St Mary the Virgin, Brighton
Encyclopedia
St Mary the Virgin Church is an Anglican
church in the Kemptown
area of Brighton
, in the English
city of Brighton and Hove. The present building dates from the late 1870s and replaced a church of the same name which suddenly collapsed while being renovated. The Gothic-style red-brick building, whose style resembles Early English revival and French Gothic revival
, is now a Grade II* listed building, and remains in use despite threats of closure.
, encouraged wealthy people to build proprietary chapels—private churches with no parish but with an Anglican minister. The original St Mary the Virgin Church was one of four such chapels built in the 1820s. Acts of Parliament
were granted to people wishing to build proprietary chapels. Barnard Gregory had obtained such an Act in 1825 to allow him to build St Margaret's Church in Cannon Place in central Brighton; the same Act permitted him to build one in St James's Street, a road running eastwards from the town and developed in the 1790s. In 1826 he sold this right to Charles Elliott, a merchant who divided his time between London and Brighton. Elliott was a member of the Clapham Sect
, a group of Anglican social reformers which included William Wilberforce
; one of his daughters, Charlotte
, became a well-known hymnwriter; and the wider Elliott family were influential in Brighton's religious life for much of the 19th century.
The 3rd Earl of Egremont
, who lived on the Petworth House
estate in West Sussex, also owned a house on St James's Street. He donated some of his land to Elliott to allow him to build a church. Elliott commissioned Amon Henry Wilds
, a leading architect in Regency-era Brighton, to design it. Wilds adopted the then-fashionable Neoclassical style
for his design, and created a temple-style structure which bore some resemblance to the Brighton Unitarian Church
which he had built six years earlier. That building was inspired by the appearance of the Temple of Thesæus
in Athens
, and Wilds designed St Mary the Virgin based on another Ancient Greek
edifice, the Temple of Nemesis.
The Act of Parliament relating to the proprietary chapel allowed Elliott to appoint a curate
for 40 years on a stipend
of £150 per year (£ as of , based on 1826 prices). Charles Elliott appointed his eldest, Henry Venn Elliott, as the first curate of St Mary the Virgin Church in August 1826, while building work was still going on. He had been ordained
as a priest in 1824 after spending a year as a deacon
, and initially held the curacy of a rural parish in Suffolk
.
The Bishop of Chichester
, Robert James Carr
, consecrated the church on 18 January 1827. It had cost about £10,000 (£ as of ), five times more than the contract price. The stucco
ed exterior featured four large Doric columns
beneath a frieze
and pediment
. The side walls had sash window
s. Inside, there were galleries on three sides; one gallery had a private pew
for the Earl of Egremont. The capacity was 947, and 240 free pews were offered at a time when pew-rents were the norm (and helped to pay for Henry Venn Elliott's stipend).
Elliott served as the curate of the church until his death in 1865. His brother-in-law took over temporarily until Julius Marshall Elliott, Henry Venn Elliott's youngest son, was ordained and took up the position. In 1873, St Mary the Virgin became a parish church
for the first time when Brighton's parishes and ecclesiastical districts were reorganised. The ownership of the building transferred from the Elliott family to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners
, and all pews became rent-free. By this time, the church was in a dilapidated condition; in June 1876, just as some money had been set aside for reconstruction, and initial repairs were being carried out, the chancel
walls caved in, the roof fell inwards and the building collapsed. Instead of trying to repair the ruin, it was decided that a new church should be built in the Gothic style which was by that time the most popular design for ecclesiastical buildings in England. Future President of the RIBA
Sir William Emerson, who until then had worked almost exclusively on architectural commissions in India, was asked to design the new building.
The congregation worshipped in the Royal Pavilion
while Emerson's building took shape. Its foundation stone was laid on 29 May 1877. The church took two years to complete and cost £15,231 (£ as of ), about 25% more than expected. A building firm based in nearby Hove
were responsible for the construction. Richard Durnford
, the new Bishop of Chichester, dedicated the new church on 15 October 1878.
St Mary the Virgin's parish was extended in 1948 when the nearby St James's Church closed, and when it was demolished in 1975 some memorials and fixtures were moved. St Mary the Virgin Church itself then came under threat of closure, after 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, noted that the building needed significant maintenance work, the congregation was relatively small and unable to make the church financially viable, and the nearby St George's Church
had become the de facto parish church of the Kemptown area. As a result, it recommended either complete closure or the use of most of the building for a community project in conjunction with Brighton and Hove City Council, leaving space for a small Anglican chapel to be created. Since the report was published, however, no closure plans have been submitted, and the church is still open and continues to offer regular services.
dressings and Bath stonework
inside. There is a chancel with a pentagonal apse
and an ambulatory
, transept
s, an extremely long four-bay
nave
with aisles on both sides and spanned by large arches, a semicircular baptistery
(next to which a tower was planned to be built; it was never completed and only a stump exists), two entrance porches—one of which is set into the base of the tower stump—an organ
chamber and three vestries
. The nave is on two levels, and the higher level forms the baptistery; a similar sunken nave exists at St Martin's Church
, another Brighton church of the 1870s. The apse and organ chamber have lancet window
s on each side, while the transepts have larger windows with sexfoils (six-lobed heads).
on 20 August 1971. This status is given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 70 Grade II*-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of Brighton and Hove.
