St Martin's Church, Brighton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Martin's Church
East and south sides of St Martin's Church
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	High Church
History
Dedication	St. Martin of Tours
Consecrated	1 May 1875
Architecture
Years built	1872-1875
Administration
Parish	Brighton, St Martins
Deanery	Brighton
Archdeaconry	Chichester
Diocese	Chichester
Province	Canterbury

St Martin's Church is a beautiful Anglican church in Brighton, England. Its full name is St Martin with St Wilfrid, St Alban and St Richard Hollingdean. This church was built in the mid-Victorian era, a long time ago!

You can find St Martin's Church on Lewes Road in the Round Hill area. This is northeast of the city centre, about 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) from the seafront. It's the biggest church in Brighton, and people love it for its amazing inside decoration.

How St Martin's Church Was Started

The idea for St Martin's Church began with Reverend Henry Michell Wagner. He was an important church leader in Brighton from 1824 until he passed away in 1870. He had helped build several churches, including St Peter's, which became the main church in town.

Before he died, Reverend Wagner planned to build another church. He even saved £3,000 of his own money for it. However, he hadn't chosen where it would be built or any other details.

Arthur Wagner's Vision

Reverend Wagner's son, Arthur, became a priest in 1850. When his father died, Arthur Wagner inherited his money. Arthur decided to use this money to build the church his father had dreamed of. It would also be a way to remember his father.

Arthur and his half-brothers, Joshua and Henry, chose the perfect spot. At that time, many small terraced houses were being built for poorer families near Lewes Road. This area, and the nearby Round Hill district, didn't have a proper church. So, it made sense to build one there. A small temporary church nearby later became a school when St Martin's opened.

Choosing the Building Site

Reverend Henry Wagner had set up a "building committee" before he passed away. This committee included other important local church leaders. The Wagner brothers gave the committee a choice. They could pick a site for the new church, but then they would only get the original £3,000. Or, the Wagners could choose the site, and they would pay for everything.

The committee decided to let the Wagners choose the site. So, they picked a spot on the west side of Lewes Road, just north of Elm Grove.

Building the Church

Construction on St Martin's Church began in October 1872. The first bricks were laid then.

Who Built It?

The building work was done by Jabez Reynolds. His father, Jabez Reynolds senior, was also a famous builder in Brighton and Hove. He had built many important buildings in the area.

The church's design was created by George Somers Clarke. He was a close friend of the Wagner family. His father had been an important helper to Reverend Henry Wagner for many years.

Clarke (junior) learned from a very famous architect, Sir George Gilbert Scott. George Somers Clarke also worked on other big projects. These included designing parts of St. Peter's Church and Chichester Cathedral. He even spent eight years surveying St Paul's Cathedral in London!

Church Design and Features

The outside of St Martin's Church looks like churches from the 13th century. This style is called Gothic Revival or Early English style.

Exterior Look

The church is very tall, which makes it stand out from the smaller buildings around it. Most of the outside is made of brown brick, with some red bricks mixed in. The church has a common layout: a main area (nave) with side sections (aisles) and chapels. It also has a special area for the altar (chancel).

Original plans included a tall tower with a saddleback roof, but it was never built. Instead, there's a small arch with a single bell near the north end. The church is built facing north–south, which is a special church direction called liturgical east-liturgical west for its main altar.

Inside the Church

The church floor is about six feet (1.8 meters) below street level. This makes the inside feel even bigger! When you walk in, you can see all the way across the main area (nave) to the altar.

Stone columns with brick arches separate the main area from the side aisles. Above these arches are many windows that let in light. The west wall has a huge set of beautiful stained glass windows. Look up at the nave ceiling, and you'll see 144 painted shields. These shields represent Anglican churches around the world that were started within 100 years of St Martin's.

Special Decorations

The marble altar was added in 1949, but the large reredos (a decorated screen behind the altar) is original. It has 20 pictures and 69 statues! All of these were carved in Oberammergau, a German town famous for its wood carving.

The original pulpit, where the priest gives sermons, is also still there. It has a unique canopy that goes up 55 feet (16.7 meters)! The font, used for baptisms, is in the entrance area. Both the pulpit and the font are decorated with special materials collected by Henry Wagner. The pulpit's base has olive wood from the Mount of Olives. The font, made of Sussex marble in 1907, has stones and marble from places like Cairo and Pompeii. Henry Wagner brought these back from his travels.

Church Opening and Later Years

The Bishop of Chichester officially opened and blessed the church on May 1, 1875. The priest from the temporary church nearby, Reverend R. I. Salmon, became the first priest of St Martin's.

Later in 1875, St Martin's got its own parish, which is like its own church district. This parish is called Brighton The Resurrection. It covers parts of the Lower Bevendean, Queen's Park, Round Hill, and South Moulsecoomb areas.

In 1925, the Lady chapel was improved. This was for the church's 50th anniversary and to remember Fr Wagner. Money for this came from a special collection.

St Martin's Church also had a strong connection with the former Preston Barracks, a military base nearby. A special gallery was built on the east side of the chancel for soldiers and military bands to attend services. Two different army groups also put up memorials in the church for their friends who died in the Siege of Khartoum in 1884 and 1885.

The Church Organ

The organ at St Martin's Church was built between 1875 and 1888 by a company called Hill & Sons. It is housed in a special case designed by Somers Clarke, which matches the beautiful reredos.

This organ has 29 stops and can be played using three keyboards and pedals. Experts say it is "outstanding" and very important historically because it is almost exactly as it was when first built. Since 2015, the organist has been Mr Nic Robinson.

St Martin's Church Today

St Martin's Church is a Grade II* listed building. This means it's a very important building, more than just locally. As of 2022, it was one of 72 Grade II* listed buildings in the city of Brighton and Hove. The church still follows a traditional Catholic style of worship. It often works with other churches that were also connected to the Wagner family.

See also

• Grade II* listed buildings in Brighton and Hove
• List of places of worship in Brighton and Hove