The Church of the Good Shepherd is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

church on Dyke Road on the border of

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

and

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th ...

, constituent parts of the English city of

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...

. Although just inside Brighton, most of the parish is within the boundaries of Hove, and the official name of the parish reflects the fact that it was originally part of the large ecclesiastical parish of Preston—a village north of Brighton. The building, designed by Edward Prioleau Warren in a simple Gothic style in the 1920s, has been given

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

status in view of its architectural importance.

History

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

, a village approximately north of the centre of Brighton, had its own ecclesiastical parish until 1531. In that year, the parish was united with that of Hove, which was then a similar-sized village to the southwest, to form the joint

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

of Hove-cum-Preston. In 1879 the parishes were separated again. By this time, residential development along Dyke Road—historically one of the main routes into Brighton from the north, and turnpiked since 1777—was nearly complete. The boundary between Brighton and Hove was aligned along the west side of the road in 1873, but this did not affect the parish of Preston.

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of th ...

Gerald Henry Moor became vicar of the newly separate parish in 1905. Known for his cricketing skills earlier in his life, he held the position for 11 years until his death on 31 May 1916. His widow, Alice, decided to fund the construction of a church in his memory in part of the parish where there were no nearby Anglican places of worship. A temporary iron church was built on the east side of Dyke Road soon afterwards, and in December 1919 a committee was formed to inspect the plans submitted by architect Edward Warren. Alice Moor laid the

foundation stone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over tim ...

in 1920, and building work started on 2 July 1921; local firm Packham, Sons and Palmer were employed to execute Warren's design. The

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 based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's sea ...

, Winfrid Oldfield Burrows, consecrated the building on 31 May 1922. The church became parished on 13 October 1922. The new parish was formed from the section of Preston parish west of the

Brighton Main Line The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of and station ...

, previously within the jurisdiction of St John the Evangelist's Church, and part of the parish of St Luke's Church on Old Shoreham Road. The population of the area was about 4,000. The east end of the church (the rear of the building) was extended in 1927. The same building firm was used again, and they added a

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

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

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

and one extra

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, circular bay with a na ...

on 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-typ ...

. A square tower was also added at the front (west end), and the church was dedicated in its new form on 23 June 1927. A new church hall was built in 1936 to replace the former iron church, which had latterly been used as a church hall.

Architecture

Edward Warren's design for the Church of the Good Shepherd was simple Gothic. The exterior was built in mixed, mostly brown, brick with some concrete and stone facings. There is a mixture of lancet and wide

dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable spac ...

windows. The interior, consisting of a five-bay nave and chancel under a tiled roof, is wide and low beneath a wagon ceiling. There is a Lady chapel at the southeast corner, another chapel on the northeast side containing a memorial to casualties of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, a vestry, porch and the tower, which contains bells and is topped by a

battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...

ed parapet and a flèche. The west end, next to the tower, has a series of five lancet windows in a recessed pointed arch; above these is a statue depicting the

Good Shepherd The Good Shepherd ( el, ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, ''poimḗn ho kalós'') is an image used in the pericope of , in which Jesus Christ is depicted as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Similar imagery is used in Psalm 23 ...

. The Lady chapel has

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

, and the church's interior fittings include a

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for e ...

The church today

The Church of the Good Shepherd was

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

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, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

on 26 August 1999. It is one of 1,124 Grade II-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of

. There are three services every Sunday, including

Evensong Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. In origin, it is identical to the canonical hour of vespers. Old English speakers translated the Latin word as , which became ...

, and either two or three prayer services or

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

ic services on other days of the week. Taizé-style services take place several times a year. The extent of th
parish
is the same as when it was defined in 1922. Its boundaries are the railway line between

Preston Park station Preston Park railway station is on the Brighton Main Line in England, serving Preston Village, Brighton, Preston Village and the northern suburban areas of the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. It is down the line from via and is situat ...

and Dyke Road Drive; Highcroft Villas; Dyke Road; Old Shoreham Road;

Hove Park Hove Park is a park within the English city of Brighton & Hove. It is also the name of an electoral ward in Brighton and Hove whose population at the 2011 census was 10,602. Overview A paved path goes all round the park, approximately 1.17 m ...

; Goldstone Crescent; Woodland Drive; Tredcroft Road; and Tivoli Crescent North.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * {{B&H Buildings Churches completed in 1927 20th-century Church of England church buildings Church of England church buildings in Brighton and Hove Brighton, Church of the Good Shepherd Grade II listed buildings in Brighton and Hove

History

Architecture

The church today

See also

Notes

Bibliography