Churches - Bevendean History Project
St Andrews Church, Moulsecoomb - part 3
St Andrews War Memorial
At Evensong on Sunday the 12th January 1947 the Bishop of Lewes, the Right Rev. Geoffrey Warde dedicated the memorial which had been completed in the side chapel in honour of the 88 Moulsecoomb men who gave their lives in the war.
The central feature of the memorial is the magnificent mural painted on one wall of the east side chapel. The work of Brighton artist, Fred C. Herrick, and dominates the east end of the side chapel. The cost of the work to create the mural was between £200 and £300.
The Wall Painting
THE TITLE is from Revelations 6 - 10. It is the cry of the saints beneath the altar "How Long O Lord, Holy and True, How long!"
THE CENTRAL PANEL describes the glory, and the tragedy of war. The Dragon of this war lies dead and his victims with him. A broken tree trunk buds again and dead souls arise, but not all. Some regimented into dummies, not men, appear in massed formation and they are very dead. They were cyphers not souls. But new war had begun. The four horsemen – Aggression, War, Famine, Death – ride out from the darkness in their ridiculous panoply. Opposing them stands the Archangel Michael, a young man in shorts, calling on the heavenly hosts and the spirits of the just. It is a call to battle for Light against Darkness.
THE PANEL ON THE RIGHT is full of the smoke of the factories and pit heads, busy producing steel sword and massed action – the tragedy of the Atomic Age. An old couple pray for God's Kingdom to Come, but they are alone.
IN THE LEFT PANEL, shepherds, fishermen, ploughman, village life and the church tower! A lovely scene, but they are turned from the tragedy and the call, each busy with his own labours and profit. The young girl points the children to Michael and the call.
The west end of the church has the font built into an alcove between the two doors to the church.
The Church Hall
On Thursday evening the 29th August 1957, the Mayor of Brighton (Alderman Charles Tyson) laid the foundation stone for the hall which now serves the parish of St. Andrew’s Church, Moulsecoomb.
St Andrews Hall Foundation Stone.
The Mayor said that a meeting centre in Moulsecoomb was very important as the district was some distance from the centre of the town. He thought people would benefit from societies and meetings that were based at the church.
The Vicar said that after the consecration of St. Andrew’s in 1934, a new church hall had been planned, however, financial considerations, the war and its aftermath, had made the start of the project impossible until 1957.
St Andrews Church Hall from the Vicarage gate.
The Church Hall Improvements
In 2007 and 2008 work was undertaken to add an entrance porch to the hall, improve the kitchen, provide a disabled toilet and a meeting room.
St Andrews Hall with new entrance and meeting room.
St Andrews War Memorial
At Evensong on Sunday the 12th January 1947 the Bishop of Lewes, the Right Rev. Geoffrey Warde dedicated the memorial which had been completed in the side chapel in honour of the 88 Moulsecoomb men who gave their lives in the war.
The central feature of the memorial is the magnificent mural painted on one wall of the east side chapel. The work of Brighton artist, Fred C. Herrick, and dominates the east end of the side chapel. The cost of the work to create the mural was between £200 and £300.
The Wall Painting
THE TITLE is from Revelations 6 - 10. It is the cry of the saints beneath the altar "How Long O Lord, Holy and True, How long!"
THE CENTRAL PANEL describes the glory, and the tragedy of war. The Dragon of this war lies dead and his victims with him. A broken tree trunk buds again and dead souls arise, but not all. Some regimented into dummies, not men, appear in massed formation and they are very dead. They were cyphers not souls. But new war had begun. The four horsemen – Aggression, War, Famine, Death – ride out from the darkness in their ridiculous panoply. Opposing them stands the Archangel Michael, a young man in shorts, calling on the heavenly hosts and the spirits of the just. It is a call to battle for Light against Darkness.
THE PANEL ON THE RIGHT is full of the smoke of the factories and pit heads, busy producing steel sword and massed action – the tragedy of the Atomic Age. An old couple pray for God's Kingdom to Come, but they are alone.
IN THE LEFT PANEL, shepherds, fishermen, ploughman, village life and the church tower! A lovely scene, but they are turned from the tragedy and the call, each busy with his own labours and profit. The young girl points the children to Michael and the call.
The west end of the church has the font built into an alcove between the two doors to the church.
The Church Hall
On Thursday evening the 29th August 1957, the Mayor of Brighton (Alderman Charles Tyson) laid the foundation stone for the hall which now serves the parish of St. Andrew’s Church, Moulsecoomb.
St Andrews Hall Foundation Stone.
The Mayor said that a meeting centre in Moulsecoomb was very important as the district was some distance from the centre of the town. He thought people would benefit from societies and meetings that were based at the church.
The Vicar said that after the consecration of St. Andrew’s in 1934, a new church hall had been planned, however, financial considerations, the war and its aftermath, had made the start of the project impossible until 1957.
St Andrews Church Hall from the Vicarage gate.
The Church Hall Improvements
In 2007 and 2008 work was undertaken to add an entrance porch to the hall, improve the kitchen, provide a disabled toilet and a meeting room.
St Andrews Hall with new entrance and meeting room.
St Andrews Church with the hall in front, photographed from above the Avenue Green in July 2020.
Vicars of St Andrews Church
| Vicar | Year |
| Rev. Frederick Bickford Heard | 1922 – 1924 |
| Rev. William Harold Carpenter | 1924 – 1931 |
| Rev. Leslie George Berrington | 1931 – 1934 |
| Rev. Bransby Albert Hussey Jones | 1935 – 1949 |
| Rev. Edward Leigh Phillips | 1949 – 1952 |
| Rev. William Ronald Newton | 1952 – 1963 |
| Rev. Jack Humphrey Money | 1963 – 1975 |
| Rev. Bruce Sherwill Hayllar | 1976 – 1981 |
| Team Ministry Established | Year |
| The Rev. Bruce Sherwill Hayllar | 1981 – 1983 |
| The Rev. Frederick Walter Butler | 1983 – 1986 |
| The Rev. Charles Roderick Lansdale | 1987 – 1997 |
| The Rev. John Kenneth Tristan Eldridge | 1998 – 2005 |
| The Rev. John Caswallen Wall | 2005 – 2016 |
| The Rev. Martin Powell | 2018 – 2020 |
| The Rev. William Peter Geard Leaf | 2022 - |
| Church Wardens | Year |
| Mr. P. W. A. Cavell | 1931 – 1936 |
| Mr. P. W. Batchelor | 1931 – 1933 |
| Mr. W. E. Collins | 1933 – 1936 |
| Mr. R. H. Bean | 1937 – 1964 |
| Mr. C. J. Witten | 1937 – 1956 |
| Mr. F. G. Carter | 1956 – 1964 |
| Mr. V. Pavey | 1965 – 1966 |
| Mr. C. Lowe | 1966 – 1983 |
| Mr. D. Blows | 1973 – 1980 |
| Mr. V. Pavey | 1971 – 1972 |
| Mrs. A. G. Whittle | 1980 – 1990 |
| Mr. J. N. Diffen | 1983 – 1995 |
| Mr. D. E. Wright | 1990 – 1995 |
| Mrs. A. G. Whittle | 1995 – 1996 |
| Mr. P. Stringer | 1995 – 2007 |
| Mr. S. C. Adams | 1996 – 2000 |
| Mr. R. J. Simmons | 2000 – 2014 |
| Mrs. A. Webb | 2007 |
| Mr. B. Burtenshaw | 2015 – 2021 |
| Mr. R. Brown | 2022 |
Chapels of St Andrews Church
More photos
Development of the Moulsecoomb Estate
