The History of St Peter's
The parish of Brighthelmstone is mentioned in the Doomsday Book, and the first Vicar whose name is known was John de Brighthelmstone, who was appointed Vicar for life at some date before 1252. The earliest existing parish registers date from 1558 and these are now in the care of the County Records Office in Lewes.
As the mediaeval parish church of St Nicholas proved too small for the growing population, St Peter's was consecrated as a Chapel of Ease in January 1828 by the Right Reverend Dr Robert Carr, Lord Bishop of Chichester, who, as Vicar of Brighton, had laid the foundation stone in May 1824. The first priest was the Reverend Thomas Cook who remained for 45 years until St Peter's became Brighton Parish Church in 1873. The font, made from Sussex marble, was given by his widow as a memorial to him.
Sir Charles Barry
A competition to design the new church was won by Charles Barry; he chose the Gothic style, the result
being one of the first and finest examples of Gothic revival in England. Barry was 28 at the time and
took his inspiration from the vast, late fourteenth century choir of York Minster. He later designed
the Houses of Parliament and was knighted. His original design for St Peter's included a spire, which
was never built.
The Present Chancel
Barry's hexagonal apse was demolished in 1898 to make way for the present chancel, designed by
Somers Clarke and J.T. Mickelthwaite in the late perpendicular style. The chancel was consecrated
in the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1906. The site of the original altar is marked by
a stone in the floor of the nave under the present nave altar.
Interesting Facts
- Barry's church is built of Portland limestone, Somer Clarke's extension is of superior Sussex sandstone, hence the building's distinctive 'two-tone' appearance.
- The reredos in the chapel, which is dedicated to St George, was the gift of Archdeacon Hoskyns in memory of the Brighton troops who fell in the First World War.
- The stained glass window above the High Altar is a memorial to Queen Victoria and was the work of the famous panel maker Charles Kempe.
- St Peter's has a ring of ten bells, with the tenor in D, weighing twenty five and a half hundredweight. An amplified recording of our bells serves the Church of St Peter del Mar on the Pacific coast near San Diego, California.