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Churches of the British Isles

Gallery: Churches of East Sussex

by Peter Kessler, 27 March 2020

Brighton Part 1: Churches of Central Brighton

Church of St Nicholas of Myra, Brighton, East Sussex

The Church of St Nicholas of Myra is bounded by Church Street to its north and Dyke Road to its west in the heart of Brighton. The earliest reference to a church in Brighthelmstone, the pre-Regency name for Brighton, comes from Domesday Book. Nothing remains of that South Saxon building, although various traces of the Norman replacement do survive, such as the font of about 1170 and the columns and arches of the nave, chancel, and the single-stage crenellated tower.

Church of St Nicholas of Myra, Brighton, East Sussex

Much of the Norman work is late, from around 1380. The side chapel, now the Lady Chapel, dates from the early years of the sixteenth century and may originally have been a chantry chapel. In 1853 the rest of the church was largely rebuilt, which included the widening of both aisles and the lengthening of the north aisle, by R C Carpenter. Further amendments took place in 1877. Until 1873 it was still Brighton's parish church, and it remains its mother church.

All photos on this page kindly contributed by Sam Weller via the 'History Files: Churches of the British Isles' Flickr group.

 

 

     
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