Bristol Road Methodist Church
Encyclopedia
Bristol Road Methodist Church is a former Methodist
place of worship in the Kemptown
area of Brighton
, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built in 1873 to an Italian Romanesque Revival design, it served this part of eastern Brighton for more than a century until its closure in 1989, after which it became a recording studio
. It is owned by Brighton College
, an independent school
based nearby. The building has been listed at Grade II in view of its architectural importance.
opened in 1808 in Dorset Gardens off St James's Street, a recently developed road east of the Old Steine and the Royal Pavilion
. By the 1870s, housing had spread much further east, and the area between Thomas Read Kemp
's high-class Kemp Town
estate and the earlier development around St James's Street had been filled in with high-density housing. The area became known as Kemptown
. In 1872, Reverend J. Martin, a Methodist minister, proposed the construction of a new church to serve this area. Architect Thomas Lainson
, who also designed several buildings (including a Congregational church) in Hove and the Middle Street Synagogue
in Brighton, was commissioned to draw up a design. He submitted this on 1 March 1872. A builder named John Fielder was responsible for construction, which continued through 1873. A stone tablet (now partly illegible) at the base of the tower, dated 7 October 1873, names Lainson, Fielder and Reverend Martin, and bears the inscription .
The church was part of the Wesleyan Methodist
tradition, and during the early 20th century became part of a circuit of six local Wesleyan churches; the others were the nearby Dorset Gardens Methodist Church
(also in Kemptown), Hove Methodist Church
, and others in Hurstpierpoint
, Portslade
and Southwick
.
A closure proposal was announced in 1987. In 1989, the congregation moved out and began to share St Mary the Virgin
, a nearby Anglican
church. After this, the building was sold and converted into a recording studio
. It is now owned by Brighton College.
The former church was listed at Grade II on 26 August 1999. It is one of 1,124 Grade II-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of Brighton and Hove.
style for his design. The building is of brown and red brick, laid in the English bond
pattern, with dressings of stone and pale brick. There is a tower at the southeast corner, rising in three stages and capped by a short spire and a lead roof. Most of the main roof area is laid with slate
, but there is one timber-framed
section as well. The south face has a stair turret at the southwest corner and the tower at the opposite corner; and between these is the entrance porch, a portico
with three arches separated by columns of granite topped with abaci
of stone. Three round-arched windows, with stone surrounds and an architrave
, are above this; and the façade is completed by a rose window
below the gable
d roof. There is another entrance in a small porch on the east face of the tower. The internal layout consisted of a three-bay
nave
leading into a sanctuary, and a single-storey vestry
with four arched stone-dressed windows on the northeast side.
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
place of worship in the Kemptown
Kemptown
Kemptown is a small community running along the King's Cliff to Black Rock in the east of Brighton, East Sussex, England.-History:The area takes its name from Thomas Read Kemp's Kemp Town residential estate of the early 19th Century, but the one-word name now refers to an area larger than the...
area of Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built in 1873 to an Italian Romanesque Revival design, it served this part of eastern Brighton for more than a century until its closure in 1989, after which it became a recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
. It is owned by Brighton College
Brighton College
Brighton College is an institution divided between a Senior School known simply as Brighton College, the Prep School and the Pre-Prep School. All of these schools are co-educational independent schools in Brighton, England, sited immediately next to each another. The Senior School caters for...
, an independent school
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...
based nearby. The building has been listed at Grade II in view of its architectural importance.
History
Brighton's first Methodist churchDorset Gardens Methodist Church
The Dorset Gardens Methodist Church is a Methodist church in the Kemptown area of the city of Brighton and Hove, England. Although it is a modern building—completed in 2003—it is the third Methodist place of worship on the site: it replaced an older, larger church which was in turn a rebuilding of...
opened in 1808 in Dorset Gardens off St James's Street, a recently developed road east of the Old Steine and the Royal Pavilion
Royal Pavilion
The Royal Pavilion is a former royal residence located in Brighton, England. It was built in three campaigns, beginning in 1787, as a seaside retreat for George, Prince of Wales, from 1811 Prince Regent. It is often referred to as the Brighton Pavilion...
. By the 1870s, housing had spread much further east, and the area between Thomas Read Kemp
Thomas Read Kemp
Thomas Read Kemp was an English property developer and politician. He was the son of Sussex landowner Thomas Kemp, whose farmhouse in Brighton was rented by the Prince of Wales in 1786.-Biography:...
's high-class Kemp Town
Kemp Town
Kemp Town is a 19th Century residential estate in the east of Brighton in East Sussex, England, UK. Kemp Town was conceived and financed by Thomas Read Kemp. It has given its name to the larger Kemptown region of Brighton....
estate and the earlier development around St James's Street had been filled in with high-density housing. The area became known as Kemptown
Kemptown
Kemptown is a small community running along the King's Cliff to Black Rock in the east of Brighton, East Sussex, England.-History:The area takes its name from Thomas Read Kemp's Kemp Town residential estate of the early 19th Century, but the one-word name now refers to an area larger than the...
