St Peter's Church, Preston Village, Brighton
Encyclopedia
St Peter's Church is a former Anglican
church in the Preston Village
area of Brighton
, in the English
city of Brighton and Hove. The 13th-century building, standing on the site of two older churches, was restored
in the late 19th century and again after a serious fire in 1906. It was the parish church
of Preston until 1908, when the newly built St John the Evangelist's Church
gained this status. The Diocese of Chichester
declared St Peter's redundant in 1990, and it is now owned by the Churches Conservation Trust
. It has Grade II* listed status, reflecting its architectural and historical importance.
site 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-northwest of Brighton before the time of the Domesday Book
. At that time, it was known as Prestetone (an Anglo-Saxon
name) and had a church, a mill and a population of about 50. The manor
was held by the Bishop of Chichester
, who at the time was Stigand of Selsey
.
The church mentioned in the Domesday Book
was replaced in the mid-13th century by the present structure, which is the third church on the site (a grassed area within the grounds of Preston Manor
). It consisted of a chancel
, nave
with no aisles and a tower at the west end with a shallow pyramidal cap (of the type known as a Sussex Cap), corbel table and narrow lancet window
s. Its main feature of interest was a series of 13th- and 14th-century wall paintings around the chancel arch and the nave, which depicted the Nativity of Jesus
, Saint Michael
weighing the souls of the dead at the Last Judgment
, the murder and martyrdom of Thomas Becket
, Doubting Thomas
, other saints, and the "Noli me tangere
" scene at Jesus's Resurrection
. They were covered with plaster at the time of the Reformation
and were rediscovered in 1830 by the vicar, Reverend Charles Townsend.
The church was restored
and extended in 1872 by architect James Woodman, who added a porch on the north side and a vestry
to the south. He also worked on the nave, which has been described as "over-restored". In 1878, Ewan Christian
modernised the chancel and its medieval piscina
and sedilia
. In 1896, Reverend Edward Riley became the vicar; he proposed extending the church to provide more capacity. It was only 50 feet (15.2 m) long and 26 feet (7.9 m) wide, and its capacity of 250 was inadequate for the rapidly growing population, which had been boosted by the opening of a mainline railway station
, the sale of the Stanford family's estate for residential development in the 1860s, and the village's incorporation into the Borough of Brighton in 1873. Parishioners and church officials argued that an enlargement would damage the medieval character of the church and would disturb or damage memorials, and in 1901 the architect Sir Arthur Blomfield
was commissioned to build a new church in the garden of the vicarage. St John the Evangelist's Church opened in 1902 with a capacity of 800, but St Peter's retained its ancient status as the parish church of Preston.
The church was severely damaged by fire on 23 June 1906. The wall paintings suffered particularly badly, such that only fragments of the Nativity, St Michael and Thomas Becket scenes remained—the others were destroyed. The nave, which suffered the most structural damage, was restored between 1906 and 1907, but St Peter's lost its parish church status to St John the Evangelist's the following year. Services were still held at St Peter's until 1988, when the Diocese of Chichester
closed it; on 1 June 1990 it was officially declared redundant and was passed to the Redundant Churches Fund (now called the Churches Conservation Trust
). The Trust opens the church to the public every day from 10am to 3pm.
St Peter's Church was listed at Grade II* by English Heritage
on 13 October 1952. This status is given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 70 Grade II*-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of Brighton and Hove.
building dressed with stone and with a roof of tiles, standing in a prominent position next to Preston Manor on higher ground than the rest of Preston Village. Built in the Early English style, it has a series of broad lancet window
s—three on each side of the nave, and also in the chancel. Most have been restored from their original state. The tower at the west end is narrow and relatively short; it has much narrow lancet windows and contains three bells, one of which may be 15th-century. In its present form, the church consists of a chancel with barrel roof and chamfer
ed arch, nave with no aisles, vestry with an elaborate chimney, and a timber-framed
, hipped-roofed
porch. Ewan Christian's renovations in 1878 added a set of intricately carved choir stalls; one of the carvings represents a Native American
. There are memorial tablets and stained glass
windows commemorating members of the Stanford family. A reredos
was added after the 1907 restoration. The altar is formed from a table-tomb
—the burial place of Edward Eldrington (or Elrington), the lord of the Preston Manor who died in 1515.
