St Peter's Church, Brighton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Peter's Church, Brighton
Church from the liturgical west
50°49′42.11″N 0°8′5.98″W / 50.8283639°N 0.1349944°W / 50.8283639; -0.1349944
Denomination	Church of England
Churchmanship	Evangelical
Website	http://www.stpetersbrighton.org
History
Dedication	Saint Peter
Administration
Parish	Brighton, St Peter
Deanery	Brighton
Archdeaconry	Chichester
Diocese	Chichester
Province	Canterbury

St Peter's Church is a famous church in Brighton, a city in England. It is located right in the middle of the city. You can find it on an island between two main roads, the A23 London Road and the A270 Lewes Road.

The church was built between 1824 and 1828. It was designed by Sir Charles Barry. Many people think it is one of the best examples of the Gothic Revival style from before the Victorian era. It is also a Grade II* listed building, which means it's a very important historic building. From 1873 to 2007, it was the main parish church for Brighton. Some people even call it "Brighton's cathedral," even though it's not officially one.

History of St Peter's Church

St Peter's Church started as a "chapel of ease." This means it was a smaller church built to help the main, older church in Brighton, St Nicholas. It made it easier for people to go to church if they lived far from St Nicholas.

A young architect named Charles Barry won a competition to design the new church. He was only in his mid-twenties at the time. He designed the church to look like buildings from the 14th and 15th centuries. This style is called Perpendicular or Late Gothic. St Peter's was one of the "Commissioners' churches." These were churches built with money from the government after the Napoleonic Wars.

The first stone of the church was laid on May 8, 1824. This spot was once at the edge of Brighton. But the city grew quickly, and now it's in the city centre. The church was officially opened on January 25, 1828.

Charles Barry also designed a tall spire for the church in 1841. However, this spire was never built. The church used to have balconies on the sides, called galleries. These were later removed because of changes in how churches were used and decorated.

In 1898, a part of the church called the apse was taken down. This made space for a much bigger chancel. The chancel is the part of the church where the altar is. This new part was built using warm-coloured Sussex sandstone. This stone looked different from the cold, white Portland stone used for the rest of the church. Building work continued until 1906. The new chancel was officially opened with the Archbishop of Canterbury present.

The church has many beautiful stained-glass windows. Most of these were made by Charles Eamer Kempe. One window on the north side remembers Queen Victoria. It was paid for by the people of Brighton.

St Peter's was given its Grade II* listing on March 24, 1950. This means it's a very important historic building. As of September 2022, it was one of 72 Grade II* listed buildings in Brighton and Hove.

In 1978, St Peter's parish joined with the parish of the Chapel Royal.

New Beginnings at St Peter's

In December 2007, there was a plan for St Peter's to become a "redundant" church. This means it would no longer be used for regular church services.

However, on May 8, 2009, a church from London called Holy Trinity Brompton Church (HTB) decided to take over St Peter's. HTB is a very well-known church that created the Alpha course. The Alpha course is a series of sessions that explore the Christian faith.

Services at St Peter's started again on November 1, 2009. The church has grown a lot since then. It now has more than 1000 people attending. The current vicar, Daniel Millest, started in September 2022.

The church focuses a lot on helping the community. One of their projects is called Safehaven. It helps people who are experiencing homelessness.

On Sundays, there are three services:

• An early morning service at 8:00 am.
• A family service at 10:30 am.
• A service for students and young adults at 6:30 pm.

St Peter's also has a smaller church in the Whitehawk area called St Cuthman's. They have also helped start a new church in Holy Trinity Church, Hastings. In 2016, the vicar and 30 church members moved to Portsmouth. They started a new church there called Harbour Church, especially for students and young adults.

The Church Organ

St Peter's used to have a very large pipe organ. It was built in 1888 for the Hampstead Conservatoire of Music. The organ was brought to Brighton in 1910. It is the only one left of three similar organs in the town. The other two were at the Dome Pavilion and Hove Town Hall.

This organ is very similar to the famous organ in Truro Cathedral. Sadly, the organ in St Peter's could not be used for many years because of asbestos.

In March 2019, it was decided that the organ would be moved. It was taken out of St Peter's and some parts will be used in St John's College Chapel in Cambridge.

The organ was even featured in a recording made in 1977. The Choir of Guildford Cathedral performed a concert at St Peter's.

The Church Bells

The tower of St Peter's Church has 10 bells. All of these bells were made in 1914 by Mears and Stainbank in London. The largest bell weighs about 2,800 pounds. It is tuned to the note D.

The bells hang on two levels inside a strong iron frame. Bells 1, 2, and 9 are on the top level. These 10 bells replaced an older set of 8 bells. They were given to the church by John Thornton-Rickman.

The bells were silent for almost three years while work was done on the tower. But on Sunday, December 18, 2022, they rang out again for the first time!

Photo gallery

• 

  West end and War Memorial

• 

  Arch in the liturgical west face of the tower

• 

  Windows on the liturgical south side of the later chancel

• 

  Windows on the liturgical south side, the one on the left in the original nave, the one on the right in the later chancel

• 

  Window on the liturgical south side of the original nave

• 

  Looking across the church from the liturgical south-east

• 

  Church undergoing maintenance work in January 2015

See also

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