The parish covers an area of Brighton just behind the seafront and immediately east of the centre. The boundaries are the seafront, Old Steine, White Street, Sussex Street, the bottom of Queen's Park
, Sutherland Road and Bedford Street.
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
church 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 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...
, in 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. The present building dates from the late 1870s and replaced a church of the same name which suddenly collapsed while being renovated. The Gothic-style red-brick building, whose style resembles Early English revival and French Gothic revival
French Gothic architecture
French Gothic architecture is a style of architecture prevalent in France from 1140 until about 1500.-Sequence of Gothic styles: France:The designations of styles in French Gothic architecture are as follows:* Early Gothic* High Gothic...
, is now a Grade II* listed building, and remains in use despite threats of closure.
History
Brighton's increasing popularity in the early 19th century, especially among high societyUpper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
, encouraged wealthy people to build proprietary chapels—private churches with no parish but with an Anglican minister. The original St Mary the Virgin Church was one of four such chapels built in the 1820s. Acts of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
were granted to people wishing to build proprietary chapels. Barnard Gregory had obtained such an Act in 1825 to allow him to build St Margaret's Church in Cannon Place in central Brighton; the same Act permitted him to build one in St James's Street, a road running eastwards from the town and developed in the 1790s. In 1826 he sold this right to Charles Elliott, a merchant who divided his time between London and Brighton. Elliott was a member of the Clapham Sect
Clapham Sect
The Clapham Sect or Clapham Saints were a group of influential like-minded Church of England social reformers based in Clapham, London at the beginning of the 19th century...
, a group of Anglican social reformers which included William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
; one of his daughters, Charlotte
Charlotte Elliott
Charlotte Elliott was an English poet and hymn writer.Charlotte was the daughter of Charles Elliott, a silk merchant and his wife, Eling Venn who married at Yelling on 20 December 1785.Eling Venn was the daughter of Rev...
, became a well-known hymnwriter; and the wider Elliott family were influential in Brighton's religious life for much of the 19th century.
The 3rd Earl of Egremont
Earl of Egremont
Earls of Egremont was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1749, along with the subsidiary title of Baron Cockermouth, for Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, with remainder to his nephews Sir Charles Wyndham, 4th Baronet, of Orchard Wyndham, and Percy Wyndham-O’Brien...
, who lived on the Petworth House
Petworth House
Petworth House in Petworth, West Sussex, England, is a late 17th-century mansion, rebuilt in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s by Anthony Salvin...
estate in West Sussex, also owned a house on St James's Street. He donated some of his land to Elliott to allow him to build a church. Elliott commissioned Amon Henry Wilds
Amon Henry Wilds
Amon Henry Wilds was an English architect. He was part of a team of three architects and builders who—working together or independently at different times—were almost solely responsible for a surge in residential construction and development in early 19th-century Brighton, which until then had...
, a leading architect in Regency-era Brighton, to design it. Wilds adopted the then-fashionable Neoclassical style
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
for his design, and created a temple-style structure which bore some resemblance to the Brighton Unitarian Church
Brighton Unitarian Church
The Brighton Unitarian Church, previously known as Christ Church, is a Unitarian chapel in Brighton, England. Built in 1820 by prolific local architect Amon Henry Wilds on land sold to the fledgling Unitarian community by the Prince Regent, the stuccoed Greek Revival building occupies a prominent...
which he had built six years earlier. That building was inspired by the appearance of the Temple of Thesæus
Temple of Hephaestus
The Temple of Hephaestus, also known as the Hephaisteion or earlier as the Theseion, is the best-preserved ancient Greek temple; it remains standing largely as built. It is a Doric peripteral temple, and is located at the north-west side of the Agora of Athens, on top of the Agoraios Kolonos hill....
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, and Wilds designed St Mary the Virgin based on another Ancient Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
edifice, the Temple of Nemesis.
The Act of Parliament relating to the proprietary chapel allowed Elliott to appoint a curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
for 40 years on a stipend
Stipend
A stipend is a form of salary, such as for an internship or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from a wage or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work performed, instead it represents a payment that enables somebody to be exempt partly or wholly from waged or salaried...
of £150 per year (£ as of , based on 1826 prices). Charles Elliott appointed his eldest, Henry Venn Elliott, as the first curate of St Mary the Virgin Church in August 1826, while building work was still going on. He had been ordained
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
as a priest in 1824 after spending a year as a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
, and initially held the curacy of a rural parish in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
.
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...
, Robert James Carr
Robert James Carr
Robert James Carr was an English churchman, bishop of Chichester in 1824 and bishop of Worcester in 1831.-Life:The son of the Rev. Colston Carr, a schoolmaster at Twickenham, who was afterwards vicar of Ealing, he was born at Twickenham. He received his primary education in his father's school...
