St Mary Magdalen's Church, Brighton
Encyclopedia
St Mary Magdalen's ChurchSome sources incorrectly give the spelling "Magdalene". is a Roman Catholic church in the Montpelier
area of Brighton
, part of the English
city of Brighton and Hove. It is one of six Roman Catholic churches in Brighton and one of eleven in the city area. Built by ecclesiastical architect
Gilbert Blount
in a 13th-century Gothic style to serve the rapidly expanding residential area on the border of Brighton and Hove
, it has been listed at Grade II by English Heritage
in view of its architectural importance. An adjacent presbytery
and parish hall have been listed separately at Grade II.
, built in 1835 in the Kemptown
area to replace an earlier building. A mission district
was established to serve West Brighton, and priest Fr George Oldham was responsible for planning a church to serve it. Gilbert Blount
, who entered the field of ecclesiastical architecture
(specialising in Roman Catholic churches) after an earlier career as an engineer working alongside Isambard Kingdom Brunel
, was commissioned to design it.
The first part of the church to be built was the sanctuary and its adjoining chapels, which were finished in 1861. The first part of the nave
was added in 1862; this was then extended in 1864, when the spire was also built. The official opening date was 16 August 1864. No significant work was carried out for many years, but in 1962 the original organ
was replaced and two statues carved by Joseph Cribb, a pupil of Eric Gill
, were installed above the entrance. These depicted Saints Joseph
and George
. More internal work was carried out between 1973 and 1974.
Upper North Street, on which the church stands, was developed from the 1830s onwards with high-quality housing; it connects Brighton with Hove. The church stands on the south side between the separate presbytery to the east and the former primary school, also dedicated to St Mary Magdalen, to the west. The school dates from around 1865 and is of red brick, stone and some black brick (for example, on the arched window heads). It has been converted into a church hall, and was listed at Grade II on 19 March 1997. The presbytery is a later building, dating from about 1890, but is in a similar style with red brick walls, stone dressings and window surrounds and a slate
roof. It stands on a corner site, and one part of the roof is gable
d and the other is hipped
. It was listed at Grade II on 10 June 1988.
, for the exterior walls; there are decorative dressings of blue and black brick, and larger areas of stonework. The brick and stone tower tapers in three stages and is topped with a spire of stone. The layout consists of a chancel
, five-bay
nave
, aisles, vestry
and the tower in which a porch and the entrance door are incorporated. There are lancet window
s with ornate tracery
on all sides and on the middle and upper stages of the tower. The stone dressings on the exterior have intricate carvings.
on 10 June 1988. 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 one of eleven Roman Catholic churches in Brighton and Hove. There are five others in Brighton
, three in Hove and one each in Rottingdean
and Woodingdean
.
Mass
is said once on Saturday evenings and three times on Sundays; the second of the three Sunday services is said in Polish
. There are two services on Holy Days of Obligation
. The Sacrament of Penance
is offered twice weekly.
Hugh Gerard McGrellis (known as Gerry) has been an altar server
at the church for over 70 years and was awarded the Benemerenti medal
by Pope Benedict XVI
in recognition of his services. He has also served as the Chair of Governors for some time at St Mary Magdalen's School.
Montpelier, Brighton
Montpelier is an inner suburban area of Brighton, part of the English city and seaside resort of Brighton and Hove. Developed together with the adjacent Clifton Hill area in the mid-19th century, it forms a high-class, architecturally cohesive residential district with "an exceptionally complete...
area of Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, part of the English
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...
city of Brighton and Hove. It is one of six Roman Catholic churches in Brighton and one of eleven in the city area. Built by ecclesiastical architect
Church architecture
Church architecture refers to the architecture of buildings of Christian churches. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly by imitating other architectural styles as well as responding to changing beliefs, practices and local traditions...
Gilbert Blount
Gilbert Blount
Gilbert Blount was an English architect working mostly for Catholic Churches. He started his career as a civil engineer under Brunel and became superintendent of the Thames Tunnel works...
in a 13th-century Gothic style to serve the rapidly expanding residential area on the border 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...
, it 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. An adjacent presbytery
Presbytery (architecture)
The presbytery is the name for an area in a church building which is reserved for the clergy.In the oldest church it is separated by short walls, by small columns and pilasters in the Renaissance ones; it can also be raised, being reachable by a few steps, usually with railings....
and parish hall have been listed separately at Grade II.
