St Barnabas Church, Hove facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Barnabas Church, Hove |
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The church from the northeast
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| 50°50′05″N 0°10′39″W / 50.8346°N 0.1774°W | |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Churchmanship | High Church |
| History | |
| Dedication | St Barnabas |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Hove, St Barnabas |
| Deanery | Rural Deanery of Hove |
| Archdeaconry | Chichester |
| Diocese | Chichester |
| Province | Canterbury |
St Barnabas Church is a special Anglican church located in Hove, which is part of the city of Brighton and Hove in England. It was built a long time ago, between 1882 and 1883. The church was needed because many new homes were being built near Hove railway station, which opened in 1865. This area used to be empty land between the Brunswick estate and Cliftonville.
Contents
Church History in Hove
A large area of land, including Preston Manor, was sold in 1794. Over time, much of this land was used to build houses, especially in the second half of the 1800s. This included many new streets south of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway's train line. This new area was first called "West Brighton" but later became part of Hove.
In 1879, the church areas of Hove and Preston were separated. The first vicar (church leader) of the new Hove area, Revd Thomas Pearcy, saw that many more people were living there. The population had grown by 10,000 between 1865 and 1880!
So, in 1881, a meeting was held to plan a new church. Land was bought for £1,500, and people started raising money. By June 1881, they had £2,500, which was a good start towards the total cost of £6,500.
Building the Church
John Loughborough Pearson, a famous architect who also designed Truro Cathedral, was chosen to design St Barnabas Church in 1882. Building work began on May 27, 1882, and took about a year to finish. The Bishop of Chichester officially opened the new church on June 11, 1883.
Church Design and Features
Even though Pearson thought St Barnabas was a smaller project compared to his other works, it is now considered very important. It is one of the few churches in Brighton and Hove to be listed as Grade II*. This means it's a building of special historical interest.
The church is mostly built from flint stones, which were shaped to make flat walls. The roof and windows have pretty red-brick decorations. The tall, narrow windows, called lancet windows, show styles from early English Gothic architecture.
Inside the Church
- A house for the vicar, called a vicarage, was added next to the church in 1893.
- In 1907, another famous architect, George Frederick Bodley, added a large, beautiful piece of art behind the altar called a reredos. It's a gold-covered wooden screen with three parts, and the middle part shows the Crucifixion. This was one of Bodley's last works.
- Wooden seats for the choir and a pulpit (where the preacher stands) were added soon after the church was built.
- The church also has a font made of alabaster, which is a smooth, white stone, used for baptisms.
- You can see many colourful stained glass windows, including one that remembers people who died in World War I.
- A tall tower was planned for the church's corner but was never built.
War Memorial
The church has a special gate, called a lych gate, that acts as a war memorial. It remembers three young men: Victor Richardson, Roland Leighton, and Edward Brittain. Their story was told in a famous book called "Testament of Youth" by Vera Brittain, Edward's sister.
St Barnabas Church Today
St Barnabas Church was officially listed as a Grade II* building on September 10, 1971. This means it's a very important historic building. In 2001, it was one of 70 Grade II*-listed buildings in Brighton and Hove.
The church follows a "Modern Catholic" style of worship, which means they have services called Masses almost every day. They also have prayer groups and a Sunday school for children each week.
In 1977, another church nearby, St Agnes Church, closed down. Its area was then joined with St Barnabas. So, the church now serves a large area of Hove, reaching as far north as the A270 Old Shoreham Road.
See also
