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St Nicholas' Church Brighton

The Church of Saint Nicholas of Myra, usually known as St. Nicholas' Church, is an Anglican church in Brighton, England. It is both the original parish church of Brighton and the oldest surviving building in central Brighton. It is located on high ground at the junction of Church Street and Dyke Road in the city centre, very close to the main shopping areas. Due to its architectural significance the church is a Grade II* listed building.

The Domesday Book of 1086 records the presence of a church, valued at £12, in what was then the small fishing village of Bristelmestune. Shortly afterwards, it was granted to the Cluniac priory in nearby Lewes. Although there is no certainty over where this church was located, it is possible that it stood on the site of the present-day St. Nicholas' church: although Bristelmestune was located some distance to the south immediately adjacent to the coast, the ground there was marshy and suffered from erosion, and was vulnerable to attacks from invaders. The higher ground of the hill where the present church stands would have been better strategically and defensively, as well as being highly visible to residents of the village and the fishermen at sea.

In its current form, St. Nicholas' church dates from the mid-14th century, although the tower that was built at that time used some stones of Norman origin, which may have come from the original church. Also, a font from that period is preserved within the church. It was carved around 1170 in Caen Stone, and in 2001 was relocated to a prominent position at the west end of the church - the latest of several moves over the centuries.

The church, as originally constructed in the 14th century, consists of a substantial tower at the west end, a chancel and an aisled nave. Early additions include a chantry, dating from the 15th century; these additional chapels were relatively common at that time.

A devastating attack from abroad did occur in June 1514, when French raiders landed on the coast and burned the surrounding village, (by now known as Brighthelmstone) in its entirety. Only the church, standing some distance inland and above the fire, survived.

The church was damaged twice in under two years by severe storms which caused significant destruction and loss of life elsewhere in Brighton, especially in the buildings of the "lower town" by the coast. The Great Storm of 1703, in November of that year, ripped lead from the roof; a subsequent storm, in August 1705, blew off all of the remaining sheets of lead. A commemorative tablet, dated 1705, was laid in the replacement roof.

Later in the 18th century, as Brighton's population began to grow, a series of pews, radiating outwards from the font in the centre, were installed. In the second half of that century, when the town's popularity grew substantially in response to Dr. Russell's advocacy of the medicinal benefits of seawater (and, subsequently, the Prince Regent's patronage), space was so limited that a series of galleries had to be built around the roof of the church, accessed by external staircases. At the time, St. Nicholas' was the only Anglican church in Brighton.

A model of the interior layout prior to the 1853 reconstruction can be seen today in one corner of the church

The ancient Southover Priory in Lewes was responsible for the church from the end of the 11th century until 1537, when the last prior surrendered it to the Crown. In 1540, it passed to Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex; in 1541, following his death by execution in July 1540, the advowson was granted to Anne of Cleves; and finally, in 1558, the Bishop of Chichester gained it. The holder of that title has been the patron of the church ever since.

Brighton underwent considerable change during the reign of King George IV (the former Prince Regent) from 1820 to 1830. The town continued to be fashionable, and the number of houses doubled during his 10½-year reign. Eight chapels of ease had been built by 1830 to alleviate the burden on the overcrowded St Nicholas' church, but the latter remained popular as it was free to attend. Furthermore, the administrative vestry of the church (the equivalent of the present-day Church of England Parochial Church Council) was ideologically opposed to the responsibility they faced in raising funds for maintaining the fabric of the church. There were frequent disagreements and clashes with the vicar, Rev. Henry Michell Wagner, and deadlock was often reached over the issue of funding - to such an extent that the church became somewhat dilapidated and some of the windows in the chancel had to be boarded up.

The situation was resolved, however, in 1852, when the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, died. There were historical links between the Duke and both Rev. Wagner and St. Nicholas' Church itself: as a child in the 1780s, he studied for a time at an academy in Nile Street (in what is now The Lanes in the city centre) run by Rev. Wagner's grandfather, Rev. Henry Michell; he attended St. Nicholas' Church, which at the time was under the curacy of Rev. Michell, to worship; and his sons were taught by Rev. Wagner himself for eight years from 1818. Rev. Wagner therefore announced that he would start a fund to pay for the rebuilding of the church as a memorial to the Duke, and donated the first £1,000. Nearly £5,000 more was subsequently raised from public subscriptions and donations.

The architect, Richard Cromwell Carpenter, associated with the architectural aspects of the Cambridge Movement and Tractarianism, was chosen to rebuild St Nicholas' Church, after authorisation was granted on 15 April 1853 for demolition and reconstruction. The project was completed quite rapidly, given the size of the building, by Carpenter and the appointed building firm (Bushby's of Littlehampton): the church was reopened on 8 April 1854, about nine months after work started.

Work included a new roof; a doubling of the width of the original aisles, and extensions to some of them; a reduction in the size of the chantry; the creation of an organ-chamber and a new east window; the removal of all galleries and original box-pews; and the moving of the font to a position near the south door, which it occupied until the latest move in 2001. A stone cross was installed to commemorate the Duke of Wellington. Carpenter himself died only a year after the project was completed, and a memorial plaque - now lost - was installed in recognition of his life and works. The reconstruction, which cost £5,769, reduced the capacity of the church by approximately 30% to around 900 because the galleries were removed

St Nicholas' Church was listed at Grade II* on 13 October 1952. As of February 2001, it was one of 70 Grade II*-listed buildings and structures, and 1,218 listed buildings of all grades, in the city of Brighton and Hove.

Having been Brighton's parish church for several centuries, St Nicholas' Church lost this status in 1873 when the Bishop of Chichester reorganised the entire structure of Brighton's parishes. St Peter's Church had been constructed in 1828 as a chapel of ease associated with St Nicholas' Church; in 1873, the two were separated and each allocated their own parish, and St Peter's became Brighton's parish church—perhaps because of its more central location (following the development of the town around it). St Nicholas' Church is still widely known as "The Ancient Mother Church of Brighton".

Sunday services are held at 8.00am and 10.30am

There is a said Eucharist at noon on Fridays and Saturdays and at other times on other days apart from the Sunday services mentioned below.