Churches - Bevendean History Project
All Souls’ Church, Eastern Road, Brighton
All
Souls' Church was designed in plain classical style by architect H Mew.
It was the first of several churches to be erected for Rev. Henry
Wagner, who laid the foundation stone on 29 July 1833, and was
consecrated by the Right Rev. Dr. Maltby, Lord Bishop of Chichester on
4 April 1834 but took another four years to be completed. The
Church served the poor people living in the area of Eastern Road. The
cost of the building was £3,082 10s. 8d.
The Church was hemmed in on three sides by houses and had a clock tower over the western entrances while the interior had galleries on three sides supported on thin columns and nearly all the sittings were free.
The Revd Henry Wagner (Vicar of Brighton between 1824 and 1870) took a deep interest in providing church accommodation for the poor of his large and rapidly increasing parish, and All Souls’ Church was the first of a series of efforts to meet these constantly growing demands. The particulars are still, preserved of a census taken of the poor in Brighton, from which it appears that there were only 3,590 free sittings (in Established Churches) to meet the requirements of 18,000; “exclusive of servants, bed-ridden persons, and children under the age of five years.”
An article published in the Brighton Gazette on 27th February 1875, records that “The Society for the Enlargement and Building of Churches and Chapels gave £500; Mr. Laurence Peel (who was generous to many Brighton churches and institutions) gave £200; the clergy of the town made themselves responsible for the payment of a sum of £1,000, which one lady liberally advanced; the fishermen, the charity schools, the privates of the 1st Dragoons, and other local bodies, sent in offerings, liberal according to their means; while from afar came a welcome message in the shape of a handsome contribution from the poor of Pimlico. The altar and reading desk were given by other good friends, and the Sacramental plate, Bible, and Prayer Book, were anonymously sent to the Vicarage, while the Registrar, the Chancellor of the Diocese, and two professional gentlemen residing in Brighton, vied with the general liberality by resigning the fees they were entitled to for services in connection with it.”
This paragraph is a pleasing testimony to the good feeling entertained at the time, by all classes in Brighton, towards the Rev. Henry Wagner. It was also evidence of the desire felt in the town to make suitable provision to relieve spiritual destitution.
The first Incumbent of All Souls’ Church was the Rev. Gilbert Henry Langdon, M.A., one of the Curates of the then Parish Church, of St. Nicholas.
The church when first erected was capable of accommodating about a thousand people; by 1887 it contained 1,300 sittings, and of these only 340 were rented. From the first, the church was crowded, not only with the poor people and others living in the neighbourhood, but by many persons, who came from a distance, attracted by the esteem in which the Incumbent was held, and by his reputation as an earnest and practical preacher.
Pew renting was common in Anglican Churches during the nineteenth century, and continued in many churches well into the twentieth century, but was not appropriate for people in the poorer areas of towns like Brighton.
Only the classical main front, with pilasters and heavy pedimented doors, was visible from Eastern Road. Inside, by contrast, the open nave with galleries always had gothic detail.
In the year 1858, during the Rev. R. S. Smith’s ministry, it was found necessary to enlarge All Souls’ Church, owing no doubt partly to the increased population in the neighbourhood, but also in part to the popularity of Mr. Smith, whose high Christian character and self-denying life perhaps told as powerfully upon the class he principally had to deal with as his pulpit discourses, which were of a plain practical, and thoroughly Evangelical type. Subscriptions were collected for the alteration, improvement and enlargement of the Church, and the work was carried out by Mr. Winder, of Grafton Cottage, Upper St. James’s Street, Brighton. The whole work was accomplished in four months, and cost about £1,040.
The Countess de Noailles provided a workmen's library and lecture room at 43 Essex Street in 1856, with room for 500 to 600 persons from the area.
After the re-organisation of Brighton parishes it was remodelled by E. E. Scott and R. S. Hyde in 1879 with a new chancel and roof, though keeping the galleries. They added a heavy, low Italianate tower at one end of the front.
Day Schools were started in 1875, to give accommodation for “151 boys, 321 girls, and 151 infants,” and they were at that time “generally full.” There were four Sunday Schools at the same period in Essex Street, Warwick Street, and Spa Street, in which were 989 scholars and 95 teachers. The Government grant to the Day Schools in 1875 was £333, and that for the school year ending 30th June 1881, was £385 5s. 4d.
By 1887 there were three Sunday Schools’ instead of four—Spa Street now being in another district. There were about 700 children in the Day School, and it should be borne in mind that, under the operation of the present Elementary Education Act, the Voluntary Schools have to compete with the powerful rivalry of the Board Schools. The other institutions belonging to All Souls’ were conducted principally on the lines laid down by the Rev. R. S. Smith. The affairs of the Church were managed by a Church Council, of which the Incumbent was President.
