St Patrick's Church, Hove facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Patrick, Hove
The church from the southeast
50°49′33.54″N 0°9′27.62″W / 50.8259833°N 0.1576722°W / 50.8259833; -0.1576722
Denomination	Church of England
History
Dedication	Saint Patrick
Administration
Deanery	Rural Deanery of Hove
Archdeaconry	Chichester
Diocese	Chichester
Province	Canterbury

St Patrick's Church is an Anglican church located in Hove, a city in England. You can find it on Cambridge Road, near the border with Brighton. The church is still an active place of worship today.

Since 1985, St Patrick's has focused on helping people who are homeless. They used to have a night shelter and a hostel for homeless people. The night shelter closed in 2012, but the hostel still helps people. It is now run by Riverside Housing Association. In 2015, the church's local parish was closed. The Bishop of Chichester then asked the Chemin Neuf Community to take care of the church. The current leader of the Chemin Neuf Mission at St Patrick's is Reverend Tim Watson.

How St Patrick's Church Began

The area around the church, called the Brunswick Estate, started to be built up in 1824. This land used to be part of Wick Farm. By 1851, Sir Isaac Goldsmid was quickly developing it into a place for homes.

The main church for the Brunswick Estate, St Andrew's Church, was quite far away. It also had very few free seats and was mostly used by wealthy people. This meant it wasn't suitable for the many new, poorer residents. So, an Irish priest named Dr. James O'Brien decided to build a new church closer to them. This new church was a proprietary chapel, which meant he owned and ran it himself. He earned money from renting out pews and from services like weddings.

Construction of the church began in July 1857. It officially opened on 20 October 1858. The Bishop of Chichester, Dr. Ashurst Turner Gilbert, attended the first service. For its first few years, the church was known as St James' Church. In 1865, its name changed to St Patrick's and St James. Finally, in 1868, it became known simply as St Patrick's. The church cost nearly £13,500 to build, which was a lot of money back then!

On 21 August 1885, St Patrick's Church was given its own parish. This happened under the care of Rev. Ridley Daniel-Tyssen, one of Dr. O'Brien's nephews. Today, the church's parish covers the area between Holland Road, Lansdowne Road, the Brighton/Hove border, and the seafront.

What Does St Patrick's Church Look Like?

You can only see the eastern side of the church from the road. The architect who designed it was Henry Edward Kendall Jr.. He used a style called Early English Gothic. The church is built with Kentish ragstone (a type of stone) and has a slate roof. An octagonal (eight-sided) tower was planned but never finished, so only a small part of it stands today.

Inside, the church has a chancel (the area around the altar), side chapels, a main area called a nave with aisles, and a narthex (an entrance hall) to the south. The chancel has special stencils and paintings from the 1890s. Its roof is a hammerbeam roof, which is a type of open timber roof. The nave's roof has windows that stick out, called clerestory windows. An organ built by Henry Willis & Sons was put in the church in 1865.

Many famous architects helped design parts of the church's interior. William Butterfield designed two stained glass windows and the lectern, which is a stand for reading. This lectern is made of brass and features an eagle and St Patrick. A red sandstone reredos (a screen behind the altar) showing the Crucifixion of Jesus was added in 1887 by Somers Clarke. Sir George Gilbert Scott designed the pulpit. Other features include more stained glass windows, a font made of alabaster, and Stations of the Cross which are framed oil paintings.

In its early years, some people criticized the church's look and its services. One person said it was "spacious without grandeur and ornate without grace." The early decorations were called "primitive." Also, Dr. O'Brien loved using music in church services, and St Patrick's had amazing music and a large choir for many years. However, some people at the time didn't like such "High Church" practices. They even gave the church the funny nickname "Paddy's Music Hall."

St Patrick's and Homeless People

St Patrick's Church is well-known in the city for its work with homeless people. This started in the winter of 1985 when the priest, Father Alan Sharpe, allowed two homeless people to sleep inside the church. Soon, more homeless people were invited to stay overnight.

In 1987, the church's narthex (entrance hall) was turned into a special night shelter. A charity called The Lorica Trust was created to raise money to improve the shelter and create more space for homeless people inside the church. The Lorica Trust helped homeless people with night shelter and hostel places.

The night shelter grew, offering 12 beds by 1993 and 22 beds by 1999. It moved to the northern part of the church at that time. The night shelter closed in 2012. The remaining hostel is now managed by Riverside, a group that provides social housing in the UK. The hostel no longer accepts people who just walk in. Instead, people are referred to it by Brighton and Hove Council's team that helps rough sleepers. People usually stay at the hostel for 12 to 18 months.

Images for kids

• 

  The church from the southeast

See also

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