, consecrated the church on 18 January 1827. It had cost about £10,000 (£ as of ), five times more than the contract price. The stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
ed exterior featured four large Doric columns
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
beneath a frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
and pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
. The side walls had sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s. Inside, there were galleries on three sides; one gallery had a private pew
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
for the Earl of Egremont. The capacity was 947, and 240 free pews were offered at a time when pew-rents were the norm (and helped to pay for Henry Venn Elliott's stipend).
Elliott served as the curate of the church until his death in 1865. His brother-in-law took over temporarily until Julius Marshall Elliott, Henry Venn Elliott's youngest son, was ordained and took up the position. In 1873, St Mary the Virgin became a parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
for the first time when Brighton's parishes and ecclesiastical districts were reorganised. The ownership of the building transferred from the Elliott family to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners
Ecclesiastical Commissioners
Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title is Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorized to determine the distribution of revenues of the Church of England, and they made extensive changes in how...
, and all pews became rent-free. By this time, the church was in a dilapidated condition; in June 1876, just as some money had been set aside for reconstruction, and initial repairs were being carried out, the 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...
walls caved in, the roof fell inwards and the building collapsed. Instead of trying to repair the ruin, it was decided that a new church should be built in the Gothic style which was by that time the most popular design for ecclesiastical buildings in England. Future President of the RIBA
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
Sir William Emerson, who until then had worked almost exclusively on architectural commissions in India, was asked to design the new building.
The congregation worshipped in the Royal Pavilion
Royal Pavilion
The Royal Pavilion is a former royal residence located in Brighton, England. It was built in three campaigns, beginning in 1787, as a seaside retreat for George, Prince of Wales, from 1811 Prince Regent. It is often referred to as the Brighton Pavilion...
while Emerson's building took shape. Its foundation stone was laid on 29 May 1877. The church took two years to complete and cost £15,231 (£ as of ), about 25% more than expected. A building firm based in nearby 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...
were responsible for the construction. Richard Durnford
Richard Durnford
The Rt Rev Richard Durnford was the Bishop of Chichester from 1870 to 1895.He was born in Newbury, Berkshire into an ecclesiastical family . He was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford and ordained in 1831. From 1833 he was Rector of Middleton, Lancashire and then its Rural Dean...
, the new Bishop of Chichester, dedicated the new church on 15 October 1878.
St Mary the Virgin's parish was extended in 1948 when the nearby St James's Church closed, and when it was demolished in 1975 some memorials and fixtures were moved. St Mary the Virgin Church itself then came under threat of closure, after 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, noted that the building needed significant maintenance work, the congregation was relatively small and unable to make the church financially viable, and the nearby St George's Church
St George's Church, Brighton
St George's Church is an Anglican church in the Kemptown area of Brighton, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. It was built at the request of Thomas Read Kemp, who had created and financed the Kemp Town estate on the cliffs east of Brighton in the early 19th century, and is now regarded as...
had become the de facto parish church of the Kemptown area. As a result, it recommended either complete closure or the use of most of the building for a community project in conjunction with Brighton and Hove City Council, leaving space for a small Anglican chapel to be created. Since the report was published, however, no closure plans have been submitted, and the church is still open and continues to offer regular services.
Architecture
The design of St Mary the Virgin Church has been described as Early English, "Neo-Gothic" and French Gothic; most sources prefer the latter. It was built of Flemish-bonded red brick with some external sandstone and terracottaTerra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
dressings and Bath stonework
Bath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
inside. There is a chancel with a pentagonal apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
and an ambulatory
Ambulatory
The ambulatory is the covered passage around a cloister. The term is sometimes applied to the procession way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar....
, transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
s, an extremely long four-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...
with aisles on both sides and spanned by large arches, a semicircular baptistery
Baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistry or baptistery is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistry may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel...
(next to which a tower was planned to be built; it was never completed and only a stump exists), two entrance porches—one of which is set into the base of the tower stump—an 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 and three vestries
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....
. The nave is on two levels, and the higher level forms the baptistery; a similar sunken nave exists at St Martin's Church
St Martin's Church, Brighton
St Martin's Church is an Anglican church in Brighton, England, dating from the mid-Victorian era. It is located on the Lewes Road in the Round Hill area of the city, northeast of the city centre and approximately north of the seafront...
, another Brighton church of the 1870s. The apse and organ chamber have 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 on each side, while the transepts have larger windows with sexfoils (six-lobed heads).
The church today
St Mary the Virgin 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 20 August 1971. This status is given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 70 Grade II*-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of Brighton and Hove.
The parish covers an area of Brighton just behind the seafront and immediately east of the centre. The boundaries are the seafront, Old Steine, White Street, Sussex Street, the bottom of Queen's Park
Queen's Park, Brighton
Queen's Park is an administrative ward and a public park in Brighton, England.The area lies to the east of the centre of Brighton, north of Kemptown and south-east of Hanover. It is largely made up of Victorian terraced houses, with a smaller number of detached and semi-detached houses...
, Sutherland Road and Bedford Street.