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THE PARISH CHURCH OF     

ST MARY THE VIRGIN, BRIGHTON

Parish Office 01273 698601

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THIS SITE INCLUDES FOUR DIFFERENT HYMN IMPROVISATIONS PLAYED ON THE CHURCH'S FAMOUS BEVINGTON ORGAN BY BILL SIBBEY - EACH PAGE FEATURES A DIFFERENT ONE - including two on the Bevington Organ pages. 

CLICK ON THE RELEVANT LINKS, SUCH AS THE ONE BELOW, TO LISTEN

St Mary’s Parish includes the former Parishes of St. James and of All Souls. 

St. James Chapel (picture on right) stood roughly where Chapel Street meets St. James’s Street. 

It was built in 1875 and was closed early in the Second World War and the Parish united with St. Mary’s in 1948. 

Some of the furnishings were relocated to St Mary's

All Souls Church stood on the south side of Eastern Road half-way between Rock Gardens and Upper Bedford Street and was closed and demolished in 1967.  The picture on the left shows the interior of All Souls Church.   

In 1876 crowded congregations at St. Mary’s necessitated St. Luke’s Church, Queen’s Park being built as a mission church.

                                  Aerial view of church and a substantial area of our Parish              (Photo : Ray Ballantyne)

All photographs on this site were taken by Bill Sibbey, except where stated otherwise

Some members of our Church Family

The St Mary's EASTER GARDEN - in front of the nave altar

The design and background painting are by Michael Folkard, a member of St Mary's congregation, who also designed our Christmas Crib, shown further down this page.

▼  THE CHURCH BUILDING  ▼

The architect's original drawing of the interior

           This impressive church (which was 130years old on the 15th October 2008), standing on the crossroads of St. James's Street and Rock Gardens in the area of the city east of Brighton Pier, is affectionately known as "The Cathedral of Kemp Town".

From the outside one sees a large red-bricked Victorian church building, but it is only upon entering that the reason for its "unofficial title" becomes apparent, with its imposing size and soaring arches - as our pictures in our TOUR show. Please read on                                                                   

The first incumbents of the Parish of St. Mary's were two members of the ELLIOTT family, Henry Venn who was succeeded by his son Julius (a keen mountain climber and the second person ever to scale the north face of the Matterhorn, but who lost his life whilst scaling the Schreckhorn in the Bernese Oberland - see caption attached to picture of the font below).

CHARLOTTE ELLIOTT (Henry's sister) was the famous hymn writer whose "Just as I am, without one plea" is one of the best loved hymns in the world - Dr Billy Graham used it for many years at the "altar call" in his crusades .............. 

"Just as I am, I come".

The FIRST CHURCH on this site, the propriety Chapel of St. Mary, a neo-classical building modelled on the Temple of Nemesis in Athens (see drawing and old photograph of the interior above), opened in 1827, but during essential repairs in 1876, the building suddenly collapsed, and after great efforts to raise money to replace it, thanks to the Vicar at that time, the Ven, Arthur Thornhill Waugh (who, on leaving St Mary's in 1895 became Archdeacon of Ripon) the PRESENT BUILDING was built over the next two years and was CONSECRATED on the 15th October, 1878. It is the only ecclesiastical building in this country designed by William Emmerson (most of his work can be found in India - mainly government buildings - It resembles All Saints’ Cathedral Allahabad, also designed in 1877, and completed in 1891).

The original design (SEE PICTURE AT LEFT) shows an imposing clock tower, but owing to lack of funds this never materialised. The interior is in a French gothic style and the nave is 40 feet wide and nearly 60 feet high at its highest point. The floor of the nave is considerably lower than the Baptistry and chancel, enhancing the height of the building - the overall effect being quite magnificent, invoking gasps of awe from first-time visitors. There are many large stained-glass windows attributed to  Kempe, Clayton & Bell and others, a beautiful carved reredos, and fine furnishings.

