Hove in the Past: St Patrick's Night Shelter, Cambridge Road, Hove.

Judy Middleton 2003 (revised 2024)

Revd Alan Sharpe was vicar of St Patrick’s Church from 1983 but it was only two years later that he established the shelter. He was faced with the problem of a huge church, and a dwindling congregation of fifteen souls.

Meanwhile, there were desperate people who had nowhere to sleep at nights except the streets. The shelter began unofficially during the winter when it was bitterly cold outside, and he allowed some vagrants to sleep inside the church itself with some blankets to keep them warm. But he soon began to consider a more permanent arrangement.

The first people he helped were Julie and Joseph who had nowhere to go after their bed and breakfast hotel closed down. Naturally, some residents were horrified about what was happening in their neighbourhood. In June 1986 a petition with around 54 signatures was sent to the Bishop of Chichester, complaining about the noise arising from the vagrants and alcoholics. Father Sharpe stated that the people in the shelter did not take drugs or drink meths, but some did have a drink problem, while others had simply fallen upon hard times.

Disagreements rumbled on. In 1987 Councillor Moy-Loader said the bishop had ignored the petition sent to him nine months ago. The bishop replied that he would only respond to complaints if contacted individually. Mr Moy-Loader complained that because the building was a church, public health and planning regulations could not be enforced.

Councillor Bob Bailey conducted a survey in Cambridge Road and concluded that 44 of the 59 people he spoke to supported the work. There were large banners inside the church proclaiming Jesus is homeless in the city and Jesus is thirsty in the city.

Two years later the night shelter was flourishing with the cloister used as a dormitory. The wayfarers – as Father Sharpe preferred to call them – slept on thin strips of plastic under old hospital sheets. There were usually around a dozen people each night but cold weather could bring in as many as 30 wayfarers, and they visited a soup kitchen before turning in.

Trouble

Unhappily, there have been incidents of violence. Bernard Morris, aged 61 from Southampton, was fast asleep when he was attacked and his face badly cut about. Police stated that it was the worst attack they had seen, and at first they thought they were dealing with a murder. Surgeons spent four hours, and used 150 stitches to sew his face back together.

On 27 May 1993 there was an actual murder when 64-year old Andy Corrigan was stabbed to death as he sat in a pew.

Thefts

Leaving the church open to all, while laudable, sometimes invited thefts. In April 1999 it was revealed that six paintings were stolen from St Patrick's Church on the 29 or 30 of March. Three of the paintings depicted the Apostles, two featured angels, and one was of the Virgin Mary.

In August 1998 a 26-year old man appeared in court accused of stealing three electric drills from St Patrick’s worth £1,280.

Expansion

In May 1993 it was announced that the shelter would close until September while essential repairs were carried out. Sussex charities raised some £90,000 to build a second floor with showers, toilets and heating.

Ten years after the shelter first opened some 50,000 people had been helped, and there were proper beds, showers and TV; moreover supper and breakfast were also provided. As well as the jobless, and those with drink problems, there were quite a few mentally-ill people.

The night shelter had enough space for twelve people, and in 1996 the church also operated a morning session for the homeless from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. The vicar’s son, Stephen Sharpe, was manager of the shelter.

In February 1996 Stephen Sharpe launched an appeal to raise £800,000 to build five self-contained flats, and he envisaged two of them being used as de-tox centres, one for women, and one for the mentally-ill. People would be able to stay eighteen months there to help them find their feet. The shelter had only twelve beds, but when there was very cold weather, an extra twenty could be provided.

Controversy

In May 1997 a storm of controversy broke out when there was a proposal to build a 25-bed hostel inside the chancel. It seemed a most extraordinary choice, given the beauty and historical importance of the chancel. Happily, the Department of the Environment prevented Brighton & Hove Council from making a decision because so many objections had been lodged. Amongst the objectors were the following:

Ancient Monuments Society

Hove Civic Society

Regency Society

Save Britain’s Heritage

The national Press sat up and took notice. There was an article in the Daily Telegraph (4 June 1997) and in the same month Private Eye waded into the debate. The theme of their arguments was that the chief danger to fine old church buildings was not declining congregations, redundancy, enemy fire, or terrorist bombs but our own dear, deluded clergy.

A letter published in the Argus (26 June 1997) stated that if £1.4 million were being spent on the project, that would work out at around £56,000 per bed space, whilst with that amount of money flats could be purchased.

At length a decision was made to spare the chancel, and build the hostel in the nave instead, which, incidentally, had been suggested by conservationists in the first place. Later on Father Sharpe, obviously not a lover of beautiful surroundings, dubbed the opposition as ‘political’.

Rough Sleepers Initiative

Work inside St Patrick’s began on 11 March 1998. It was the first permanent scheme under the Government’s Rough Sleepers Initiative, and was awarded £1.4 million.

On 17 March 1999, St Patrick’s Day, Joseph and Julie, the first homeless people at the shelter, opened the new project. Half of the church building had been taken up by the construction of the four-storey hostel, which concentrated on the rehabilitation of both men and women from alcohol or drug abuse to mental health problems. There were now 20 beds, and residents were expected to stay for up to a year. There were five flats – four with six beds, and one with five – plus communal and other rooms. The hostel was a partnership between the following:

English Churches Housing Group

James Longley & Co, construction company

Lee Evans, architect

St Patrick’s Trust

Meanwhile, work was going ahead to expand the 12-bed night shelter to 24 beds, and work was about to start in June 1999. St Patrick’s Trust had raised some £365,000 for the shelter.

Father Sharpe’s work was featured in a half-hour TV programme called Father Allen’s Ark, broadcast on 16 December 1999. the film revealed how the construction of the hostel incorporated architectural details such as corbels and arches.

As part of the opening ceremony there was a grand parade through Hove with a statue of St Patrick held aloft, and passing, appropriately enough, O’Reilly’s Irish Bar in Western Road. There were also many lit candles, as well as balloons. The programme had a happy outcome in that Steven O’Brien was reunited with his mother because he was spotted at St Patrick’s after disappearing from his Swansea home two years previously.

In September 2000 St Patrick’s Trust announced the third phase of their project to help the homeless. This was a £1.5 million programme to purchase three or four houses in the local area for those who had been staying in the trust’s hostel, to prepare them for an independent life. It was stated that the trust had provided shelter for 130,000 people. It was hoped that thirty units of supported housing could be provided, and in April 2002 Brighton & Hove City Council had already committed £1.5 million towards the scheme.

The Queen’s Visit

On 29 March 2001 the Queen visited St Patrick’s Shelter, and unveiled a plaque to commemorate the occasion. The Queen met Tommy Ogle, 66, the oldest member at the hostel, and Anthony Bushell, 48, who was busy typing when she arrived; he later went on to live in a YMCA hostel in North Road, Brighton.

The Queen also met members of the Trix children’s club inside the Lady Chapel. As the Queen left the church nine-year old Naomi Sylvia presented her with a posy of yellow flowers.

Father Sharpe said afterwards ‘It went absolutely brilliantly. We have been preparing for it for so long that it all seemed a bit surreal to see the Queen drawing up outside the church.’

Other Developments

In the Argus (25 May 2001) it was announced that Stephen Sharpe, chief executive of St Patrick’s Trust, was setting up a printing firm, and he would make a presentation to the Government’s Rough Sleeper’s Initiative about it. He planned to utilise St Andrew’s Church, Waterloo Street, as a second learning and resources centre for the homeless and other marginalized groups.

On 9 December 2002 an all-night cafe opened at the church with hours from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Up to ten people could be accommodated, and tea, coffee and hot soup would be available. It was intended to be a place of shelter for those unable to find a bed anywhere else. After three months, the situation would be reviewed to see if there was a need for such a service.

End of the Road?

There was bad news in March 2024 when the council stated that it had ‘not been able to retain the building’ and therefore St Patrick’s Shelter would close for good on Friday 22 March 2024, meaning 29 beds for rough sleepers would be lost. It would be useful if there were more clarification on the subject. Granted that the council is strapped for cash and there will be a considerable saving in not having to finance it but what about the building?

It seems this is not a sudden event and has been in the pipeline for months because Councillor Gill Williams, chairwoman of the housing committee, said they had been working with the YMCA to find other accommodation for those affected.

See Also St Patrick's Church, Cambridge Road, Hove.

Sources

Argus (25/5/2001 / 20/3/2024)

Daily Telegraph (4/6/1997)

Page Design by D. Sharp

21 April 2024

St Patrick's Night Shelter, Cambridge Road, Hove.