History
Brighton had only one Roman Catholic place of worship until 1861: St John the Baptist's ChurchSt John the Baptist's Church, Brighton
St John the Baptist's Church is a Roman Catholic church in the Kemptown area of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It was the first Roman Catholic church built in Brighton after the process of Catholic Emancipation in the early 19th century removed restrictions on Catholic worship...
, built in 1835 in the 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...
area to replace an earlier building. A mission district
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
was established to serve West Brighton, and priest Fr George Oldham was responsible for planning a church to serve it. Gilbert Blount
Gilbert Blount
Gilbert Blount was an English architect working mostly for Catholic Churches. He started his career as a civil engineer under Brunel and became superintendent of the Thames Tunnel works...
, who entered the field of ecclesiastical architecture
Church architecture
Church architecture refers to the architecture of buildings of Christian churches. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly by imitating other architectural styles as well as responding to changing beliefs, practices and local traditions...
(specialising in Roman Catholic churches) after an earlier career as an engineer working alongside Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
, was commissioned to design it.
The first part of the church to be built was the sanctuary and its adjoining chapels, which were finished in 1861. The first part of the 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...
was added in 1862; this was then extended in 1864, when the spire was also built. The official opening date was 16 August 1864. No significant work was carried out for many years, but in 1962 the original 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...
was replaced and two statues carved by Joseph Cribb, a pupil of Eric Gill
Eric Gill
Arthur Eric Rowton Gill was a British sculptor, typeface designer, stonecutter and printmaker, who was associated with the Arts and Crafts movement...
, were installed above the entrance. These depicted Saints Joseph
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
and George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
. More internal work was carried out between 1973 and 1974.
Upper North Street, on which the church stands, was developed from the 1830s onwards with high-quality housing; it connects Brighton with Hove. The church stands on the south side between the separate presbytery to the east and the former primary school, also dedicated to St Mary Magdalen, to the west. The school dates from around 1865 and is of red brick, stone and some black brick (for example, on the arched window heads). It has been converted into a church hall, and was listed at Grade II on 19 March 1997. The presbytery is a later building, dating from about 1890, but is in a similar style with red brick walls, stone dressings and window surrounds and a slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
roof. It stands on a corner site, and one part of the roof is 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...
d and the other is hipped
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
. It was listed at Grade II on 10 June 1988.
Architecture
The church is a 13th-century Early English/Decorated Gothic-style building—a design favoured by Gilbert Blount for his churches. He used red brick, laid out in an English bond patternBrickwork
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar to build up brick structures such as walls. Brickwork is also used to finish corners, door, and window openings, etc...
, for the exterior walls; there are decorative dressings of blue and black brick, and larger areas of stonework. The brick and stone tower tapers in three stages and is topped with a spire of stone. The layout consists of a 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...
, five-bay
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:...
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...
, aisles, 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....
and the tower in which a porch and the entrance door are incorporated. There are 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 with ornate tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
on all sides and on the middle and upper stages of the tower. The stone dressings on the exterior have intricate carvings.
The church today
St Mary Magdalen's 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 10 June 1988. 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 one of eleven Roman Catholic churches in Brighton and Hove. There are five others in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, three in Hove and one each in Rottingdean
Rottingdean
Rottingdean is a coastal village next to the town of Brighton and technically within the city of Brighton and Hove, in East Sussex, on the south coast of England...
and 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:...
.
Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
is said once on Saturday evenings and three times on Sundays; the second of the three Sunday services is said in Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
. There are two services on Holy Days of Obligation
Holy Day of Obligation
In the Catholic Church, Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation, less commonly called Feasts of Precept, are the days on which, as of the Code of Canon Law states,-Eastern Catholic Churches:...
. The Sacrament of Penance
Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)
In the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is the method by which individual men and women may be freed from sins committed after receiving the sacrament of Baptism...
is offered twice weekly.
Hugh Gerard McGrellis (known as Gerry) has been an altar server
Altar server
An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian religious service. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell and so on....
at the church for over 70 years and was awarded the Benemerenti medal
Benemerenti Medal
The Benemerenti medal was first awarded by Pope Pius VI to recognize military merit. In 1831 under Pope Gregory XVI a special Benemerenti medal was struck to reward thos who fought courageously in the papal army at Ferrara, Bologna, and Vienna...
by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
in recognition of his services. He has also served as the Chair of Governors for some time at St Mary Magdalen's School.