The Invalid Meat Kitchen provided 1,874 substantial hot dinners during the winter of 1880-1 for the sick and destitute. The distribution is made by means of tickets, which can be purchased by subscribers at 3s. 6d. per dozen, and by non-subscribers at 4s.”
The All Souls’ Mission Service, conducted by laymen belonging to the congregation, is held every Sunday evening in Essex-street, and is attended by a number “of persons who, for various reasons, never attend Church.”
Mr. Prichard, the energetic superintendent of the All Souls’ Boys’ Sunday School, is almost invariably present at this service, and that gentleman attributes some of the success of the meetings to the fact that “children in arms” are not only “admitted,” but that the mothers know that no notice will be taken if they happen to be fretful.
A Coal Club, a Blanket Club, to encourage the poor to purchase (not to borrow) blankets, a Children’s Clothing and Boot Club are all in a flourishing condition.
The Sick Nurse Fund shows a small balance in hand, and the nurse (Mrs. Goddard) is highly spoken of in the report.
One of the most important institutions appears to be the Penny Bank, which was established in 1864, and, contrary to expectation, has not been superseded by the Post Office Savings Bank. The Incumbent is the President; there are vice-presidents, trustees, a large committee of management, and several officers. Taking into consideration the district in which the bank is located, the statistics are rather remarkable. For the year ending October 31st, 1881, the number of deposits was 6,210, representing £395 13s. 5d.; the number of withdrawals, 752, representing £464 8s. 7d. and there were 388 new books issued. During the time the Bank has been established, there have been 148,402 deposits, representing £6,963 6s. 6d., of which sum £6,748 2s. 2d. has been withdrawn.
There is also a Working Society, a Sunday School, Juvenile, and Adult Lending Libraries a Young Men’s Association—a flourishing and useful institution, in connection with which occasional entertainments are given, some of which are really extremely creditable; and there is a Church Missionary Association, which last year collected £114 9s. 9d.
There were spacious galleries on three sides of All Souls’ Church — west, north, and south, capable of holding a large number of persons; at the west end is a large and powerful organ in an oaken case, with gilt metal pipes ornamented with blue. In the report for 1880, mention is made of the generosity of two friends, one of whom spent £100 upon improving the interior of the organ, and the other £35 upon the decoration of the organ pipes and case.
There were vaults beneath the church which were perfectly dry and well ventilated, and were not really underground at all, but is on a level with Paradise Street, from where they could be entered by a door. There were only six or seven interments, the last of which took place about 1860.
All Souls’ became a parish church in 1883 and had stained glass added by Charles Kempe in 1903 and 1906.
All Souls’ celebrated its centenary over the weekend of Friday 20th April to Sunday 22nd April 1934 with the following services.
Friday, April 20th.
Holy Communion at 7.0 and 8.0 a.m.
High Mass and Procession at 11.0 a.m.
Preacher : The Rev. Kenneth D. Mackenzie.
Solemn Evensong and Procession at 8.15 p.m.
Preacher : The Right Rev. The Lord Bishop of Chichester.
Sunday, April 22nd.
Holy Communion at 7.0 and 8.0 a.m.
Sung Mass and Procession at 11.00a.m.
Preacher : The Right Rev. The Lord Bishop of Lewes.
Solemn Evensong, Procession and Te Deum at 6.30 p.m.
Preacher : The Rev. Moray H. O’Beirne, Vicar of S. Barnabas’, Hove.
Gift Day at All Souls Church on Eastern Road, Brighton on 19 June, 1937. Rev. M. H. Thorold is handing an envelope to a woman for her donation.
On the 23rd December, 1937 a faculty was granted as follows:-
1. The removal of the existing pitch-pine on the east wall of the Church and the substitution therefore of oak panelling:
2. The reconstruction of the existing steps in the Sanctuary to provide more space (the present floor-boards to be replaced by parquet flooring):
3. The provision of a new Communion rail with kneelers in place of the plain wooden rail in accordance with the plans submitted with the faculty application.
On the 12th December 1957, a faculty was granted as follows:-
1. The removal of two pews.
2. The placing of a wooden altar, vested with frontal and dossal, and bearing the following inscription :-
The last marriage took place in All Souls’ Church on 3rd April 1965 and the marriage register was closed on 29 March 1967.
The parish was merged with St Mary and St James in 1967, and the building was demolished in January 1968.
Photographs of All Souls Church from 1902 to 1967
Opening of All Souls Church from John Bull 13th April 1834
All Souls Church from the Brighton Gazette on 27 February 1875
Clergy at All Souls Church from 1834 to 1964
All Souls' Church plans - 1833 to 1870
The Church was hemmed in on three sides by houses and had a clock tower over the western entrances while the interior had galleries on three sides supported on thin columns and nearly all the sittings were free.
