Hove in the Past: Holland Road Baptist Church, Hove

Judy Middleton 2001 (revised 2020)

Beginnings

The Baptist Church traces its origins in Hove back to the 1870s when a few people started a fellowship there with meetings being held in a local gymnasium. The next step up was a temporary iron building erected on part of the site in 1882; this housed the first Christian Institute for Young Women. On 6 December 1883 a library was opened in the building.

George Thomas Congreve

The iron building as well as the magnificent church were the gifts of George Thomas Congreve, who lived at 1 Third Avenue. Hove. He was born in Islington, although his father and grandfather came from Staffordshire. Both these men had been surgeons, and young Congreve followed in their footsteps by studying medicine too. However, it was not the practice of medicine that amassed his great wealth but rather his creation of a famous remedy known as Congreve’s Balsamic Elixir, which was used to treat patients suffering from tuberculosis. It is astonishing to note that the remedy remained available until 1977.

Congreve published several works including a treatise on the treatment of consumption (TB) as well as being the editor of a collection of songs for the use of children attending Sunday Schools, for Congreve was a man of faith as well. Indeed in 1881, he had a strong calling that he ought to move with his family to Hove because there was work for God to be done there.

Congreve wanted to help young women particularly, which is why his first endeavour was to found the Christian Institute for Young Women. At this time, Hove was a fashionable place for wealthy and famous people who employed a high proportion of female servants. Indeed, at one time Hove had more female servants that the poshest parts of London. These servants worked long hours for low wages, and the institute provided a safe place for recreation and making friends as well as spreading the Gospel. Hove also required numerous female workers to toil away in its laundries, spending hours in damp, steamy conditions and sweating away with flat irons. One of the earliest trade unions at Hove was started to try and improve the working conditions of these women. Then there were the many shop workers who worked incredibly long hours, and lodged in dormitories with no access to a bath. (For further details, please see under Plaques, Margaret Bondfield).

Congreve’s generosity led to many women wanting to be baptised into the Christian faith – as recorded in the first registers.

Building the Church

by Alexander Melville, 1885, NPG 2641

Revd Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Congreve purchased the site for the new church in three parts dating from 1 March 1882 to 28 May 1883 from Sir Julian Goldsmid and the trustees of the Goldsmid Estate. When the site changed hands, there were still some small buildings belonging to Wick Farm on it.

John Wills from Derby was the architect chosen to draw up plans for the church. Wills was a Methodist and something of a specialist in the erection of non-conformist churches in different parts of the country. He was obviously a safe choice because he had been responsible for some 150 churches and schools. But were Hove people expecting the suggestion he came up with? The design was for a transitional Gothic edifice with an astonishing Rhineland-style tower, which became (and still is) an amazing landmark. The great Revd Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) was of the opinion that only the Grecian style of architecture ought to be employed for Baptist churches – perhaps he felt Gothic architecture was too much associated with Anglican churches. The new church could also be seen as an act of faith because the original congregation was only 40 people but by 1894 the congregation had grown to 330.

It is interesting to note that John Wills was also the architect of Hove Methodist Church in Portland Road.

A tablet in the Holland Road church vestibule records that the church, school-room and care-taker’s house were erected by G. T. Congreve with the freehold site being placed in a trust.

On either side of the main entrance are memorial stones of Aberdeen granite. The one on the left is inscribed ‘This Memorial Stone was laid by Marriage Wallis JP June 6^th 1887.’ Marriage Wallis – the man with the unforgettable name – was a Brighton businessman who was associated with Robert Horne Penney, and owned shares in five ships of Penney’s extensive fleet. Marriage Wallis was a founder member of Brighton’s YMCA and his contribution of £500 enabled that organisation to purchase Steine House, Brighton. He was treasurer of the Soup Fund and Relief Committee, and also one of the first three trustees of what later became the Alliance Building Society.

The stone on the right has an identical inscription except for the name –
A. F. Sargeant. Alfred F. Sargeant was a member of the Hove Commissioners until he died in 1894. His son, Sir Alfred R. Sargeant, was educated at Clifton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. Despite being called to the Bar in Lincoln’s Inn, he never practised. Instead, he became much involved in local government in Hove as well as becoming a Justice of the Peace, and a magistrate. He was on the committee of the Hove Unemployment Relief Fund. He was also Mayor of Hove from 1914 to 1919 – a very difficult time – but in recognition of his hard work during those years he was made an Honorary Freeman of Hove in 1919 and knighted in 1920.

The interior of the church runs from north to south; there is a gallery supported by Corinthian columns, and decorative iron-work along the front of the gallery. An ornately carved pulpit forms a central point because it is placed behind the Communion table.

The two-light transept windows are filled with coloured glass in random, geometric shapes. The south rose window has a similar design, but the north window window has stylised plants in the Arts and Crafts style: it also has four lights with a quatre-foil in the centre. The latter window is rated as having the best glass in the church.

Opening Service

The opening service for the new church was held on 29 July 1887. It was hoped that Revd C. H. Spurgeon would be preaching but unfortunately he was ill and so could not be present – but he did come and preach at another time. Instead his brother, Revd James A. Spurgeon, was the preacher at the service.

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
Brighton Herald 6 August 1887, a Church Notice for Services
for the first month after Holland Road Baptist Church was
officially opened on the 29 July

The Spurgeon Family and Links with Hove

The Spurgeon family had Dutch antecedents but were forced to leave the country because of religious persecution. They settled in East Anglia, and were known for their industry and piety.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was the eldest of thirteen children, and both his father and grandfather had been pastors. C. H. Spurgeon and his wife had twin sons, Thomas and Charles, who received part of their education at Camden House School in Brunswick Road, Hove. The 1871 census records them at the school when they were aged fourteen, (It was to another school, also in Brunswick Road, that Winston Churchill came as a schoolboy from 1884 to 1888).