. In 1872, Reverend J. Martin, a Methodist minister, proposed the construction of a new church to serve this area. Architect Thomas Lainson
Thomas Lainson
Thomas Lainson was a British architect. He is best known for his work in the East Sussex coastal towns of Brighton and Hove , where several of his eclectic range of residential, commercial and religious buildings have been awarded listed status by English Heritage...
, who also designed several buildings (including a Congregational church) in Hove and the Middle Street Synagogue
Middle Street Synagogue, Brighton
The Middle Street Synagogue is a synagogue in the centre of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It was the centre for Jewish worship in Brighton and Hove for more than a century, and has been called Brighton's second most important historic building...
in Brighton, was commissioned to draw up a design. He submitted this on 1 March 1872. A builder named John Fielder was responsible for construction, which continued through 1873. A stone tablet (now partly illegible) at the base of the tower, dated 7 October 1873, names Lainson, Fielder and Reverend Martin, and bears the inscription .
The church was part of the Wesleyan Methodist
Methodist Church of Great Britain
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is the largest Wesleyan Methodist body in the United Kingdom, with congregations across Great Britain . It is the United Kingdom's fourth largest Christian denomination, with around 300,000 members and 6,000 churches...
tradition, and during the early 20th century became part of a circuit of six local Wesleyan churches; the others were the nearby Dorset Gardens Methodist Church
Dorset Gardens Methodist Church
The Dorset Gardens Methodist Church is a Methodist church in the Kemptown area of the city of Brighton and Hove, England. Although it is a modern building—completed in 2003—it is the third Methodist place of worship on the site: it replaced an older, larger church which was in turn a rebuilding of...
(also in Kemptown), Hove Methodist Church
Hove Methodist Church
Hove Methodist Church is one of six extant Methodist churches in the city of Brighton and Hove, England. Founded on a site on Portland Road, one of Hove's main roads, in the late 19th century by a long-established Wesleyan community, it was extended in the 1960s and is now a focus for various...
, and others in Hurstpierpoint
Hurstpierpoint
Hurstpierpoint is a village in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England. Together with Sayers Common it forms one of the Mid Sussex civil parishes, with an area of 2029.88 ha and a population of 6,264 persons....
, Portslade
Portslade
Portslade is the name of an area of the city of Brighton and Hove, England. Portslade Village, the original settlement a mile inland to the north, was built up in the 16th century...
and Southwick
Southwick, West Sussex
Southwick is a small town and civil parish in the Adur District of West Sussex, England located three miles west of Brighton and a suburb of the East Sussex resort City of Brighton & Hove...
.
A closure proposal was announced in 1987. In 1989, the congregation moved out and began to share St Mary the Virgin
St Mary the Virgin, Brighton
St Mary the Virgin Church is an Anglican church in the Kemptown area of Brighton, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. The present building dates from the late 1870s and replaced a church of the same name which suddenly collapsed while being renovated...
, a nearby Anglican
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
church. After this, the building was sold and converted into a recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
. It is now owned by Brighton College.
The former church was listed at Grade II on 26 August 1999. It is one of 1,124 Grade II-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of Brighton and Hove.
Architecture
Thomas Lainson adopted the Italian Romanesque RevivalRomanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
style for his design. The building is of brown and red brick, laid in the English bond
Brickwork
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar to build up brick structures such as walls. Brickwork is also used to finish corners, door, and window openings, etc...
pattern, with dressings of stone and pale brick. There is a tower at the southeast corner, rising in three stages and capped by a short spire and a lead roof. Most of the main roof area is laid with slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
, but there is one timber-framed
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
section as well. The south face has a stair turret at the southwest corner and the tower at the opposite corner; and between these is the entrance porch, a portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
with three arches separated by columns of granite topped with abaci
Abacus (architecture)
In architecture, an abacus is a flat slab forming the uppermost member or division of the capital of a column, above the bell. Its chief function is to provide a large supporting surface to receive the weight of the arch or the architrave above...
of stone. Three round-arched windows, with stone surrounds and an architrave
Architrave
An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...
, are above this; and the façade is completed by a rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
below the gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof. There is another entrance in a small porch on the east face of the tower. The internal layout consisted of a three-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
leading into a sanctuary, and a single-storey vestry
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
with four arched stone-dressed windows on the northeast side.
See also
- Grade II listed buildings in Brighton and Hove: A–BGrade II listed buildings in Brighton and Hove: A–BAs of February 2001, there were 1,124 listed buildings with Grade II status in the English city of Brighton and Hove. The total at 2009 was similar. The city, on the English Channel coast approximately south of London, was formed as a unitary authority in 1997 by the merger of the neighbouring...
- List of places of worship in Brighton and Hove