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 in the Preston Village
Preston Village, Brighton
Preston Village is a suburban area of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex to the north of the centre. Originally a village in its own right, it was eventually absorbed into Brighton with the development of the farmland owned by the local Stanford family, officially becoming a parish of the town in 1928...
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...
, in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
city of Brighton and Hove. The 13th-century building, standing on the site of two older churches, was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
in the late 19th century and again after a serious fire in 1906. It was the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of Preston until 1908, when the newly built St John the Evangelist's Church
St John the Evangelist's Church, Preston Village, Brighton
St John the Evangelist's Church is an Anglican church in the Preston Village area of Brighton, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. The Grade II listed building, designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield, was started in 1901 but did not take its present form for another quarter of a century...
gained this status. The Diocese of Chichester
Diocese of Chichester
The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was created in 1075 to replace the old Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey from 681. The cathedral is Chichester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Chichester...
declared St Peter's redundant in 1990, and it is now owned by the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
. It has Grade II* listed status, reflecting its architectural and historical importance.
History
The village of Preston was established on a downlandSouth Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
site 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-northwest of Brighton before the time of the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
. At that time, it was known as Prestetone (an Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
name) and had a church, a mill and a population of about 50. The manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
was held by the Bishop of Chichester
Bishop of Chichester
The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the Counties of East and West Sussex. The see is in the City of Chichester where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity...
, who at the time was Stigand of Selsey
Stigand of Selsey
Stigand was the last Bishop of Selsey, and first Bishop of Chichester.-Life:Shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066, there was a purge of the English episcopate, Archbishop Stigand was deposed in 1070 along with four other bishops, including Æthelric II of Selsey, probably because of his...
.
The church mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
was replaced in the mid-13th century by the present structure, which is the third church on the site (a grassed area within the grounds of Preston Manor
Preston Manor, Brighton
Preston Manor is the former manor house of the ancient Sussex village of Preston, now part of the coastal city of Brighton and Hove, England. The present building dates mostly from 1738, when Lord of the manor Thomas Western rebuilt the original 13th-century structure , and 1905 when Charles...
). It consisted of a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, 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...
with no aisles and a tower at the west end with a shallow pyramidal cap (of the type known as a Sussex Cap), corbel table and narrow lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s. Its main feature of interest was a series of 13th- and 14th-century wall paintings around the chancel arch and the nave, which depicted the Nativity of Jesus
Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
, Saint Michael
Michael (archangel)
Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...
weighing the souls of the dead at the Last Judgment
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
, the murder and martyrdom of Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
, Doubting Thomas
Thomas the Apostle
Thomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus in . He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman...
, other saints, and the "Noli me tangere
Noli me tangere
Noli me tangere, meaning "don't touch me" / "touch me not", is the Latin version of words spoken, according to , by Jesus to Mary Magdalene when she recognizes him after his resurrection....
" scene at Jesus's Resurrection
Resurrection appearances of Jesus
The major Resurrection appearances of Jesus in the Canonical gospels are reported to have occurred after his death, burial and resurrection, but prior to his Ascension. Among these primary sources, most scholars believe First Corinthians was written first, authored by Paul of Tarsus along with...
. They were covered with plaster at the time of the Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
and were rediscovered in 1830 by the vicar, Reverend Charles Townsend.