THE ORGAN, by Bevington, although not as large an instrument as one would expect for the size of the building (only 3 manuals and 34 speaking stops) can, with its rich cathedral organ grandeur, support a full congregation with ease, and its superb 19th century tonal qualities have earned it a reputation as one of the most noteworthy organs in the area. It was installed in the church ready for the consecration in 1878 and enlarged in 1904. During the summer months, regular recitals are given by distinguished organists.  See link at left.

A TOUR OF THE CHURCH

The font - the column on which it is resting is made from granite from the Schreckhorn mountain in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, (the extreme left hand peak in this photograph) where Julius Elliott, the second vicar of St Mary's Parish, lost his life.  He is buried at Grindelwald, the village near the foot of the mountain.

Close up of carvings on font (photo Paul Burgoyne)

The Baptistry windows - The centre window The Presentation at the Temple  dates from 1878 and is the work of W. Gualbert Saunders.  The left and right hand windows are by Alfred Octavius Hemming, (who had worked with Clayton and Bell and set up his own very successful studio in 1868) - and depict (left) The Healing of the Blind Man and  Blind Man leaving Pool of Siloam (1884) and the right hand window (1885) also shows two subjects, Christ Blessing Children and The Miraculous Feeding

Close-ups of the two Hemming Windows

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THE NORTH (left hand) AISLE WINDOWS

The first window (left) was installed in 1897 by James Powell and it depicts Saints Lois, Eunice, Timothy, Aquila, Appolos and Priscilla.  The second window (right) by Burlison and Grylls (1880) shows Mary at the Sepulchre and Christ appearing before Mary.   The smaller frames show Old Testament prophets.

The third North Aisle Window (1906)  is by Charles Eamer Kempe, one of the finest stained glass makers of the 19th century.  The main lancets show St John and St Mary before the Crucifixion and the smaller frames at the bottom show Faith, Hope and Love.

The next main window is known as "THE ASCENSION" (or "Tempest") window

The original window was installed by Mayer & Co in 1882, but in the infamous storm of 1987 the side glass was blown out, but thankfully leaving the centre lancet intact,  so new windows for the side lancets      were commissioned and were designed by Annie Goodman,  salvaging  as much of the old glass as was usable.  

The centre lancet (right) depicts the Ascension of Christ

THE PULPIT OF CAEN STONE

  The three carved panels on the pulpit depict .....

  Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well                    The Last Supper                                    Doubting Thomas

There are three smaller linking panels of foliage representing the Tree of Knowledge, the centre one showing the serpent.

The beautifully sculptured high altar of 1893, dedicated to Mrs Waugh (wife of Canon Waugh, vicar at the time of the church's consecration).

The High Altar Reredos

The engraving of the Adoration of the Magi on the front of the high altar.

In front of the high altar, on the floor of the sanctuary are some beautiful mosaics (shown below)

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The three chancel windows by A.O Hemming (1886) - Detailed pictures below

Left:  The Adoration of the Magi and  Mary Magdalene Anointing the Feet of Jesus.   Centre : The Crucifixion and The Raising of Lazarus.     Right : The Resurrection and Christ's commandment to "Feed my Sheep".  These windows are dedicated to The Revds Henry Venn Elliott and Julius Elliott and Mrs Elliot respectively.

Two views of our Christmas Crib

THE CHURCH IS OPEN FOR VIEWING AND PRIVATE PRAYER ON SOME WEEKDAY MORNINGS, AND ON SUNDAY AND WEDNESDAY AFTERNOONS

ST. MARY'S SUNDAY SCHOOL
Meets every Sunday at 9.45 in the Church Hall, (adjacent to the church). During our time there we have loads of fun as we learn about the Bible and its Christian teachings, and our activities include singing, craftwork, acting and much more. Then we come into the church to join the rest of the church family for the Peace and the distribution of the communion, or for a blessing by the Priest.
We also have an annual summer outing, which is great for fellowship, learning and fun.
The Sunday School is open to anyone, from babes in arms right up until your teens!! You will always find a warm welcome, with a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

INTERESTED? WANT TO FIND OUT MORE?

Then contact Jacalyn Oghan in church on Sundays for more information and join our happy team today.