Holy Trinity Church, Hove: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 20:21, 10 February 2010
| Holy Trinity Church | |
|---|---|
 The south face and tower | |
 | |
| 50°49′52″N 0°10′19″W / 50.8312°N 0.1719°W | |
| Location | Blatchington Road, Hove, Brighton and Hove |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Churchmanship | Evangelical |
| History | |
| Status | Church |
| Founded | 1861 |
| Founder(s) | Rev. John Fraser Taylor |
| Dedication | Holy Trinity |
| Consecrated | 15 June 1864 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Redundant; threatened with demolition |
| Heritage designation | Grade II-listed |
| Designated | 2 November 1992 |
| Architect(s) | James Woodman |
| Groundbreaking | 1862 |
| Completed | 1864 |
| Construction cost | £9,000 (£1.12 million as of 2024)[1] |
| Closed | 2006 |
Holy Trinity Church is a former Anglican church in Hove, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built in the early 1860s to provide extra capacity for Anglican worshippers in the rapidly growing town of Hove, its use declined in the 20th century and it was closed in 2007 following a Diocesan review. As of 2009, its future is uncertain, and a heritage group has described it as one of Britain's top ten threatened Victorian and Edwardian buildings. The church has Grade II listed status, reflecting its architectural and historic importance.
History
Hove expanded rapidly in the second half of the 19th century, and the Cliftonville estate—developed from 1852—was one of its earliest areas of growth.[2] It was situated directly east of the old centre of Hove village on high-quality agricultural land which had been used to grow food for the nearby Brunswick estate.[3] The land was bought by four businessmen from Brighton[4] and was developed with nearly 300 houses, in various architectural styles, in the next 9 years.[5]
St Andrew's, the old parish church of Hove, was close to the newly developed streets, but its capacity was often reached at services. Rev. John Fraser Taylor, a curate at St Andrew's, started planning a new church in 1861; a site was found and bought for £250 (£29,500 as of 2024)[1] on Eaton Road (now Blatchington Road).[2] James Woodman, a local architect, was responsible for the design, and a builder named Cane constructed it. This took 14 months and cost a further £9,000 (£1.12 million as of 2024).[1] The Bishop of Chichester, Ashurst Turner Gilbert—who laid the foundation stone on 7 April 1863—consecrated the church on 15 June 1864. At that time, it consisted of chancel, nave, side chapels and a south aisle;[2] its tall tower on the south side was added in 1866. A spire was never added, although one had been planned.[6] In 1868, an aisle was built on the north side at a cost of £1,200 (£136,400 as of 2024).[1][7]
In 1912, the church was given an open-air pulpit.[8][9] This rare feature, usually associated with churches with an evangelical tradition, was unique in Brighton and Hove.[8][6] Later additions included rooms under the wooden gallery in 1949, a vicarage in 1952 and a church hall in 1953.[8][6]
At first, Holy Trinity Church operated as a chapel of ease to St Andrew's Church.[2] After All Saints Church was built in 1892 and gained the status of parish church, Holy Trinity became part of its parish. This arrangement continued after the church was threatened with closure in the 1920s because of falling attendances, although it was allocated its own district.[8]
The Diocese of Chichester carried out a review of Anglican churches in the city of Brighton and Hove between 2002 and 2003. Its report, published in June 2003, recommended that Holy Trinity Church should close. It was said to have "no future" within the proposed Central Hove Collaborative Ministry, whose area would incorporate six places of worship in Hove. It was stated that the nearby Holy Cross church offered a similar type and tradition of worship, and no other church communities in the city were found to be suitable for church planting (i.e. moving one congregation and community wholesale into another building).[10]
Architecture
The church is built mostly in red brick with stone dressings and some black and yellow brickwork.[9][11] Its architectural style is difficult to specify; cases have been made for "Lombardo-Gothic", Italian Gothic, standard Gothic, Early English and Eclectic.[9][7][6][11][12] The design has been criticised as "ignorant beyond belief", echoing architect and architecture lecturer Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel's comments about another Hove church, St John the Baptist's, in 1918.[7][6]
Holy Trinity Church has a nave of four bays, aisles on each side, chancel, apse, gallery at the west end with two rooms below, organ chamber on the northeast side (containing an organ originally installed in 1883 and later converted to electric operation), vestry at the southeast corner and entrance porch on the south side, above which the battlemented tower rises in three stages.[6] (The porch is incorporated into the base of the tower.)[9][11] The font was made in 1878 and consists of Caen stone and marble from Sicily.[6] The interior is plain.[11] Some of the windows contain stained glass; one commemorates Rev. John Fraser Taylor's parents, and he has his own memorial tablet in the chancel.[8]
The church today
As of March 2009 the church is threatened with demolition; if this happens, the site would then be used for housing.[13] Local residents, including actor Brian Capron, have campaigned against this.[14] The diocesan review in 2003 proposed using the building as second-stage accommodation for homeless people who had lived in the St Patrick's Church homeless shelter.[10] Brighton and Hove City Council has also considered using the land for a new primary school.[15] In 2008, The Victorian Society, an architectural study and preservation group and national charity, identified the church as one of Britain's ten most threatened Victorian and Edwardian structures.[13]
The church was listed at Grade II by English Heritage on 2 November 1992.[6] 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.[16]
See also
References
Notes
- ^ a b c d UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Dale 1989, p. 119.
- ^ Scott 1995, p. xii.
- ^ Middleton 1979, p. 52.
- ^ Middleton 1979, p. 53.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Detailed record: Holy Trinity Church, Blatchington Road (north side), Hove". Images of England. English Heritage. 2007. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
- ^ a b c Dale 1989, p. 120.
- ^ a b c d e Dale 1989, p. 121.
- ^ a b c d Elleray 2004, p. 34.
- ^ a b "Strengthening the Church for God's Mission" (PDF). Report from the Brighton and Hove Deaneries Pastoral Strategy Review Group, archived at the Internet Archive. Diocese of Chichester. 2003-06-21. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- ^ a b c d Nairn & Pevsner 1965, p. 436.
- ^ Salzman, L.F. (ed.) (1940). "A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 7 – The Rape of Lewes. The Borough of Hove". Victoria County History of Sussex. British History Online. pp. 262–265. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
{{cite web}}:|first=has generic name (help) - ^ a b "Has God's gem lost its sparkle?". BBC Southern Counties Radio website. BBC. 2008-09-25. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- ^ "Actor in "Save our Church" campaign". The Argus website. Newsquest Media Group. 2008-09-07. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
- ^ "Threatened Hove church could become school". The Argus website. Newsquest Media Group. 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
- ^ "Images of England — Statistics by County (East Sussex)". Images of England website. English Heritage. 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
Bibliography
- Dale, Antony (1989). Brighton Churches. London EC4: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-00863-8.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - Elleray, D. Robert (2004). Sussex Places of Worship. Worthing: Optimus Books. ISBN 0-95-331-3271.
- Middleton, Judy (1979). A History of Hove. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. ISBN 0-85033-325-3.
- Middleton, Judy (2002). The Encyclopaedia of Hove & Portslade. Brighton: Brighton & Hove Libraries.
- Nairn, Ian (1965). The Buildings of England: Sussex. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-071028-0.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Scott, Eddie (1995). Hove: A Pictorial History. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. ISBN 0-85033-981-2.