History
Roman Catholic worship was prohibited in Britain between the time of the English Reformation and the late 18th century. At that time, some Acts of Parliament were passed to remove some of the restrictions. The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 allowed Roman Catholic churches to be built for the first time. [2] In Hove's neighbour, Brighton, a community quickly established itself and built a permanent church, St John the Baptist's, in 1835. [3] Hove's community took longer to become established; by the 1830s they were meeting secretly in a chapel established in a private house, but there had been no thought of building a permanent church. [4]
The first plans were made in the 1870s, when the former priest in charge of St Mary Magdalen's Church in Brighton, Fr George Oldham, left money in his will for the establishment of a mission church. He died in 1875, and the decision to establish Hove's first church was made the following year. [5] Finding a site was troublesome: the original choice, on Tisbury Road, [4] was abandoned in favour of one opposite Hove Town Hall, which the Church authorities bought for £3,746 (£374,900 as of 2024). [4] [5]
Although an architect—John Crawley, a London-based [5] ecclesiastical designer who had built several churches in Sussex and Hampshire—had been selected, not enough money was available to execute his proposed design immediately; and during the delay, the West Brighton Estate Company (which owned the surrounding land and the houses on it) complained about the supposed negative effect a Roman Catholic church would have on house prices. [4] The Company bought the land back from the Church and agreed to help them find a new site; [4] [5] after Denmark Villas in the far northeast of Hove was considered and rejected, land on the west side of Norton Road was selected in October 1879. [4] John Crawley's plans were approved a year later, and building work started on 3 November 1880 with the laying of the foundation stone. [4]
Only part of the church could be built immediately, because not enough money was available at first. Nevertheless, by the time it officially opened on 28 September 1881, the Church of the Sacred Heart consisted of chancel, nave with north and south aisles, two side chapels and a presbytery. [4] [5] John Crawley died just before the opening; his architectural practice was taken over by Joseph S. Hansom, who carried out the second phase of building in 1887. This added to the nave at the west end, increasing the capacity. [5] Rev Charles Dawes was the benefactor for this extension. [5] [6] More work was undertaken in 1914–1915 when the north aisle was extended and a Lady chapel was added. After this was opened on 24 February 1915, the church was officially finished. [5] [6] The land for this extension had been bought in 1911 for £400 (£43,300 as of 2024).
People associated with the church include the Irish stage actor Barry Sullivan, whose funeral was held there in May 1891; the journalist George Augustus Sala, whose funeral took place in 1895; composer Luigi Arditi, who worshipped here; and the sculptor, artist and designer Eric Gill, who converted to Roman Catholicism and was received into the Church here in 1913. [6]
St Peter's Church in Portland Road, Aldrington was established as a daughter church in the early 20th century to serve an area of west Hove that was distant from any Roman Catholic churches. It was completed in 1915 and was initially within the Church of the Sacred Heart's parish before being given its own parish. [7]
The Church of the Sacred Heart is licensed for worship in accordance with the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 and has the registration number 25788. [8]
Church organ and music
The original organ was a three-manual Bevington organ, but in 1996 or 1997 this was dismantled and removed. The Copeman Hart firm built a replacement, and Andrew Reid—the assistant organist at Westminster Cathedral at the time—attended an inauguration ceremony in December 1998. The two-manual, 41-stop instrument is used for recitals as well as during Masses. [13]
There has been a long tradition of choral singing at the Sacred Heart. The choir archives contain scores for Mozart and Haydn Masses, printed around 1870. One of the early Directors Of Music in the 1890s was the then well known composer Augustus Edmonds Tozer, compiler of the Complete Benediction Manual, Catholic Hymns (1886), Catholic Choralist (1889), Modern Music For Church Choirs (1889) and composer of the Mass of St Wilfred, the Mass of the Most Blessed Sacrament and several sacred pieces. [14] [15]
Hove is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove.
St Leonard's Church is an Anglican church in Hove, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. It is on New Church Road in the Aldrington area of Hove, which was previously a separate village, and it serves as Aldrington's parish church. The church was on Church Road but now stands on New Church Road, renamed in reference to the other church which was started in 1894 as a chapel of ease.
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Cox & Barnard Ltd was a stained glass designer and manufacturer based in Hove, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. The company was founded in Hove in 1919 and specialised in stained glass for churches and decorative glass products. Many commissions came from Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in the English counties of East Sussex, West Sussex and Kent. The company was also responsible for six war memorial windows at an Anglican church in Canada, made from shards of glass collected from war-damaged church windows across Europe.
Sacred Heart Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Petworth, West Sussex, England. It was built in 1896 and designed by Frederick Walters. It is situated on Angel Street to the north of Petworth Cottage Museum in the centre of the town. It is a Gothic Revival church and a Grade II listed building.
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St Mary's Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in the Preston Village area of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. It was built from 1910 to 1912 in the Arts and Crafts style of Gothic Revival architecture. It is situated on the Surrenden Road on the corner with Preston Drove opposite Preston Park. It was designed by Percy Aiden Lamb, a student of Edward Goldie, and is a Grade II listed building.
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St Peter's Church is a Church of England parish church in the large village of Henfield, West Sussex. Placed on the site of an 8th-century Saxon church also dedicated to St Peter, it was built in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, but was heavily restored and partially rebuilt in the 19th century. English Heritage has listed it at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance. Services for the parish continue and also cover the parishes of St Giles', Shermanbury and St. Peter's, Woodmancote, which form its united benefice.