The church was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
and extended in 1872 by architect James Woodman, who added a porch on the north side and a 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....
to the south. He also worked on the nave, which has been described as "over-restored". In 1878, Ewan Christian
Ewan Christian
Ewan Christian was a British architect. He is most notable for the restoration of Carlisle Cathedral, the alterations to Christ Church, Spitalfields in 1866, and the extension to the National Gallery that created the National Portrait Gallery. He was architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners...
modernised the chancel and its medieval piscina
Piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. Roman Catholics usually refer to the drain, and by extension, the basin, as the sacrarium...
and sedilia
Sedilia
Sedilia , in ecclesiastical architecture, is the term used to describe stone seats, usually to be found on the south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for the use of the officiating priests...
. In 1896, Reverend Edward Riley became the vicar; he proposed extending the church to provide more capacity. It was only 50 feet (15.2 m) long and 26 feet (7.9 m) wide, and its capacity of 250 was inadequate for the rapidly growing population, which had been boosted by the opening of a mainline railway station
Preston Park railway station
Preston Park railway station serves the northern suburban areas of Brighton in East Sussex, England. It is on the Brighton Main Line and Thameslink 2 km north of Brighton railway station, and train services are provided by Southern and First Capital Connect...
, the sale of the Stanford family's estate for residential development in the 1860s, and the village's incorporation into the Borough of Brighton in 1873. Parishioners and church officials argued that an enlargement would damage the medieval character of the church and would disturb or damage memorials, and in 1901 the architect Sir Arthur Blomfield
Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect.-Background:The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College,...
was commissioned to build a new church in the garden of the vicarage. St John the Evangelist's Church opened in 1902 with a capacity of 800, but St Peter's retained its ancient status as the parish church of Preston.
The church was severely damaged by fire on 23 June 1906. The wall paintings suffered particularly badly, such that only fragments of the Nativity, St Michael and Thomas Becket scenes remained—the others were destroyed. The nave, which suffered the most structural damage, was restored between 1906 and 1907, but St Peter's lost its parish church status to St John the Evangelist's the following year. Services were still held at St Peter's until 1988, when the Diocese of Chichester
Diocese of Chichester
The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was created in 1075 to replace the old Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey from 681. The cathedral is Chichester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Chichester...
closed it; on 1 June 1990 it was officially declared redundant and was passed to the Redundant Churches Fund (now called the Churches Conservation Trust
Churches Conservation Trust
The Churches Conservation Trust, which was initially known as the Redundant Churches Fund, is a charity whose purpose is to protect historic churches at risk, those that have been made redundant by the Church of England. The Trust was established by the Pastoral Measure of 1968...
). The Trust opens the church to the public every day from 10am to 3pm.
St Peter's Church was listed at Grade II* by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
on 13 October 1952. This status is given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 70 Grade II*-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of Brighton and Hove.
Architecture
St Peter's Church is a flintFlint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
building dressed with stone and with a roof of tiles, standing in a prominent position next to Preston Manor on higher ground than the rest of Preston Village. Built in the Early English style, it has a series of broad lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s—three on each side of the nave, and also in the chancel. Most have been restored from their original state. The tower at the west end is narrow and relatively short; it has much narrow lancet windows and contains three bells, one of which may be 15th-century. In its present form, the church consists of a chancel with barrel roof and chamfer
Chamfer
A chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces. If the surfaces are at right angles, the chamfer will typically be symmetrical at 45 degrees. A fillet is the rounding off of an interior corner. A rounding of an exterior corner is called a "round" or a "radius"."Chamfer" is a term commonly...
ed arch, nave with no aisles, vestry with an elaborate chimney, and a 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...
, hipped-roofed
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
porch. Ewan Christian's renovations in 1878 added a set of intricately carved choir stalls; one of the carvings represents a Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. There are memorial tablets and stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows commemorating members of the Stanford family. A reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
was added after the 1907 restoration. The altar is formed from a table-tomb
Tomb
A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
—the burial place of Edward Eldrington (or Elrington), the lord of the Preston Manor who died in 1515.
See also
- List of churches preserved by the Churches Conservation Trust in South East England
- List of places of worship in Brighton and Hove