Weight: 660 lbs Bell 1 of 2
Founded by Mears & Stainbank 1873
Dove Bell ID: 51528 Tower ID: 18668 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Brighton: St Paul
Diocese of Chichester
Major Parish Church, 610043
http://www.saintpaulschurch.org.ukThis church is on the Heritage at Risk Register (verified 2024-11-14)
View more information about this church on the Heritage at Risk website
Overview
Grid reference: TQ 307 41
St Paul’s was built by Henry Mitchell Wagner, Vicar of Brighton, for the ministry of his High Church son, Father Arthur Douglas Wagner (1824-1902). It is is designed in the Decorated style. The most striking feature of the church externally is the tall tower crowned with its delicate wooden octagon and spire. The church stands in a commercial area on West Street not far from the seafront.
Visiting and facilities
Building is open for worship
Mass held every morning from 11am (except Fridays are held at another church). Church is open for visitors every day until 3pm. Facilities include toilets, a ramped entrance, large print books, and the church is guide dog friendly. The church holds bell ringing, a regular choir, and live music events, and has a shop.
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Six-bay aisled nave, the south aisle wider, narthex, chancel, north-east tower.
Dimensions:
Nave estimated to be c 31m (100ft) x 7m (22ft), aisles 7m and 10m wide.
Footprint of Church buildings: 1009 m²
Description of Archaeology and History
St Paul’s was built by Henry Mitchell Wagner, Vicar of Brighton, for the ministry of his High Church son, Father Arthur Douglas Wagner (1824-1902). The church therefore has an important place in the history of the Oxford Movement. The site chosen was next to the Fishery, at that time one of the most disreputable and poverty stricken parts of the town. The church was designed by Richard Cromwell Carpenter and built between 1843 and 1846. The stained glass and many of the furnishings and fittings were designed by Pugin, and made by Hardman. The tower, spire and covered way were added between 1873 and 1875 by the architect’s son, Richard Herbert Carpenter. The narthex and Fishermen’s Institute added in 1887 were built by George Frederick Bodley. The covered way was remodelled by John Leopold Denman in 1937, under whose regime the stained glass was “pickled”, an operation since reversed in an English Heritage grant-aided campaign of works in the 1990s that saw the octagon repaired.
Exterior Description
The church is designed in the Decorated style. The most striking feature of the church externally is the tall tower crowned with its delicate wooden octagon and spire. The octagon is of oak with lead flashings, and is a remarkable structure, framed by four pinnacles rising from the ends of angle buttresses at its base, a quatrefoiled parapet from which rise eight smaller pinnacles. The belfry openings in between are tall 2-lights with louvres, there are also pairs of short lancets to each face around an internal gallery at the base of the octagon. There are dragon water spouts at the corners, beautifully carved and restored. There is a west doorway with double doors with arched heads under a pointed arch with finely carved tympanum around a central figure of St Paul. This doorway is approached by a flight of steep steps, but is now not used.
This, the covered way and the buttressed east end, with its impressive 7-light window and sexfoil gable light, is pretty much all that can be seen of the church from the street. In order to enter the building, one now needs to walk along the (rather shabby and forbidding) covered way which leads through a narrow pointed doorway to the narthex at the west end. This is a pleasant space with a row of four cusped 2-lights in the west wall within an arcaded niche, and a rather grand doorway in the north wall which leads through to the Fisherman’s Institute, intended as a meeting room and library for the fishermen. Here there is a huge hooded fireplace resembling that of a medieval hall, fine chandeliers and panelling and portraits around the walls, a welcoming room, especially on a miserable morning in February. The narthex also houses a display on the restoration of the church.
