St Peter's Church, Preston Village facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Peter's Church |
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The church from the northwest
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| 50°50′32″N 0°08′58″W / 50.8423°N 0.1495°W | |
| Location | Grounds of Preston Manor, Preston Drove, Preston, Brighton and Hove |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| History | |
| Status | Former parish church |
| Dedication | Saint Peter |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* listed |
| Designated | 13 October 1952 |
| Style | Early English |
| Closed | 1988 |
St Peter's Church is an old Anglican church located in the Preston Village area of Brighton, a city in England. This building was first built in the 1200s. It stands where two even older churches used to be. The church was fixed up in the late 1800s and again after a big fire in 1906.
St Peter's was the main church for Preston until 1908. That's when a new church, St John the Evangelist's Church, was built and took over. In 1990, the church stopped being used for regular services. Now, a group called the Churches Conservation Trust looks after it. St Peter's Church is a very important historical building. It has a special "Grade II* listed" status because of its amazing history and design.
Contents
The Story of St Peter's Church
The village of Preston started a long time ago, even before the Domesday Book was written. It was about 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) north-northwest of Brighton, on a hillside. Back then, it was called Prestetone, which is an old Anglo-Saxon name. The village had a church, a mill, and about 50 people living there. The land was owned by the Bishop of Chichester.
The Church Through the Years
The church mentioned in the Domesday Book was replaced in the mid-1200s. This new church is the one we see today. It's the third church built on this spot, which is now a grassy area inside the grounds of Preston Manor.
The church had a main area called a nave and a chancel at the east end. It also had a tower at the west end with a special pyramid-shaped roof, called a Sussex Cap. The tower had narrow, tall windows called lancet windows.
One of the most interesting things about the church was its wall paintings. These paintings were from the 1200s and 1300s. They showed scenes like the birth of Jesus, Saint Michael weighing souls, and the story of Thomas Becket. During the English Reformation, these paintings were covered with plaster. But in 1830, a vicar named Reverend Charles Townsend found them again!
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Changes and Challenges
In 1872, the church was fixed up and made bigger by an architect named James Woodman. He added a porch on the north side and a small room called a vestry to the south. He also worked on the nave. Later, in 1878, another architect, Ewan Christian, updated the chancel.
By the late 1800s, Preston village was growing very fast. More people were moving in because a new train station opened, and land was being sold for homes. The church was only about 15 meters (50 feet) long and 8 meters (26 feet) wide. It could only hold about 250 people, which wasn't enough for the growing community.
Church leaders thought about making the church even bigger. But many people worried that adding more parts would damage the old medieval style of the church and might disturb old memorials. So, in 1901, a famous architect named Sir Arthur Blomfield was asked to build a brand new church instead.
St John the Evangelist's Church opened in 1902 and could hold 800 people. Even though the new church was built, St Peter's kept its old title as the parish church of Preston for a few more years.
The Fire and After
On June 23, 1906, a serious fire badly damaged St Peter's Church. The beautiful wall paintings were hit especially hard. Only small parts of the Nativity, St Michael, and Thomas Becket scenes were left; the others were destroyed.
The nave, which was the most damaged part, was repaired between 1906 and 1907 by Philip Mainwaring Johnston. The next year, St Peter's officially lost its main church status to St John the Evangelist's.
Services continued at St Peter's until 1988. On June 1, 1990, it was officially closed for regular worship. It was then given to the Redundant Churches Fund, which is now called the Churches Conservation Trust. This group keeps the church open for visitors every day from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. You can also rent the church for concerts or art shows.
St Peter's Church was given its Grade II* listed status by English Heritage on October 13, 1952. This means it's a very important historical building. In 2001, it was one of 70 Grade II*-listed buildings in Brighton and Hove.
What the Church Looks Like
St Peter's Church is built from flint stones with stone details and a tiled roof. It stands in a noticeable spot next to Preston Manor, on higher ground than the rest of Preston.
The church is built in the Early English style. It has several wide lancet windows, three on each side of the nave and also in the chancel. Most of these windows have been fixed up from their original look.
The tower at the west end is narrow and not very tall. It also has many narrow lancet windows and holds three bells. One of these bells might be from the 1400s!
Today, the church has a chancel with a rounded ceiling and a main nave area without side aisles. It also has a vestry with a fancy chimney and a wooden-framed porch with a sloping roof.
When Ewan Christian worked on the church in 1878, he added some beautifully carved choir stalls. One of the carvings even shows a Native American! Inside, you can also find special plaques and stained glass windows that remember members of the Stanford family. After the 1907 repairs, a decorative screen called a reredos was added behind the altar. The altar itself is made from a table-tomb, which is the burial place of Edward Eldrington, who was the lord of Preston Manor and died in 1515.
See also
- Grade II* listed buildings in Brighton and Hove
- List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in Southeast England
- List of places of worship in Brighton and Hove
