A church known as Brighton’s cathedral is preparing to remove scaffolding that went up 10 years ago to enable the restoration of its tower.
The news comes as St Peter’s Church has been awarded a £250,000 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a new project – One Moment in Time.
The project marks the 200th anniversary of the church that was built as a gateway to Brighton, with the foundation stone having been laid on Saturday 8 May 1824.
The team behind the latest project said that St Peter’s had stood “as a beacon of faith and a witness to the growth and transformation of Brighton from a humble fishing town to a vibrant city”.
They added: “As the church approaches this significant milestone, it invites the community to join in commemorating 200 years of history and heritage with a series of engaging events and activities as well as further restoration works to the tower.
“The funding will enable the church to finally remove the scaffolding which has remained in situ since 2014.”
The Reverend Daniel Millest, vicar of St Peter’s, said: “We are thrilled to mark this significant milestone in the history of St Peter’s Church.
“For 200 years, this sacred space has been a home for worship, a centre for community life and a witness to the ever-changing story of Brighton.
“Thanks to the National Lottery players, this funding has enabled us to restore the building for generations to come.
“As we celebrate our bicentennial, we invite everyone to join us in honouring the past, embracing the present and envisioning the future of St Peter’s.”
For more information about St Peter’s Church and its bicentennial celebrations, visit www.stpetersbrighton.org.
The current team took over running St Peter’s in 2009 after rising costs and a dwindling congregation had prompted a proposal to close the church.
There was a determined local campaign to save the church, with former councillor Jean Calder prominent among those leading the charge.
And the day was saved when a small team volunteered to move from Holy Trinity Brompton, in London, to reopen the building and rebuild a community.
The team at St Peter’s said: “Since then, we’ve seen God do amazing things. Every week, hundreds of homeless and vulnerable people are welcomed into our Safehaven drop-ins. They’re fed, loved and valued.
“We meet on Sundays at St Peter’s and during the week in small groups all over the city. Every year, hundreds of people explore faith in Jesus through our Alpha courses.
“People from all walks of life are finding Jesus, finding life and finding a home.
“We’re here for the long haul. And we’re just getting started. Partnering with God to make Brighton the place it was always intended to be: vibrant, creative, beautiful, safe.
“A city where everyone loves God and loves their neighbour.”
“Partnering with God” then they won’t need any further donations? And does the grant money only cover the removal of the decade old scaffolding, and who was paying for the hire of that for 10 years? So many questions
Cynical BOB??
Good to see. A lovely building in centre Brighton.
It’s not a cathedral, unless a sneaky bishop squatted the place while everyone was distracted by the scaffolding coming down.
mind you, it said “known as Brighton’s cathedral”, it didn’t infer that it actually is Brighton’s cathedral
My mistake! They clearly say “Brighton’s cathedral” in the title!
It was given cathedral status in 2000, I thought? Part of the millennium celebrations.
No it wasn’t.
B&H being made a city didn’t make the church a cathedral. Which is based on a Biahop being seated there.
Pleas stop calling it a Cathedral it is not. It was an abaned parishe church that a rich evangelical fringe group from London was planted into even magaung to produce a vicar out of nowhere without going through the roof normal channels . They are the sort of group who would. Be happy IN Trumps America and what is worrying for Brighton is that they are homophobic. It should never have been allowed and it should not be supported
What about the inside of the church all the pews gone and the wonderfully Organ iconic and one of a kind it’s like a pop concert the services,
Alo there’s scaffolding inside the tower end, they don’t even face the alter to worship, it used to be lovely place not now it’s covered in posters not nice at all.
So thanks to sinners gambling away, they have a huge payout. Also it’s not a f##king cathedral. It’s a church. Brighton always trying to make it sound better than it really is.
Son et lumier please
Come on Chris. You’re being a bit literal!
There is a specific definition of what makes a church a cathedral.
This church doesn’t have a cathedra – a bishops seat – so isn’t a cathedral.
Fantastic news. How about a community summer picnic to celebrate?
No one calls it Brighton’s Cathedral….
Anyway we don’t need one as we have a Tower of Babel…
It will be great to see one of the city centre’s better landmarks – and without all the religious/evangelical advertising.
They will keep the adverts, they’ll just spray paint it on the tower.
I am so glad that this wonderful church has been saved. I am so happy to hear how they are feeding people and welcoming people in. I really hope that they can make vulnerable people feel safe and loved
St Peter’s may not have been built as a cathedral but when Brighton received its City status St Peter’s was nominated as Brighton’s cathedral because of its significant history with Brighton.
It’s good to see it finally been restore like it deserved.
Again no,
Only the CofE can designate it as a cathedral.
But it hasn’t so it isn’t.
We need the completion of the tower at Hove’s All Saints’, as envisaged by the architect Pearson 110 years ago.
It was always the case “in the old days” when part of being a City was the presence of a Cathedral. When St.Peters was Church of England, a former Canon (name long since forgotten) was reputed to be greatly in favour of Brighton becoming a City as it would mean that St Peter’s would become the Cathedral , and , of course, he a bishop! Brighton became a city, but no Cathedral. That’s probably where the “Cathedral” tag came from.
There isn’t a requirement for a town to have a cathedral before it could be a city,
if there was then B&H wouldn’t be one.
The CoE didn’t care about St Peters as they were going to declare it a redundant church.
There are plenty of cities in the country that don’t have a cathedral.
“A city where everyone loves God“? How odd that they think they can tell us proles what we love and don’t love. I should think most Brightonians don’t believe in a god/organised religion. What an odd statement.
So true !
2021 census:
“In England, Brighton and Hove had the highest percentage of the population reporting “No religion” (55.2%), and also saw a relatively large decrease in the percentage of people describing their religion as “Christian” (30.9%, from 42.9% in 2011).”
http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021
It was that one, or the year before, that many wrote down their religion as “Jedi”? Although, I have absolutely nothing against people of faith. We all need something to draw strength from.
Glad to see St. Peter’s functioning as a Church but it is not and never has been nor was it built as a Cathedral. Whereas All Saints. Hove was built as a Cathedral to a Cathedral plan. Only overlooked lately by the money from London, and the Alpha Course and Holy Trinity Brompton.