Building Fabric and Features
Nave
19th century 6-bay aisled
Aisle
19th century south, wide
Narthex (classical)
19th century
Chancel
19th century
Tower (component)
19th century north east
Building Materials
Flint
19th century knapped
Ashlar
19th century dressings
Welsh Slate
19th century roof
Interior
Interior Description
Moving east into the church itself, the architecture is relatively simple, merely a stage for the furnishings and fittings, which are superb. The stained glass throughout by Pugin and Hardman (and some others), the mural decoration, painted woodwork, encaustic tiles and delicate metalwork by Bodley, Hardman and others all combine to impress. The interior is still fully pewed with dark-stained benches, but there have been some changes to the interior, as we will see.
But starting with the stage, looking west there is a huge 5-light window, over a double pointed entrance from the narthex. The aisle and chancel side walls are pierced by 2-light windows, with 3-lights at the ends of the aisles and a shortened 3-light above a pointed doorway in the middle of the south aisle. The slender doubled-chamfered arcades are carried on quatrefoil piers with simple capitals, carrying a tall arch-braced roof with wind-braces. The arcade arches and the chancel arch are tall and pointed, leaving just enough space for colourful murals over the chancel arch.
Under this is a fine filigree 5-bay gilded and painted rood screen by Bodley with coved cornice, painted rood and dado panels with Saints. Bodley also decorated the barrel-vaulted chancel ceiling. There are carved figures of saints around the walls, and large figure of Christ on a plinth within a pointed niche in the north aisle. More colour is provided by the excellent Minton tiles in the sanctuary and choir. Black-and white patterned floors, patterned paisley carpet to the nave platform.
However, the chancel has been reduced in grandeur since the excellent brass communion rails were scrapped in 1937, some changes in the 1960s which removed some of Pugin’s canopies, and since the Burne-Jones retable, commissioned for this church, was sold to finance the repairs in the 1990s; this all makes the focus at the east end less than it once was, and indeed there is now a nave altar, just in front of the rood screen, with an attractively carved and gilded communion rail set to curve behind it. This highlights the fact that the interior of this church is not frozen in time, nor a period snapshot of the Tractarian vision, but an accretive ensemble, the work of many people over a period of a hundred and fifty years.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
19th century Oak table, gilded with tracery. Modern nave altar. Oak tables to the side altars with tracery.
Pulpit
19th century The huge pulpit is of oak, designed by R C Carpenter, hexagonal with carved and gilded tracery panels on a stone pedestal. The tester was added by Denman.
Triptych (religious)
19th century Oak triptych, Gothic tracery with inlaid painting to north aisle.
Retable
16th century Flemish retable to south aisle altar.
Lectern
19th century Superb brass lectern made by Hardman, three tiers with angels at each, so tall there are steps to reach it.
Font (component)
19th century Octagonal stone font with inset painted panels and huge elaborate oak canopy, designed by R C Carpenter.
Stained Glass (window)
19th century The stained glass was designed by A W N Pugin made by the firm of John Hardman. When they were first unveiled the Ecclesiologist hailed the windows as the best works by this partnership they had ever seen. In the late 19th century varnish was applied to the windows to tone down the colours and, in the mid 20th century, the great west window was ‘pickled’, the coloured glass surrounding the figures being replaced with plain white glass. These alterations have now been reversed by Meg Lawrence and the glass now glows with its original intensity.
Inscribed Object
20th century Many monuments mostly in the narthex, of which the most notable are: Gilded alabaster memorial to Father Wagner designed by G F Bodley. Bronze and enamel memorial to William Bainbridge Reynolds and his wife, designed by Reynolds.
Organ (component)
20th century Four manual organ by G Hunter of Clapham, damaged in the Great Storm of 1987 and restored in 1999.
Rail
20th century Wrought iron, gilded, with oak hand rail, late 20th century. Similar to the side chapels. Carved and gilded oak rail to the nave altar.
Plaque (component)
20th century Memorial brass plaque in memory of the fallen in World War I.
Bells
Weight: 4396 lbs Diameter: 62.25" Bell 2 of 2
Founded by Charles & George Mears 1853
Dove Bell ID: 51529 Tower ID: 18668 - View Tower Listed: No Canons: Removed Cracked: No
Churchyard
Grid reference: TQ 307 41
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Sources
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