St Mary Magdalen's ChurchSome sources incorrectly give the spelling "Magdalene". is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in the Montpelier area of

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, part of the English city of

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex, England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administe ...

. Dedicated to Jesus' companion

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

, it is one of six Roman Catholic churches in Brighton and one of eleven in the city area. Built by ecclesiastical architect Gilbert Blount in a 13th-century Gothic style to serve the rapidly expanding residential area on the border of Brighton and

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

, it has been listed at Grade II by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

in view of its architectural importance. An adjacent presbytery and parish hall have been listed separately at Grade II.

History

Brighton had only one Roman Catholic place of worship until 1861: St John the Baptist's Church, built in 1835 in the Kemptown area to replace an earlier building. A

mission district The Mission District ( Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as the Mission ( Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name ...

was established to serve West Brighton, and priest Fr George Oldham was responsible for planning a church to serve it. Gilbert Blount, who entered the field of

ecclesiastical architecture Church architecture refers to the architecture of Christian buildings, such as Church (building), churches, chapels, convents, and seminaries. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly ...

(specialising in Roman Catholic churches) after an earlier career as an engineer working alongside

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...

, was commissioned to design it. The first part of the church to be built was the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

and its adjoining chapels, which were finished in 1861. The first part of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was added in 1862; this was then extended in 1864, when the spire was also built. The official opening date was 16 August 1864. No significant work was carried out for many years, but in 1962 the original

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

was replaced and two statues carved by Joseph Cribb, a pupil of

Eric Gill Arthur Eric Rowton Gill (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as "the greatest artist-craftsma ...

, were installed above the entrance. These depicted Saints

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

and

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

. More internal work was carried out between 1973 and 1974. Upper North Street, on which the church stands, was developed from the 1830s onwards with high-quality housing; it connects Brighton with Hove. The church stands on the south side between the separate presbytery to the east and the former primary school, also dedicated to St Mary Magdalen, to the west. The school dates from around 1865 and is of red brick, stone and some black brick (for example, on the arched window heads). It has been converted into a church hall, and was listed at Grade II on 19 March 1997. The presbytery is a later building, dating from about 1890, but is in a similar style with red brick walls, stone dressings and window surrounds and a

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. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

roof. It stands on a corner site, and one part of the roof is

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

d and the other is hipped. It was listed at Grade II on 10 June 1988. The church is licensed for worship in accordance with the

Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** O ...

and has the registration number 14463.

Architecture

The church is a 13th-century Early English/

Decorated Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

-style building—a design favoured by Gilbert Blount for his churches. He used red brick, laid out in an English bond pattern, for the exterior walls; there are decorative dressings of blue and black brick, and larger areas of stonework. The brick and stone tower tapers in three stages and is topped with a spire of stone. The layout consists of a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

, five-

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

, aisles,

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

and the tower in which a porch and the entrance door are incorporated. There are

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

s with ornate

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...

on all sides and on the middle and upper stages of the tower. The stone dressings on the exterior have intricate carvings.

The church today

St Mary Magdalen's Church was listed at Grade II by

on 10 June 1988. It is one of 1,124 Grade II-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of

. Some reconstruction of the sanctuary took place between 2008 and 2010, together with new decorative lighting, restoring the church to an appearance closer to that previous to re-ordering which had taken place following the liturgical changes after the Second Vatican Council. The church is one of eleven Roman Catholic churches in Brighton and Hove. There are five others in

, three in Hove and one each in

Rottingdean Rottingdean is a village in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England. It borders the villages of Saltdean, Ovingdean and Woodingdean, and has a historic centre, often the subject of picture postcards. Name The name Rotting ...

and

Woodingdean Woodingdean is an eastern suburb of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, separated from the main part of the city by downland and the Brighton Racecourse. The name Woodingdean came from Woodendean (i.e. wooded valley) Farm which was s ...

. Hugh Gerard McGrellis (known as Gerry) has been an

altar server An altar server is a laity, lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helping bring up the gifts, and bringi ...

at the church for over 70 years and was awarded the

Benemerenti medal The Benemerenti Medal (, ) is a medal awarded by the Pope to members of the clergy and laity for service to the Catholic Church. Originally established as an award for soldiers in the Papal Army, it is now a civil decoration but may still be awa ...

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

in recognition of his services. He has also served as the Chair of Governors for some time at St Mary Magdalen's School.

Notes

Sources

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary Magdalen's Church, Brighton Roman Catholic churches completed in 1864 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom

Saint Mary Magdalen Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...