Entrance to All Souls' Church with clock tower above
The Revd Henry Wagner (Vicar of Brighton between 1824 and 1870) took a deep interest in providing church accommodation for the poor of his large and rapidly increasing parish, and All Souls’ Church was the first of a series of efforts to meet these constantly growing demands. The particulars are still, preserved of a census taken of the poor in Brighton, from which it appears that there were only 3,590 free sittings (in Established Churches) to meet the requirements of 18,000; “exclusive of servants, bed-ridden persons, and children under the age of five years.”
An article published in the Brighton Gazette on 27th February 1875, records that “The Society for the Enlargement and Building of Churches and Chapels gave £500; Mr. Laurence Peel (who was generous to many Brighton churches and institutions) gave £200; the clergy of the town made themselves responsible for the payment of a sum of £1,000, which one lady liberally advanced; the fishermen, the charity schools, the privates of the 1st Dragoons, and other local bodies, sent in offerings, liberal according to their means; while from afar came a welcome message in the shape of a handsome contribution from the poor of Pimlico. The altar and reading desk were given by other good friends, and the Sacramental plate, Bible, and Prayer Book, were anonymously sent to the Vicarage, while the Registrar, the Chancellor of the Diocese, and two professional gentlemen residing in Brighton, vied with the general liberality by resigning the fees they were entitled to for services in connection with it.”
This paragraph is a pleasing testimony to the good feeling entertained at the time, by all classes in Brighton, towards the Rev. Henry Wagner. It was also evidence of the desire felt in the town to make suitable provision to relieve spiritual destitution.
The first Incumbent of All Souls’ Church was the Rev. Gilbert Henry Langdon, M.A., one of the Curates of the then Parish Church, of St. Nicholas.
The church when first erected was capable of accommodating about a thousand people; by 1887 it contained 1,300 sittings, and of these only 340 were rented. From the first, the church was crowded, not only with the poor people and others living in the neighbourhood, but by many persons, who came from a distance, attracted by the esteem in which the Incumbent was held, and by his reputation as an earnest and practical preacher.
Pew renting was common in Anglican Churches during the nineteenth century, and continued in many churches well into the twentieth century, but was not appropriate for people in the poorer areas of towns like Brighton.
Only the classical main front, with pilasters and heavy pedimented doors, was visible from Eastern Road. Inside, by contrast, the open nave with galleries always had gothic detail.
In the year 1858, during the Rev. R. S. Smith’s ministry, it was found necessary to enlarge All Souls’ Church, owing no doubt partly to the increased population in the neighbourhood, but also in part to the popularity of Mr. Smith, whose high Christian character and self-denying life perhaps told as powerfully upon the class he principally had to deal with as his pulpit discourses, which were of a plain practical, and thoroughly Evangelical type. Subscriptions were collected for the alteration, improvement and enlargement of the Church, and the work was carried out by Mr. Winder, of Grafton Cottage, Upper St. James’s Street, Brighton. The whole work was accomplished in four months, and cost about £1,040.
The Countess de Noailles provided a workmen's library and lecture room at 43 Essex Street in 1856, with room for 500 to 600 persons from the area.
After the re-organisation of Brighton parishes it was remodelled by E. E. Scott and R. S. Hyde in 1879 with a new chancel and roof, though keeping the galleries. They added a heavy, low Italianate tower at one end of the front.
Day Schools were started in 1875, to give accommodation for “151 boys, 321 girls, and 151 infants,” and they were at that time “generally full.” There were four Sunday Schools at the same period in Essex Street, Warwick Street, and Spa Street, in which were 989 scholars and 95 teachers. The Government grant to the Day Schools in 1875 was £333, and that for the school year ending 30th June 1881, was £385 5s. 4d.
By 1887 there were three Sunday Schools’ instead of four—Spa Street now being in another district. There were about 700 children in the Day School, and it should be borne in mind that, under the operation of the present Elementary Education Act, the Voluntary Schools have to compete with the powerful rivalry of the Board Schools. The other institutions belonging to All Souls’ were conducted principally on the lines laid down by the Rev. R. S. Smith. The affairs of the Church were managed by a Church Council, of which the Incumbent was President.
The Invalid Meat Kitchen provided 1,874 substantial hot dinners during the winter of 1880-1 for the sick and destitute. The distribution is made by means of tickets, which can be purchased by subscribers at 3s. 6d. per dozen, and by non-subscribers at 4s.”
