in the Montpelier area, to the east of Montpelier Road, it is one of the largest churches in the city of Brighton and Hove...
.
The church has had nearly thirty ministers during its existence, some of whom achieved importance beyond the local area. Robert Bond, the first minister, served from 1896 until 1899 and later served on the Free Church Federation
Free Church Federation
Free Church Federation is a voluntary association of British Nonconformist churches for cooperation in religious social work. It was the outcome of a unifying tendency displayed during the latter part of the 19th century...
, having become influential in the wider Methodist community. Ernest Kirtlan, known for his distinctive preaching style during his four-year incumbency from 1908—his loud voice sometimes sent Communion cruets falling from the altar to the floor—was also an expert on medieval English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
.
Architecture
John Wills designed the church in the Romanesque Revival styleRomanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
with Gothic
Gothic 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....
elements. He used local bricks, made at the Keymer Brick and Tile Works in Burgess Hill
Burgess Hill
Burgess Hill is a civil parish and a town primarily located in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park...
, for the exterior; the expanses of red brick are combined with pale stone quarried in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. Above the new glass entrance tower, arranged over two storeys, is a large rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
with twelve spokes, above a group of six lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s surrounded by stonework. The roof is laid with concrete tiles. Internally, the church is a simple rectangle with wooden galleries on three sides, reached by gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
-headed staircases with pairs of windows alongside. Below the hammerbeam roof
Hammerbeam roof
Hammerbeam roof, in architecture, is the name given to an open timber roof, typical of English Gothic architecture, using short beams projecting from the wall.- Design :...
, the gallery is held up by cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
columns. A ground-floor room below the main body of the church was originally a schoolroom.
The church today
Hove Methodist Church was listed at Grade II by English HeritageEnglish 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.
The church is part of the Brighton and Hove Circuit of Methodist churches, which includes the city's five other churches: one in Patcham
Patcham
Patcham is an area of the city of Brighton and Hove. It is approximately north of the city centre, bounded by the A27 to the north, Hollingbury to the east and southeast, Withdean to the south and the Brighton Main Line to the west...
, one in Stanford Avenue near Preston Park
Preston Park, Brighton
Preston Park is a park near Preston Village in the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. It is located in Preston Park ward to the north of the centre of Brighton, and served by the nearby Preston Park railway station....
, one in Hollingbury
Hollingbury
Hollingbury is an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. The area sits high on a hillside across the north of the city above Patcham which lies in a valley to the west, Coldean in a valley to the east, and the A27 bypass forming the northern limit...
, one in Woodingdean
Woodingdean
Woodingdean is an eastern suburb of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, separated from the main part of the city by downland and the Brighton Racecourse.-Source of name:...
and the Dorset Gardens Methodist Church
Dorset Gardens Methodist Church
The Dorset Gardens Methodist Church is a Methodist church in the Kemptown area of the city of Brighton and Hove, England. Although it is a modern building—completed in 2003—it is the third Methodist place of worship on the site: it replaced an older, larger church which was in turn a rebuilding of...
in Kemptown
Kemptown
Kemptown is a small community running along the King's Cliff to Black Rock in the east of Brighton, East Sussex, England.-History:The area takes its name from Thomas Read Kemp's Kemp Town residential estate of the early 19th Century, but the one-word name now refers to an area larger than the...
. It is the only remaining place of worship for Methodists in Hove: former churches at Old Shoreham Road, Goldstone Villas and Portslade
Portslade
Portslade is the name of an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, England. Portslade Village, the original settlement a mile inland to the north, was built up in the 16th century...
have closed. In the early 20th century, under its former name of Portland Road Methodist Church, it was in a six-church Wesleyan-following circuit with the Portslade and Kemptown churches, the former church in Bristol Road, Kemptown
Bristol Road Methodist Church
Bristol Road Methodist Church is a former Methodist place of worship in the Kemptown area of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built in 1873 to an Italian Romanesque Revival design, it served this part of eastern Brighton for more than a century until its closure in 1989,...
(now closed) and others in nearby Hurstpierpoint
Hurstpierpoint
Hurstpierpoint is a village in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England. Together with Sayers Common it forms one of the Mid Sussex civil parishes, with an area of 2029.88 ha and a population of 6,264 persons....
and Southwick
Southwick, West Sussex
Southwick is a small town and civil parish in the Adur District of West Sussex, England located three miles west of Brighton and a suburb of the East Sussex resort City of Brighton & Hove...
.
There are two services on most Sundays, a monthly breakfast meeting and regular prayer services. Other social activities, Bible study groups and services take place during the week.