St Nicholas Church, Brighton facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids St. Nicholas of Myra, Brighton
View of St Nicholas Church from the churchyard
50°49′31.29″N 0°8′41.47″W / 50.8253583°N 0.1448528°W / 50.8253583; -0.1448528
Location	Church Street, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 3LJ
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Affirming Catholic
Website	St. Nicholas, Brighton
History
Dedication	St. Nicholas of Myra
Administration
Parish	Brighton, St Nicholas
Deanery	Brighton
Archdeaconry	Chichester
Diocese	Chichester
Province	Canterbury

The Church of Saint Nicholas of Myra, often called St. Nicholas Church, is an Anglican church in Brighton, England. It's known as Brighton's first parish church. It is also one of the oldest buildings in the city of Brighton and Hove. You can find it on a hill where Church Street and Dyke Road meet, close to the city centre shops. Because of its important design, the church is a Grade II* listed building. This means it's a very special historic building.

Early History of the Church
Building the Current Church
Who Owned the Church?
Rebuilding in 1853
Later Changes to the Church
Church Bells
Churchyard and Famous Graves
The Church Today
Images for kids
See also

Early History of the Church

The Domesday Book from 1086 mentions a church in Bristelmestune, which was a small fishing village back then. This church was worth £12. Soon after, it was given to the Cluniac priory in nearby Lewes. We don't know for sure where this first church was. But it might have been on the same spot as the St. Nicholas church we see today. The old village was near the coast, which was marshy and suffered from sea damage. It was also easy for invaders to attack. The higher ground where the church now stands was a much safer and more visible place.

Building the Current Church

The St. Nicholas church you see now was built in the mid-1300s. Inside, there's a font from around 1170. This old font was moved to the west end of the church in 2001. It has been moved several times over the centuries.

When it was first built in the 1300s, the church had a large tower at the west end. It also had a chancel (the area around the altar) and an aisled nave (the main part where people sit). Later, in the 1400s, a chantry was added. These extra chapels were common back then.

In June 1514, French raiders attacked the coast. They burned down the whole village, which was then called Brighthelmstone. Only the church, being further inland and on higher ground, survived the fire.

The church was damaged twice by big storms in less than two years. The Great storm of 1703 in November 1703 tore lead from the roof. Another storm in August 1705 blew off all the remaining lead sheets. A special stone tablet from 1705 was placed in the new roof to remember this.

Later in the 1700s, Brighton's population grew. Many new pews were put in, spreading out from the font. In the second half of that century, Brighton became very popular. This was because Dr. Russell said seawater was good for health. Also, the Prince Regent liked the town. The church became so crowded that galleries had to be built around the roof. You could reach these by outside staircases. At that time, St. Nicholas was the only Anglican church in Brighton.

Today, you can see a model of how the church looked inside before it was rebuilt in 1853. This model is in one corner of the church.

Who Owned the Church?

The old Southover Priory in Lewes looked after the church from the late 1000s until 1537. Then, the last prior gave it to the King. In 1540, it went to Thomas Cromwell. After he passed away in 1541, the right to choose the church's priest was given to Anne of Cleves. Finally, in 1558, the Bishop of Chichester gained control. The Bishop of Chichester has been in charge of the church ever since.

Rebuilding in 1853

Brighton changed a lot when King George IV was in charge (1820-1830). The town stayed popular, and the number of houses doubled. By 1830, eight smaller churches, called chapels of ease, had been built. These helped ease the crowds at St Nicholas church. But St Nicholas remained popular because it was free to attend.

However, the church's local committee, called the administrative vestry, didn't want to pay for church repairs. They often argued with the vicar, Rev. Henry Michell Wagner, about money. Because of these disagreements, the church became quite run-down. Some windows even had to be boarded up.

The problem was solved in 1852 when the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, died. The Duke had connections to Rev. Wagner and St. Nicholas Church. As a child in the 1780s, he studied at a school run by Rev. Wagner's grandfather. He also attended St. Nicholas Church. Rev. Wagner himself taught the Duke's sons for eight years.

So, Rev. Wagner decided to start a fund to rebuild the church as a memorial to the Duke. He gave the first £1,000 himself. People then donated almost £5,000 more.

The architect Richard Cromwell Carpenter was chosen to rebuild the church. He was known for his work linked to the Cambridge Movement. Work began on April 15, 1853. The project was finished very quickly by Carpenter and the building company, Bushby's of Littlehampton. The church reopened on April 8, 1854, just nine months after work started.

The rebuilding included a new roof and wider aisles. The chantry chapel was made smaller. An organ-chamber and a new east window were added. All the old galleries and box-pews were removed. The font was moved near the south door, where it stayed until 2001. A stone cross was put in to remember the Duke of Wellington. Carpenter died a year after the project finished. The rebuilding cost £5,769. It made the church smaller inside, reducing its capacity by about 30% to around 900 people.

Later Changes to the Church

A lot of work happened over the next fifty years. Most of this involved adding new things or replacing old ones. Sadly, many of the church's original medieval features were lost or changed.