While the Spurgeon twins both became pastors, Thomas emigrated to New Zealand while Charles remained on home ground and became pastor of the Holland Road Baptist Church from 1908 to 1917. But it was not easy for him having such a famous father: indeed he found it somewhat inhibiting, and he could never preach in his presence, although he said he was happy to learn at his father’s feet. He could not even bring himself to reveal the text he was using in his sermon.

copyright © J.Middleton
A scene from Empire Day celebrations in 1910 at Hove Recreation Ground, showing the Mayor of Hove,
Pastor Charles Spurgeon, Bishop of Lewes and the Vicar of Hove.

Revd R. Schindler neatly summed up the situation. ‘Pastor Charles Spurgeon has the advantage of his father’s name and fame, which may not always be an advantage, however, for the public are not always just in their expectations. He enjoys, nevertheless, considerable popularity, and what is far better – he fulfils his ministry with growing acceptance and usefulness.’

Youth Organisations

The Young Woman’s Christian Institute was opened on 24 November 1884 in a handsome building south of the church, and the lettering above the porch is still visible today. The building reflects the importance that Congreve gave to the church’s reaching out to young women. Young lads had to wait longer for a similar interest to be realised, and it was not until 16 June 1899 that the Young Men’s Institute opened its doors.

The Boys’ Brigade started off in 1904, but it does not seem to have been popular, and it was allowed to lapse. In 1925 another attempt was made with the Boys’ Life Brigade. Meanwhile, the year 1922 saw the founding of both the Girls’ Guildry and the Boys’ Guild.

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
The tower of the Baptist Church dominating Holland Road's skyline

Television

Two Sunday mornings services have been televised from this church – the first one was on 16 October 1960, and the second was on 18 April 1971. Both of these happened during the time Revd Ernest George Rudman was pastor.

Renovations and Improvements

In April 1980 it was announced that the outside of the church would be renovated at a cost of £6,739. Hove Council donated £250, and in February 1981 the Department of the Environment gave £1,000. The restoration work included the beautiful Cotswold stonework of the tower. It would also be the first time the stonework had been cleaned since it was built.

Less than ten years later, major discussions were going on at the church about the best way forward, which included the option of doing nothing at all, or moving to a different location altogether. Eventually, it was decided to modernise the facilities in the present building. David Kemp was appointed as architect for the project in February1991.

The church was granted the status of a Grade II listed building on 26 February 1991. This was of significant benefit because it meant that other bodies could be involved in the work, besides the local council and the Baptist Union, with English Heritage and the Victorian Society taking an interest in the designs. Then came a change of pastor and so everything stalled for a while – the project not getting underway until 1994.

The main architectural impact on the exterior was the creation of a new porch. However, there were to be many meetings and no less that ten different designs before all interested parties were satisfied – the scheme being finally approved in 1997.

Once scaffolding had been placed inside the tower, it became apparent just how urgent remedial work had become. Erosion on the south side was particularly severe: it was discovered that the stone restraining the slates was in a such a poor condition that the slates were in danger of falling off. Years of wind and rain had penetrated the slate louvres and the wooden chute system had collapsed. A purpose-made secondary louvre system was installed.

The greater part of the restoration programme was centred on the interior. The main hall only dates back to the 1970s but unfortunately it was found to be in a worse state of repair than the original structure. The scheme was to create two levels inside the hall, supported by a steel frame, which while becoming part of the existing fabric was designed to be independent of it. The ground floor would be used as a social space or meeting room, the mezzanine floor would be multi-purpose, and the roof space would also be utilised. An extension built towards the rear east boundary was nicknamed the pod. When the church purchased 65 Holland Road, there was more space for the south extension.

Improvements were also carried out on the worship area; the pews and organ console had to be moved before work could begin on adding ramps and raising the aisles.

A number of people were involved in the scheme, including the following:

Steve Bower

Toby Hughes

Shamsol Idrus

Tim Pickett

The team of consultants were:

HT Partnership (structural engineers)

Graham Parsons (quantity surveyor)

Michael Cade Associates (mechanical and electrical engineers)

Gyoury Self Partnership

The artist David John, together with the architect, designed the roundel window and the glazed screen in the porch. The roundel depicts a beacon shining above a stormy sea, and the screen is an abstract representation of the pillar of fire mentioned in Exodus. The circle and the square have been used as religious motifs throughout the building. On either side of the entrance two stone benches are to be installed inscribed Alpha and Omega (the first and the last).

The Phase I cost of refurbishment and modernisation to the south end came to £700,000. On 27 June 1999 Councillor Jenny Langston, Mayor of Brighton & Hove, officially opened the building.

In January 2020 the building was once again shrouded in scaffolding.

Pastors

1887-1907 Revd David Davies

1908-1917 Revd Charles Spurgeon

1918-1920 Revd A. R. George

1936-1947 Revd H. Tydeman Chilvers

1947-1972 Revd Ernest George Rudman

1972-1983 Revd John Doble

1987-1991 Revd Stuart McNarry

1992 Revd Rhys Stenner

2007 Revd David Trenear

Sources

Argus

Dady, Kim Religion and Art: Holland Road Baptist Church (N.D.)

Edgell, Jackie Holland Road Baptist Church Centenary 1887-1987

Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade

Hamley, Simon Mr G. T. Congreve and the creation of Holland Road Baptist Church (N.D.)

Hansford, H. Holland Road Baptist Church 1887-1937. Jubilee Book

Kemp, David Holland Road Baptist Church: Condensed story of building project phase I (1999) paper

23 February 2020

Holland Road Baptist Church, Hove