Church of St. Peter, Brighton

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St. Peter's Church, Brighton
The Church of Saint Peter, Brighton, seen from the liturgical West.
Dedication	Saint Peter
Denomination	Church of England
Tradition	High Church
Administration
Parish	Brighton, St Peter
Deanery	Brighton
Archdeaconry	Chichester
Diocese	Chichester
Province	Canterbury
Clergy
Vicar	Rev David Biggs
Assistant	Rev Michael Forrest
Deacon	Rev Julie Newson
Other
Organist/Director of Music	John Ross
Organist	Jon Hunt
Website	www.stpeterschurchbrighton.org.uk

This article is about a church in Brighton;
for others dedicated to St. Peter, see St. Peter's Church.
For other churches in Brighton, please see Churches of Brighton

The Church of Saint Peter (commonly referred to as Saint Peter's Church) is an Anglican church in Brighton, United Kingdom. It stands near the centre of the town, on an island between two major roads, the A23 "London Road" and A270 "Lewes Road". Built from 1824-28 to a design by Sir Charles Barry, it is arguably the finest example of the pre-Victorian Gothic Revival style.

1 History
2 The cultural life of Saint Peter's
3 Photo gallery
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

The contract to design the new church of St. Peter was won in open competition by Charles Barry, then only in his mid-twenties. It was built in an approximation of the 14th- and 15th-century Perpendicular or Late Gothic style, typical of the so-called Commissioner's Churches, of which Saint Peter's was one. This was by no means to be a studious revival of its style in the manner of Barry's pupil Augustus Pugin, but, to quote Nikolaus Pevsner, "(it) remedies this fault by remarkable inventiveness and boldness". A spire was designed by Barry in 1841, but it was never built. The side aisles originally had galleries (such as those to be seen at churches such as Christ Church, Spitalfields), but these were taken down, as were so many, as a result of the cultural and liturgical changes made in the wake of the Oxford Movement.

Barry's hexagonal apse was demolished in 1898 to make way for a much larger, straight-ended chancel designed by Somers Clarke and J.T. Mickelthwaite, built in Sussex sandstone, its warm hue contrasting with the cold, white appearance of the Portland limestone in which the rest of the church was built. It was consecrated in the presence of the then Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Randall Thomas Davidson.

The church remains a place of worship in the present day, but there has been some talk of closing and demolishing the church, due to dwindling congregations and subsidence caused by the small River Steine, also known as the Wellsbourne, which runs underneath it. However, this is unlikely to happen, as there is a large sentiment held against this by the people of Brighton, plus the building brings numerous tourists into the town.

[edit] The cultural life of Saint Peter's

St. Peter's is a firm member of the High Church Anglo-Catholic sector of Anglicanism. It has two choirs: the 24-stong main choir is entirely male, but a second one - entirely female - was founded in 2001. The Ladies' Choir currently has only 10 members. The two choirs often sing together.

Saint Peter's is also the proud owner of a large and fine pipe organ [1] built in 1888 for the Hampstead Conservatoire of Music by Henry Willis [2], brought to Brighton in 1910. It is the sole survivor of three almost identical instruments in the town, the others having been at the Dome Pavilion [3] and in Hove Town Hall [4]. The latter is now at Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School in Elstree [5], while the former was broken up in the 1930s. It is almost identical to the famous organ in Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Truro.

[edit] Photo gallery

The West end	The West end	The West end and War Memorial	The arch in the liturgical West face of the tower
Three windows on the liturgical South side of the later Chancel	Two windows, on the liturgical South side, the one on the left in the original Nave, the one on the right in the later Chancel	A window on the liturgical South side of the original Nave	The liturgical South-East corner. The interesting effect seen here is due to accidental exposure of the film.
Looking across the church from the liturgical South-East - without the contrejours filter.	Looking across the church from the liturgical South-East - with the contrejours filter.