Somers Clarke, who was in charge of the church's committee for 62 years, gave a new pulpit to the church in 1867. The old three-deck pulpit had been removed, and a smaller wooden one put in. Clarke's new pulpit was made of iron. A new organ, costing £500, was installed in 1872. A new room for the clergy, called a vestry, was built between 1876 and 1877.

Between 1878 and 1887, many stained glass windows were designed and put in. The famous designer Charles Eamer Kempe created many of these. Another window was given by Somers Clarke to remember Rev. Wagner, who had died in 1870. During this time, the east window that Carpenter had installed was replaced with a new one in the Perpendicular style. The original window was moved to the new Church of the Annunciation.

A big change happened in 1892. The entire roof was removed and lifted up by machines. This created more space inside the church. The new space was filled with clerestory windows (windows high up on the walls). Charles Eamer Kempe also added paintings and murals to these new areas.

The 15th-century chantry chapel was changed again in 1900. After being made smaller in 1853, it was enlarged once more. In 1909, it was turned into a Lady chapel, which is a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Church Bells

The first set of ten bells was given to the church in 1777. They were made by Thomas Rudhall, from a famous bell-making family in Gloucester. These bells were put in the tower at the west end of the church. Two of these bells were given to St. Peter's Church when it was finished in 1828. But in 1892, money left by a former church warden paid for two new bells to replace them. The whole set of bells was then replaced in 1922 with ten new ones by Gillett and Johnson.

It became a tradition to ring the bells when important visitors came to Brighton. This included kings, queens, or other members of the Royal Family. Special tablets at the base of the ringing chamber list each "special occasion" when the bells were rung for a long time. For example, they were rung for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887. More recently, the bells were rung in a special way for the funeral of Henry Allingham on July 30, 2009.

Churchyard and Famous Graves

St Nicholas Church is surrounded by an old graveyard with many old tombs. No new burials have happened here for many years. The council landscaped the area in the mid-1900s. However, most of the important historical tombs were left untouched. All the monuments mentioned below are Grade II listed.

The oldest memorial is for Captain Nicholas Tattersell. In 1651, he helped King Charles II escape from Shoreham harbour to France. He used his coal ship, Surprise. When King Charles returned to Britain in 1660, he gave Tattersell £100 a year. The Surprise ship was even added to the Royal Navy and renamed The Royal Escape.

John Weiss, a famous maker of surgical tools, was buried here in 1843. Weiss was very afraid of being buried alive. So, he designed a metal spike that would go into his heart when his coffin lid was closed.

Phoebe Hessel, a famous Brighton resident from the 1700s and 1800s, is buried nearby. She fell in love with a soldier, William Golding. She dressed as a man to join the British Army with him when he went overseas. She kept her secret for 17 years! Even after being wounded in battle in 1745, her secret was not found out during her treatment. She became well-known after moving to Brighton. She lived to be 108 years old. The Prince Regent gave her a special pension. She even rode in his parade when he became King George IV.

Martha Gunn, another well-known Brighton resident from the 1700s and 1800s, is also buried in the churchyard. She was the most famous of Brighton's "dippers." These dippers helped people who couldn't swim bathe in the sea. They used horse-drawn bathing machines. Dippers had to be the same sex as their client. Martha Gunn was highly respected for her strength, which was very helpful for this tough job.

Anna Maria Crouch, a famous singer and actress, is remembered by a large stone urn. She often performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London. She sang and acted in many plays. She died in 1805 at age 42.

Other important people buried here include Sake Dean Mahomet. He was an Indian man who opened the first Indian curry house restaurant in Great Britain. He also started "shampooing" baths. He was even appointed shampooing surgeon to King George IV and William IV. Amon Wilds, a key architect of the Regency era, who designed many of Brighton's buildings, is also here. The actress Dame Flora Robson, famous for her long career in theatre, TV, and film, has a memorial stone here. She lived near the church until she died in 1984.

The churchyard was first made bigger in 1824, across Church Street. This area is now a playground. Another small addition was made in 1831. But the biggest change came in 1841. Land to the west of Dyke Road was bought for a much larger burial ground. This western part was designed by Regency architect Amon Henry Wilds. It has several burial vaults that are Grade II listed.

The Church Today

St Nicholas Church in the snow in 2013

St Nicholas' Church was given Grade II* listed status on October 13, 1952. In February 2001, it was one of 70 Grade II*-listed buildings in Brighton and Hove.

For many centuries, St Nicholas Church was Brighton's main parish church. But it lost this title in 1873. The Bishop of Chichester changed how Brighton's parishes were organized. St Peter's Church was built in 1828 as a smaller church linked to St Nicholas. In 1873, they became separate churches, each with its own parish. St Peter's became Brighton's main parish church, perhaps because it was more central as the town grew. However, St Nicholas Church is still widely known as "The Mother Church of Brighton."

On Sundays, services are held at 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM. Short morning and evening prayer sessions happen on other days of the week. Other activities include a Sunday school for kids, a youth group, and regular live music events.