Churches - Bevendean History Project
Holy Trinity Church, Ship Street, Brighton
The
Holy Trinity Church built on the corner of Ship Street and Duke Street
is a closed Anglican church in the centre of Brighton. It was
established in the early 19th century by Thomas Read Kemp, an important
figure in Brighton's early political and religious life, it was
originally an independent Nonconformist chapel but became an Anglican
chapel of ease when Kemp returned to the Church of England.
Monochrome print of interior of Holy Trinity Chapel, Brighton date unknown.
History
Thomas Read Kemp was born in Lewes in 1782 but moved to Brighton in 1819, where he became a major landowner, magistrate and town official. He was involved in the development of the Regency-style Kemp Town estate in Brighton in the first decades of the 19th century which he conceived and developed. He was Member of Parliament for Lewes 1811–16 and 1826–37 and for Arundel 1823–26. He fled Britain in 1837 to escape his debts and died in Paris in 1844.
Kemp’s religious sect was originally based at the former St James's Chapel in St James's Street, built between 1810 and 1813. It was intended to serve as a chapel of ease to St Nicholas' Church, but was used by various Nonconformist congregations for its first few years until the Vicar of Brighton found a suitable curate.
Trinity Chapel was designed by Amon Wilds in 1817 and built for Thomas Read Kemp as a place of worship for his newly founded religious sect. Situated on the west side of the northern section of Ship Street, which was then a separate entity named Ship Street Lane, it featured a pediment and a square tower, under which was a glass dome which illuminated the interior, and a stuccoed exterior.
Although Kemp converted back to Anglicanism in 1823, the chapel remained independent until 1826 when a recently ordained priest, Revd Robert Anderson (the brother of the incumbent at St George's Church in Kemp Town) bought it and converted it via a private Act of Parliament into a private Anglican chapel.
A special Act of Parliament was obtained and the Church was consecrated on 21st April 1826 and altered internally so that and by 1829 its seating capacity had increased to 800.
The chapel became very fashionable for several decades afterwards. Rev. Anderson and one of his successors, Rev. Frederick W. Robertson, were popular and successful preachers.
The Robertson Memorial Window behind the main altar in 1916
F. W. Robertson who was the incumbent from 1847 to 1853 in particular had a significant impact on life in Brighton; he undertook missionary work in the town, founded a working men's institute and preached radical, unorthodox but effective sermons which became famous throughout Britain. A plaque on the outside wall records Robertson's six-year preaching career.
A chancel was added in 1867. The Church of England bought the building for £6,500 in 1878, and it was altered significantly in the next few years by George Somers Clarke Jr. and John T. Micklethwaite.
The eastern face, fronting Ship Street, was re-clad in flint and restyled in Gothic Revival fashion, and a much taller octagonal tower replaced the existing square structure. This contrasted with the stuccoed south face, which had been hidden behind a house until the 1867 rebuilding but which now abutted the newly widened Duke Street.
Holy Trinity Church on the corner of Ship Street and Duke Street c.1850
Reginald John Campbell was the priest from 1924 to 1930.
Holy Trinity Church viewed towards the Sanctuary in November 1988, from the Brighton and Hove Museum image gallery.
The church was always unparished, and experienced declining congregations throughout the 20th century. Originally proposed for closure in the middle of the century, it survived until 1984, although its last perpetual curate had left in 1971. The Diocese of Chichester declared it redundant as from 1 November 1984, and it was then closed.
Interior of Holy Trinity, Ship Street prior to the start of essential repairs, c1989.
The former Holy Trinity Church in Ship Street, Brighton in 2010.
Soon after the Diocese of Chichester declared the church redundant, it leased the building to a group who established a museum. Since 1996, however, it has been used as an art gallery by the organisation Fabrica.
Holy Trinity Church was listed at Grade II by English Heritage on 2 March 1981.
Monochrome print of interior of Holy Trinity Chapel, Brighton date unknown.
History
Thomas Read Kemp was born in Lewes in 1782 but moved to Brighton in 1819, where he became a major landowner, magistrate and town official. He was involved in the development of the Regency-style Kemp Town estate in Brighton in the first decades of the 19th century which he conceived and developed. He was Member of Parliament for Lewes 1811–16 and 1826–37 and for Arundel 1823–26. He fled Britain in 1837 to escape his debts and died in Paris in 1844.
Kemp’s religious sect was originally based at the former St James's Chapel in St James's Street, built between 1810 and 1813. It was intended to serve as a chapel of ease to St Nicholas' Church, but was used by various Nonconformist congregations for its first few years until the Vicar of Brighton found a suitable curate.
Trinity Chapel was designed by Amon Wilds in 1817 and built for Thomas Read Kemp as a place of worship for his newly founded religious sect. Situated on the west side of the northern section of Ship Street, which was then a separate entity named Ship Street Lane, it featured a pediment and a square tower, under which was a glass dome which illuminated the interior, and a stuccoed exterior.
Although Kemp converted back to Anglicanism in 1823, the chapel remained independent until 1826 when a recently ordained priest, Revd Robert Anderson (the brother of the incumbent at St George's Church in Kemp Town) bought it and converted it via a private Act of Parliament into a private Anglican chapel.
A special Act of Parliament was obtained and the Church was consecrated on 21st April 1826 and altered internally so that and by 1829 its seating capacity had increased to 800.
The chapel became very fashionable for several decades afterwards. Rev. Anderson and one of his successors, Rev. Frederick W. Robertson, were popular and successful preachers.
The Robertson Memorial Window behind the main altar in 1916
F. W. Robertson who was the incumbent from 1847 to 1853 in particular had a significant impact on life in Brighton; he undertook missionary work in the town, founded a working men's institute and preached radical, unorthodox but effective sermons which became famous throughout Britain. A plaque on the outside wall records Robertson's six-year preaching career.
A chancel was added in 1867. The Church of England bought the building for £6,500 in 1878, and it was altered significantly in the next few years by George Somers Clarke Jr. and John T. Micklethwaite.
The eastern face, fronting Ship Street, was re-clad in flint and restyled in Gothic Revival fashion, and a much taller octagonal tower replaced the existing square structure. This contrasted with the stuccoed south face, which had been hidden behind a house until the 1867 rebuilding but which now abutted the newly widened Duke Street.
Holy Trinity Church on the corner of Ship Street and Duke Street c.1850
Reginald John Campbell was the priest from 1924 to 1930.
Holy Trinity Church viewed towards the Sanctuary in November 1988, from the Brighton and Hove Museum image gallery.
The church was always unparished, and experienced declining congregations throughout the 20th century. Originally proposed for closure in the middle of the century, it survived until 1984, although its last perpetual curate had left in 1971. The Diocese of Chichester declared it redundant as from 1 November 1984, and it was then closed.
Interior of Holy Trinity, Ship Street prior to the start of essential repairs, c1989.
The former Holy Trinity Church in Ship Street, Brighton in 2010.
Soon after the Diocese of Chichester declared the church redundant, it leased the building to a group who established a museum. Since 1996, however, it has been used as an art gallery by the organisation Fabrica.
Holy Trinity Church was listed at Grade II by English Heritage on 2 March 1981.
