St Peter's Church 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

Aldrington Aldrington is an area in the city of Brighton and Hove in the ceremonial county of East Sussex, England. It was formerly a civil parish. For centuries it was meadow land along the English Channel stretching west from the old village of Hove to ...

area of

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 ...

, part of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

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 ...

. It is one of three Roman Catholic churches in Hove and one of eleven in the wider city area. Built between 1912 and 1915 in a red-brick

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

, its tall

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

forms a local landmark. 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.

History

Hove's first Roman Catholic church was the Church of the Sacred Heart on Norton Road. Early in the 20th century, its priest paid £600 for a plot of land on Portland Road—a main road running westwards from Hove towards Aldrington and

Portslade Portslade is a western suburb of the city of Brighton and Hove in the ceremonial county of East Sussex, England. Portslade Village, the original settlement a mile inland to the north, was built up in the 16th century. The arrival of the railwa ...

—with the intention of establishing a new church there. A hall, dedicated to St Peter, was built on this site in 1902, and Mass was first celebrated there in 1904. It was part of the parish of the Church of the Sacred Heart until 1920, when it became its own separate parish. An architect called Dixon submitted plans for a new church in 1912; in September of that year the local Council granted permission for building work to begin, but his designs were abandoned and a different architect, Claude Kelly, was chosen. He submitted his own design in 1913. It was similar to a church, St Saviour's Church, Lewisham, that he previously designed in 1909. A new priest was appointed in 1915, and he raised £9,000 (£ as of ) towards the building of Kelly's church. It was finished in August 1915. Claude Kelly's father

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, who had designed dozens of churches in his architectural career, is believed to have been involved as well—he had been in partnership with his son since 1904—and another ecclesiastical architect, J. Marshall, may also have worked on the building. St Peter's was not

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

until 28 June 1927, after improvements were made to the internal fixtures. The original pews and

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

were replaced in 1929, and a parishioner provided the church with an

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 ...

made by

Henry Willis & Sons Henry Willis & Sons is a British firm of pipe organ builders founded in 1845. Although most of their installations have been in the UK, examples can be found in other countries. Five generations of the Willis family served as principals of th ...

. 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 40697.

Architecture

The church is built of red brick in a stretcher bond pattern. The roofs are of

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 ...

. 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 ...

has six

bays 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 ...

and north and south aisles; the latter has three side chapels, and there is also a

Lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chape ...

with a round roof and two

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. The

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 ...

and

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

have a similar roof design. A presbytery adjoins the northeastern side, and at the opposite corner is the building's landmark—a tall

with bell-chamber and copper roof. The entrance, flanked by

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s, is at the west end below a

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' wa ...

. Described as "startling" by

for its similarity to an Italian-style basilica, the church is also considered to have an impressive interior; there is much use of marble in various colours, and a barrel-vaulted ceiling. In 2019 the plain glass in the rose window was replaced with a new rose window designed by DTForsdyke and created by DTForsdyke & Silver Stained Glass. The window was commissioned to celebrate the centenary of the church.

The church today

St Peter's Church was listed at Grade II by

on 22 February 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

. Mass is celebrated every weekday morning and on Saturday evenings; there are three Sunday Masses; and there are regular Eucharistic adoration,

Confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...

and prayer sessions. St Peter's is one of eleven Roman Catholic churches in Brighton and Hove. The Church of the Sacred Heart, its former mother church, and St George's Church in the suburb of West Blatchington are also in Hove; there are six in

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 ...

, 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 ...

References

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