St Mary's Church is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the Preston Village area 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 ...

, East Sussex, England. It was built from 1910 to 1912 in the Arts and Crafts style of

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th cent ...

. It is situated on the Surrenden Road on the corner with Preston Drove opposite Preston Park. It was designed by Percy Aiden Lamb, a student of Edward Goldie, and is a Grade II listed building.

History

Foundation

In 1903, the

Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction of Nevers A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

moved into the Preston Village area of Brighton. They did so to escape the

secularisation In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

occurring in France at the time. At first they worked within the parish of St Joseph's Church in Brighton. In 1904, the sisters were invited by the Bishop of Southwark,

Peter Amigo Peter Emmanuel Amigo (26 May 1864, Gibraltar – 1 October 1949) was a Roman Catholic bishop in the Catholic Church in England and Wales. He founded The John Fisher School in 1929. Biography Peter Amigo was born at Gibraltar, the ninth of eleven c ...

, to start a convent school in the

Withdean Withdean is a former village, now part of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex. Overview The area was originally named in the 12th century, when it was called Wictedene. The area was historically farm land but has been developed, mainly in the 1920s ...

area of the city. Their convent chapel also served as a place of worship for the local Catholic population. In 1906, a Fr Frederick Hopper became chaplain to the convent. With the increasing congregation he started the process of getting a new Catholic church built in the area.

Construction

In 1907, the site for St Mary's Church was bought from the lands of Preston Manor. Catherine and Denis Broderick gave money for the building of the church. On 9 August 1910, the foundation stone was laid. In 1912, construction was finished and the first

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

was said in the church on 7 April 1912. Construction was halted then because of a disagreement because Broderick wanted the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

built first, instead of Hopper's plans of building a tower. When the church was opened, a tower was built, but the east side of the church with its fittings were left unfinished.History
from StMarysBrighton.com. Retrieved 5 April 2016 The architect was Percy Aidan Lamb. In 1907, not long before being commissioned to design St Mary's Church, he started his architectural firm in London. Before that he trained with Edward Goldie. From 1895 to 1907, he worked for

John Francis Bentley John Francis Bentley (30 January 1839 – 2 March 1902) was an English ecclesiastical architect whose most famous work is the Westminster Cathedral in London, England, built in a style heavily influenced by Byzantine architecture. Life Bentle ...

on the construction of

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City o ...

. He built St Mary's Church in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

with Arts and Crafts movement influences.Brighton – St Mary
from

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 ...

. Retrieved 5 April 2016 In the church, he also designed the font made of

onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The ...

. It was made by J. Whitehead & Son, crafted from a pair of columns originally constructed for

Developments

In 1918, the old

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...

was installed in the church. It was from the old Xaverian College in Brighton. The

pew A pew () is a long bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview The first backless stone benches began to appear in English churches in the thirt ...

s in the church were made by the

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

and were inspired by the pews in St Michael and All Angels Church in Harbledown, Kent. In the 1950s, the interior was renovated. The floor was relaid and the reredos was removed. In 1978, the presbytery was built to the north of the church and the

was added. It was built in the shape of a polygon and both were designed by Patrick Foley. In 1979, the stained glass window in the east side of the church was added. It was designed by

Cox & Barnard Cox & Barnard Ltd was a stained glass designer and manufacturer based in Hove, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. The company was founded in Hove in 1919 and specialised in stained glass for churches and decorative glass products. M ...

. In 2004, with funding from Cyril Cassidy and plans by the priest, Canon Oliver Heaney, the construction of a parish centre was proposed. In 2007, the Cassidy Centre was opened by the

Bishop of Arundel and Brighton The Bishop of Arundel and Brighton is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in the Province of Southwark, England. The bishop's official residence is Bishop's House, The Upper Drive, Hove, East Sussex. The most rec ...

Kieran Conry Kieran Thomas Conry (born 1 February 1951) is a Roman Catholic bishop. He was the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton from 2001 until his resignation in 2014. Early life and ordination Conry was born in Coventry and educated at All Souls Roman Ca ...

. It is attached to the east end of the church and designed by Stephen Wright from the Brighton-based Morgan Carn firm. They also worked on the Divine Motherhood and St Francis of Assisi Church in

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...

. That year, the stained glass window behind the font was added. It was designed by Caroline Benyon who worked out of the

Glass House The Glass House, or Johnson house, is a historic house museum on Ponus Ridge Road in New Canaan, Connecticut built in 1948–49. It was designed by architect Philip Johnson as his own residence. It has been called his "signature work". The Glas ...

in Fulham. In 2011, the convent, from which St Mary's Church was founded, closed.

Parish

The church has three Sunday Masses, they are at 6:00 pm on Saturday evening and at 10:00 am and 12 midday on Sunday. There are weekday Masses at 10:00 am on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.Mass times
from StMarysBrighton.com

Interior

File:St Mary's Church altar, Preston Park by Basher Eyre Geograph 4284302.jpg,

Altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

File:St Mary's Church tabernacle, Preston Park by Basher Eyre Geograph 4284304.jpg, East window and

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

File:St Mary's Church font, Preston Park by Basher Eyre Geograph 4284301.jpg, Baptismal font File:St Mary's Church window, Preston Park by Basher Eyre Geograph 4284311.jpg, Baptismal font window File:St Mary's Church pews, Preston Park by Basher Eyre Geograph 4284309.jpg,

Pew A pew () is a long bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom. Overview The first backless stone benches began to appear in English churches in the thirt ...

References

External links

St Mary's Parish site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Church, Preston Park Roman Catholic churches in Brighton and Hove Grade II listed churches in East Sussex Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Arts and Crafts architecture in England Gothic Revival architecture in East Sussex Gothic Revival church buildings in England 1910 establishments in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1910 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom