Judy Middleton 2003 (revised 2023)
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| copyright © J.Middleton This beautifully clear photograph taken before 1910 shows St Philip’s Church as it was originally built – its marvellous polychrome exterior must have been quite startling at the time |
A Legal Hitch
St Philip’s Church was built in 1894-5 on a site
in New Church Road purchased from the Duke of Portland’s Estate. In
1910 a technical hitch was discovered in the original conveyance
document. The deed, dated 10 November 1894, transferred the land from
the Duke of Portland to the Rector and Churchwardens of Aldrington.
However, this document was then deemed invalid because it had not
been ‘enrolled in accordance with the provisions of the Mortmain
Acts’.
No doubt there was grave disquiet at the
discovery, but fortunately the men who had signed the first document
were still alive, and therefore were able to sign the new document
that transferred the land and building to the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners.
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© D.Sharp This drawing based on a 1896 map shows open fields and the location of St Philip's Church close to the Victorian housing development of east Aldrington, Portland Road surface had not yet been extended to Portslade Station. |
Another legal nicety occurred in 1911 when the Rector of Aldrington surrendered the patronage of St Philip’s to the Bishop of Chichester.
The Architect, Design and Costs
St Philip’s Church was designed by John Oldrid
Scott (1841-1913), second son of the eminent architect Sir George
Gilbert Scott (1841-1878).
St Philip’s Church is a splendid essay in the
use of polychrome details; red brick, pale Bath stone, grey
limestone, and knapped flints are all to be found in cheerful
juxtaposition. There are panels and diamond shapes of knapped flints,
interlaced with red brick, while the space surrounding the windows of
the Lady Chapel has bands of Bath stone separating panels of flint,
the whole being enclosed under a red brick arch. There are chequers
of Bath stone alternating with dark grey limestone, and there is some
chequered flint-work as well. Nobody could describe the exterior as
ordinary, and indeed just to pass by the church on a dull day
provides a colourful uplift. St Philip’s does carry some echoes of
another polychrome church built at no great distance in earlier
Victorian times – namely, Holy Trinity Church, Blatchington Road,
now converted into a medical centre. St Philip’s was also said to
be similar to another of Scott’s churches – St Mary’s at
Slough.
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© D.Sharp The 1894 foundation stone |
The original church consisted of the chancel,
south porch, north organ chamber and vestry, two east bays, and the
aisle.
The Hove
Gazette (7
May 1898) stated St Philip’s had cost £5,492-15-10d
to
build but this did not include the cost of the site or the expense of
the furnishings. It is interesting to learn, in these tough financial
times for churches everywhere, that in 1898 only £208-16-3d
was
needed to clear the debt.
First Service and Consecration
The first service at St Philip’s was held on 28
October 1895, and the church was consecrated on 29 May 1898.
The two Aldrington curates at the time of the
consecration were Revd P. R. Preston, and Revd A. H. de Boulay who
was later to be in charge of Holy Cross Church, Hove.
Extension
Revd E. J. Morgan was keen to see St Philip’s as
a separate parish but the Ecclesiastical Commissioners decreed a
parish church must be able to accommodate 500 parishioners. This was
the reason why it was decided to extend the church. It was probably
then that the error in the original deed was noticed.
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| copyright © Brighton & Hove City Libraries The Bishop of Lewes presided over the laying of the foundation stone on 12 February 1910. The rather solemn occasion is lightened by the line of washing flapping in the background |
On 12 February 1910 the Bishop of Lewes laid the
foundation stone of the extension, which cost £4,000. The extension
would include three bays of the aisle, a pentagonal baptistery, and
the brick porch. The exterior was cleverly matched with the original
work, but the same cannot be said of the roof tiles. Unfortunately,
the tiles on the extension do not ‘marry’ at all with the
original ones, and they create an unfortunate ‘add-on’
impression.
By October 1910 the extension was already
finished.
Revd E. J. Morgan
St Philip’s had been built as a chapel-of-ease
to St Leonard’s, Aldrington. In July 1912 St Philip’s became a
separate benefice, and Revd E. J. Morgan, late Rector of Aldrington,
became the first vicar.
It
was in his memory that a new pulpit was installed. The Faculty for
this work was dated 1 March 1916, and Messrs Wippell of Exeter and
London, designed the new oak pulpit. It is finely carved with
Gothic-style openings at the base, and at the top there is a frieze
of vine leaves and bunches of grapes. A brass plate on the side of
the pulpit runs This
pulpit was erected by parishioners and friends to the Glory of God
and in grateful remembrance of the 22 years of faithful work and
service of the Rev Ernest James Morgan BA Rector of Aldrington
1893-1912, first vicar of this parish 1912-1915.
The pulpit was dedicated in June 1916.
Font and Other Furnishings
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| copyright © D.Sharp |
The font is massive and the top has an unusual
wooden cover decorated with iron-work and the words ‘Buried with
Him in Baptism’ around the edge. The font was donated by the
daughter of Revd Robert Plume Waller, in his memory. He was born in
October 1815 and died in October 1909. These facts are recorded in a
brass tablet set at the base, which can only be read by kneeling on
the floor to see it.
On 18 June 2002 Revd Stephen Terry held a Baptism
Festival at St Philip’s. The impetus for such a service came
because the church had reached the end of its Baptismal Register,
which had been in constant use for 70 years (1929-1999) and contained
1,566 names. Revd Terry hoped that as many people as possible who had
been baptised here, would attend the service.
Revd G. D. Wray carved the organ case.
At the back of the church there is a fine wooden
chair donated in memory of Sophia Tuke by her daughter Gertrude
Squier.
Windows
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© D.Sharp The east window above the High Altar |
East
Window
– The eminent stained-glass artist Charles Eamer Kempe (1837-1907)
designed this window. Unfortunately, in its setting, it is a
disappointment. This is because the interior of the church is red
brick with cream brick to echo the polychrome effect of the exterior,
therefore the most prominent window needed bold colours to hold its
own against such a bold décor. Instead, there is a quantity of clear
glass, and where colour is employed in the figures, it is muted, and
from a distance appears cold and dull. No doubt the window is more
appealing upon closer inspection.
The central feature is a depiction of the
crucifixion with Jesus in a red loincloth, accompanied by two
airborne angels on either side. The window must have been designed
specifically for St Philip’s because there are two large figures of
the relevant saints – St Philip on the left and St Leonard,
complete with ball and chain, (being the Patron Saint of prisoners)
on the right.
Beneath these figures the window becomes more
interesting; from the left the risen Christ appears to Mary Magdalene
/ the faithful women arrive at an empty tomb / the Last Supper.
Charles Eamer Kempe was a Sussex man, born and
bred. His birthplace was Ovingdean, and he continued to live in
Sussex. He was the youngest son of Nathaniel Kemp, as well as being a
cousin of Thomas Read Kemp, the developer of Kemp Town. Kempe was
heavily involved in the Anglo-Catholic movement, and designed windows
for churches up and down the country. His motif signature was a
wheat-sheaf. After his death in 1907, the firm continued as C. E.
Kempe & Co Ltd but the motif changed to a wheat-sheaf surmounted
by a black tower. The business finally closed down in 1934 owing to a
dearth in orders caused by the Depression.
Lady Chapel
The east window, also the work of Charles Eamer
Kempe, is far more successful with a fine classical study of Mary
wearing a stately-patterned dress and holding the infant Jesus. Above
her head are three Raphael-like cherub’s heads. Angels are depicted
in the lights on either side – the standing angels have blue wings
while the kneeling angels have red wings.
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© D.Sharp St George & St Cecilia |
Nearby
a brass tablet reads To
the Glory of God and in loving memory of Alice Mary Morgan, wife of
the Revd Ernest James Morgan, first vicar of this parish, who died 21
September 1917.
South Aisle
South Aisle
Charles Eamer Kempe also designed the east lancet
window in the south aisle. It depicts St George triumphant over a
dragon of a most peculiar green. St George points his lance at his
signature wheat-sheaf at the base. The window was donated in memory
of George Sydney Howell 1886-1954.
There are also a pair of pleasing windows
depicting St Anne and St Elizabeth. Another window features St
Cecilia clasping her musical instrument with her head adorned with an
unusual halo resembling yellow laurel leaves interspersed with four
red roses. St Cecilia is the patron saint of music and so the subject
was suitable as a memorial to William Frank Cheverton 1882-1959 who
served St Philip’s for many years, firstly as a choirboy, and
latterly as a churchwarden.
Vestibule
There are some stained-glass windows in the
vestibule. However, it is difficult to ascertain the subject matter,
either from inside or outside. By a little ducking and weaving it is
possible to discern that the central light depicts the Good Shepherd.
A Faculty
A Faculty dated 18 November 1960 allowed the
stained-glass window depicting St Paul to be moved from the south
wall of the nave, and to be repaired before being placed to the north
wall of the nave.
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© D.Sharp St Philip's War Memorial |
The remainder of the windows are filled with
rectangles of different pastel shades of glass.
There are seven windows on either side of the
clerestory, which makes for a well-lit interior.
War Memorials
Above the side altar on the north side there are
two oak panels commemorating the war dead. The top lists the 203 men
from the parish killed in the First World War. This is a high number,
and represents almost one-third of the Hove total.
Unfortunately, the panel was too high up, the
letters too difficult to read, and the incumbent too impatient for a
list to be made.
On 30 March 1947 Vice Admiral D. C. Ford,
engineer-in-chief of the Fleet, unveiled a war memorial inscribed
with the names of sixteen parishioners who died in the Second World
War. This commemorative stone was placed in its own little memorial
garden in front of the east part of the church.
New Porch
In 1941 Stanley Roth designed a new porch with the
architects being Tetley & Felce.
Mural
When
the west part of the church was partitioned off to create a church
hall, it left a large blank wall. The vicar, Revd Richard
Daunton-Fear, thought a mural would be a wonderful addition, and the
Faculty was dated 2 July 1957. The churchwardens at the time were W.
F. Cheverton and T. L. Pride. The mural was to bear the inscription O
all ye works of the Lord bless ye the Lord.
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© D.Sharp Augustus Lunn's mural entitled Benedicte |
Augustus
Lunn (1905-1986) completed the mural, entitled Benedicte
in
1958. It is an interesting evocation of Sussex life, and from left
to right, contains the following:
Net huts at Hastings
A whale and dolphins in the sea
Fishermen, with nets hanging up to dry
Sheep folded within wicker hurdles
A shepherd wearing a cloth cap and long brown
coat, holding a lamb
Cows in a field
St Richard wearing his robes as Bishop of
Chichester
Deer at Cowdray Park
Downs and Chanctonbury Ring
Village church at Tarring Neville
Glasshouses and gardeners
People chatting over a broken wall (signifying the
artist’s strong revulsion to apartheid)
A blacksmith hammering away at his anvil
Church Hall
St Philip’s once had a separate church hall in
Shelley Road. It was envisaged as a Mission Hall to serve the
northern part of the parish. On 27 June 1903 the Bishop of Chichester
opened the large hall, which also had classrooms. The cost, including
the purchase of the site, came to £3,500, and by 1905 there still
remained a debt of £730. In 1921 a theatrical licence was granted to
the vicar of St Philip’s so that the hall could be used for amateur
shows.
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© D.Sharp The former St Philip's Church Hall now Holy Cross Church |
However, St Philip’s tenure of the building was
short-lived because in May 1932 the hall was handed over to become
Holy Cross Church. It seems that the church authorities may have
leant upon St Philip’s to make this gesture, and compensation was
not asked for, nor received, although the hall was said to be worth
at least £600.
For the people of St Philip’s, it meant that all
parish social life ground to a halt. Parishioners wanted (and clearly
thought they were entitled to) substantial financial assistance from
Diocesan funds. As the vicar wrote in a letter dated 26 September
1932, ‘Holy Cross District having been formed within this parish
and our Parish Hall having been taken as the church for the new
district, we were left without a Hall of any sort.’ However, there
was the matter of the handsome new vicarage recently erected in New
Church Road, on which there remained a debt of £1,765.
But the dream of having a new hall still
persisted. Mr Pett, Diocesan architect, drew up two sets of plans for
a new church hall, one costing £1,550, and the other costing £1,350
– nothing became of either of them. The authorities even went to
the trouble of acquiring a site for the hall. In September 1932 it
was stated that George William Wrapson was willing to sell stables
and premises to the church authorities for the use of St Philip’s
for the sum of £1,200. The conveyance of land in Richardson Road was
dated 3 January 1933 and was made to Oswald Holland Toyne, possibly a
relative of Revd Alfred John Toyne, the then vicar. On 1 March 1933
O. H. Toyne conveyed number 22 Richardson Road to Chichester Diocesan
Fund.
Eighteen years later there were still hopes of a
hall being built. Then on 3 May 1951 Edward Cox, builder and
contractor of 12 Richardson Road, agreed to pay 5/- a week, payable
quarterly, for the use of the site at the rear of 16 Richardson Road.
He was allowed to store scaffolding on this site but it was
stipulated that he must not use it as a timber yard.
Eventually, it was decided that it would be more
sensible to utilise the western part of the church, which apparently
had never been consecrated, as a hall. Duncan Wylson of 23 Great
Ormond Street, was the architect chosen for the project, and on 24
June 1956 the Bishop of Chichester, Rt Revd G. K. A Bell, dedicated
the hall.
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| copyright © J.Middleton This photograph of St Philip’s Church was taken in 2010 |
Recent Times
In August 1988 it was revealed that there were
plans to merge St Leonard’s and St Philip’s into one parish with
a team ministry.
In
1995 Clive Hamble, churchwarden, hit on a novel way of bringing the
centenary of St Philip’s to public notice by asking the BBC to
stage the popular radio programme Any
Questions in
the church hall. Revd Stephen Terry thought it highly unlikely that
anything would come of this suggestion. But the BBC were interested,
and the show was scheduled for broadcasting from the church hall on
10 March 1995. The guest speakers were Sir Edward Heath, Gerald
Kauffman, Lord Jenkins of Hillhead, and Anne Applebaum, deputy editor
of The Spectator.
On 16 July 2019 St Philip’s was formerly separated from St Leonard’s Aldrington by the Bishop of Chichester. From 1 August 2019 St Philip’s will be known as the Parish Church of St Philip’s, Hove and will eventually share their new vicar with St Barnabas’ Church, Hove.
End of the Line?
It was said to be ‘draft proposals’ but perhaps it could be more accurately described as a death knell for the future use of St Philip’s as a functioning church. There was no doubt that the intention was closure, although comments were invited but that window of opportunity closed on 3 May 2022. However, it transpired that the Garden of Remembrance located on the north side of the church would remain in the care of the Diocese of Chichester, no matter what use was made of the church building.
The
proposals were for a new parish to be known as The Parish of Hove,
Saint Barnabas, St Agnes and St Philip. Revd John Eldridge, would be
the first vicar of the new parish, and would live in the vicarage at
St Barnabas. (The
Hovarian May
2022)
It is sad to record that the last service to be held at St Philip’s Church took place at 7.30 p.m. on 11 October 2023. The Bishop of Lewes, Right Revd Will Hazlewood, presided. It is even more poignant that the service was described as a thanksgiving for the past 128 years of witness and worship, and must surely have caused many a damp eye in the congregation. (The Hovarian October 2023)
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© D.Sharp This window depicts the virtue of Charity and was given in memory of Halcyon Ann Lopez in 1958 |
Vicars
1912
–
Revd Ernest James Morgan
1915
– Revd Ernest Cresswell Gee
1918
– Revd Alfred John Toyne
1945
– Revd Henry Thomas
1953
– Revd Richard Daunton-Fear
1959
– Revd Norman Worton
1964
– Revd John Ware
1980
– Revd Bill Barton
1982
– Revd Colin Sykes
1989
– Revd Stephen Terry
Sources
Argus
Brighton & Hove City Libraries
Hove
Gazette (7
May 1898)
Middleton J, Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
Middleton,
J. Brighton
and Hove in Old Photographs: A Second Selection (1994)
website - St Philip's Church, Aldrington, Hove.
website - St Philip's Church, Aldrington, Hove.
The Keep
PAR 396/4/1/1 – St Philip’s, new pulpit 1916
PAR 396/4/1/2 – St Philip’s, Faculty,
stained-glass window 1917
PAR 396/4/1/3 – St Philip’s, Faculty,
stained-glass window in Baptistery 1918
PAR 396/4/1/13 – St Philip’s, Faculty, mural
1957
PAR 396/4/1/16 – St Philip’s, Faculty, 1960
PAR 396/7/1/1 – St Philip’s, conveyance of
site
PAR 396/25/2 – St Philip’s. Progress with
building
PAR 396/7/2 – Holy Cross, 1932
PAR 396/10/6/2 – St Philip’s church hall 1930s
PAR 396/10/6/3 – St Philip’s, Edward Cox,
tenancy of church hall site
PAR 396/10/6/4 – St Philip’s, sale of land c.
1954
Copyright © J.Middleton 2019
page layout by D. Sharp.