St Andrew's Church, Church Road, Hove - History

History

Hove developed independently of, and separately from, neighbouring Brighton, beginning as a linear village along a single street, now known as Hove Street, running from north to south. A church was established in mediaeval times, possibly around the 12th century, at an isolated location in fields to the northeast of the village; access was only possible from the west. The original building was replaced with a simple Norman-style church with an aisled nave and a tower. By the 13th century a chancel had been added. This church functioned as the parish church of Hove until 1531, when the parish was united with that of Preston (to the northeast) and became the parish of Hove-cum-Preston. Although its parish church status remained, a declining population was unable to maintain it. By the 18th century the nave and chancel were crumbling; parts of the roof were removed; and the tower fell down in 1801.

The church's fortunes changed with the development of the Brunswick estate and other residential areas around the old village in the early 19th century. At this time, Brighton had expanded to the boundary between its own parish and that of Hove-cum-Preston, so any more development would fall within Hove; as a result, Hove's population rose from 100 in 1801 to 2,500 by 1841. By 1871 it was to reach 11,000, as most of the available land west of the boundary was systematically built on. Construction of the Brunswick estate began in 1824. Although St Andrew's Church in Waterloo Street was built to serve it in 1828 (as a chapel of ease), the parish officials realised that a rebuilding of the original St Andrew's would be needed as well to provide enough capacity. A meeting was held at a nearby public house on 14 September 1833 to propose its restoration. The following week, a vote was taken on whether to demolish it instead and rebuild it on a new, more accessible site; the parish decided against this.

Architect George Basevi was asked to assess how much the reconstruction would cost. He quoted £1,870 exclusive of internal fittings and his fee, both of which were just over £50 His father, a Brunswick estate resident, ultimately paid the latter. The parish borrowed £2,000, and rebuilding commenced in 1834. London-based building firm Butler & Green carried out the construction work to Basevi's design.

St Andrew's was reopened on 18 June 1836, with a seating capacity of 430. 80 seats were subject to pew rents. A 200-seat extension, in the form of a gallery at the west end, was added in 1839. Rev. Walter Kelly, vicar since 1834 retired in 1878, when the united parish was split again into the Parish of Hove and the Parish of Preston. At this point, St Andrew's became once again the parish church of Hove. However, the new vicar, Rev. Thomas Peacey, wanted to build a new parish church; this happened in 1892 with the construction of All Saints Church, and St Andrew's became a chapel of ease to All Saints until it gained its own parish in 1957. The parish covers an established residential area centred on the Hove Street/Church Road crossroads.

The churchyard was cut down in size twice, destroying historic graves. In 1880, Church Road was widened, cutting ten feet from the southern side (an Act of Parliament was used to compulsorily purchase the land) In 1972, East Sussex County Council took all land on the northern side to build a school. Other graves were destroyed when the parish hall was built in one corner of the grounds.