The All Souls’ Mission Service, conducted by laymen belonging to the congregation, is held every Sunday evening in Essex-street, and is attended by a number “of persons who, for various reasons, never attend Church.”
Mr. Prichard, the energetic superintendent of the All Souls’ Boys’ Sunday School, is almost invariably present at this service, and that gentleman attributes some of the success of the meetings to the fact that “children in arms” are not only “admitted,” but that the mothers know that no notice will be taken if they happen to be fretful.
A Coal Club, a Blanket Club, to encourage the poor to purchase (not to borrow) blankets, a Children’s Clothing and Boot Club are all in a flourishing condition.
The Sick Nurse Fund shows a small balance in hand, and the nurse (Mrs. Goddard) is highly spoken of in the report.
One of the most important institutions appears to be the Penny Bank, which was established in 1864, and, contrary to expectation, has not been superseded by the Post Office Savings Bank. The Incumbent is the President; there are vice-presidents, trustees, a large committee of management, and several officers. Taking into consideration the district in which the bank is located, the statistics are rather remarkable. For the year ending October 31st, 1881, the number of deposits was 6,210, representing £395 13s. 5d.; the number of withdrawals, 752, representing £464 8s. 7d. and there were 388 new books issued. During the time the Bank has been established, there have been 148,402 deposits, representing £6,963 6s. 6d., of which sum £6,748 2s. 2d. has been withdrawn.
There is also a Working Society, a Sunday School, Juvenile, and Adult Lending Libraries a Young Men’s Association—a flourishing and useful institution, in connection with which occasional entertainments are given, some of which are really extremely creditable; and there is a Church Missionary Association, which last year collected £114 9s. 9d.
All Souls' Church interior view towards the sanctuary c1910
There were spacious galleries on three sides of All Souls’ Church — west, north, and south, capable of holding a large number of persons; at the west end is a large and powerful organ in an oaken case, with gilt metal pipes ornamented with blue. In the report for 1880, mention is made of the generosity of two friends, one of whom spent £100 upon improving the interior of the organ, and the other £35 upon the decoration of the organ pipes and case.
There were vaults beneath the church which were perfectly dry and well ventilated, and were not really underground at all, but is on a level with Paradise Street, from where they could be entered by a door. There were only six or seven interments, the last of which took place about 1860.
All Souls’ became a parish church in 1883 and had stained glass added by Charles Kempe in 1903 and 1906.
All Souls’ celebrated its centenary over the weekend of Friday 20th April to Sunday 22nd April 1934 with the following services.
Friday, April 20th.
Holy Communion at 7.0 and 8.0 a.m.
High Mass and Procession at 11.0 a.m.
Preacher : The Rev. Kenneth D. Mackenzie.
Solemn Evensong and Procession at 8.15 p.m.
Preacher : The Right Rev. The Lord Bishop of Chichester.
Sunday, April 22nd.
Holy Communion at 7.0 and 8.0 a.m.
Sung Mass and Procession at 11.00a.m.
Preacher : The Right Rev. The Lord Bishop of Lewes.
Solemn Evensong, Procession and Te Deum at 6.30 p.m.
Preacher : The Rev. Moray H. O’Beirne, Vicar of S. Barnabas’, Hove.
Gift Day at All Souls Church on Eastern Road, Brighton on 19 June, 1937. Rev. M. H. Thorold is handing an envelope to a woman for her donation.
On the 23rd December, 1937 a faculty was granted as follows:-
1. The removal of the existing pitch-pine on the east wall of the Church and the substitution therefore of oak panelling:
2. The reconstruction of the existing steps in the Sanctuary to provide more space (the present floor-boards to be replaced by parquet flooring):
3. The provision of a new Communion rail with kneelers in place of the plain wooden rail in accordance with the plans submitted with the faculty application.
On the 12th December 1957, a faculty was granted as follows:-
1. The removal of two pews.
2. The placing of a wooden altar, vested with frontal and dossal, and bearing the following inscription :-
IN MEMORY OF MICHAEL HERBERT THOROLD
Vicar of All Souls Church 1937 - 1951
3. The placing on the said altar of a brass crucifix and two brass candlesticks.Vicar of All Souls Church 1937 - 1951
All Souls' Church in Eastern Road in 1967
The last marriage took place in All Souls’ Church on 3rd April 1965 and the marriage register was closed on 29 March 1967.
The parish was merged with St Mary and St James in 1967, and the building was demolished in January 1968.
Photographs of All Souls Church from 1902 to 1967
Opening of All Souls Church from John Bull 13th April 1834
All Souls Church from the Brighton Gazette on 27 February 1875
Clergy at All Souls Church from 1834 to 1964
All Souls' Church plans - 1833 to 1870
