St Nicholas Church

1888 engraing of the Church [image info]

St. Nicholas' Church and its churchyard is high on a mound of land overlooking old Brighton, and is supposed to have been used as a handy landmark for forces attempting to invade the town.

Gravestones

Notable residents of its churchyard include:

• Phoebe Hessell, who famously disguised herself as a man, joined the army, fought on the British side in the American War of Independence before being found out, and lived to an age of 108, and,
• Captain Nicholas Tattersall, who helped spirit Charles II away to France, from Brighton.
• Martha Gunn, the most famous of the "dunkers" who attended to bathers at the seaside.

1826 description:

THE PARISH CHURCH

This ancient edifice, standing upon a hill north west of the town, upwards of 150 feet above the level of the sea at low water, is dedicated to St. Nicholas, the Patron of Fishermen; its exterior has nothing peculiar, the Architecture is of the Gothic order: it is built of flint stone, and grout work, and has, at different periods, been shamefully repaired. At the west end is an embattled tower: the interior consists of a Chancel, Nave, and two side Aisles, with a small Chapel on the south side of the former, but of a much later date. The equilateral pointed arches, springing from octagonal columns, with plain mouldings, capitals and bases, separate the Nave from the Aisle; supporting the rood loft is a curiously carved and perforated screen.

The arches being formed from four centres, usually called the Tudor arch, are decorated with elegantly designed tracing: the window at the east end contains painted glass, evidently of the time of Edward III. In the middle of the Church, is a font of very ancient and singular workmanship, and is regarded as a curious piece of antiquity. It is of a circular form, and surrounded by historical sculpture, in four compartments, executed in basso relievo; although these seem to have been re-cut about the middle of the last century, it carries with it the certain proof of its being of very ancient workmanship, its size being sufficiently large to admit of the total immersion of the body. The principal panel represents the institution of the Lord's Supper, but it is very singular, that our Saviour is surrounded by only six of his disciples. The second panel contains the figure of a person, seated, wearing a crown, to whom another is kneeling, and offering bread.

On the third panel is a boat on the sea, with the mast and sails furled, in which are two persons, one of whom has received a cup from a Bishop, the other, bread from a Nun, as appears by her habit, who, with the Bishop, are on shore at the end of the boat. The other panel contains three different figures; each panel is divided by small columns.

The Belfry has a fine musical peal, of ten bells, eight of which were cast in 1777, by Mr. Rubhall, of Brighton, at the Bristol foundry, and the other two were added in 1818.

The living is a Vicarage to which the rectory of West Blatchington is annexed, at present held by the Rev. H.M. Wagner, whose predecessor was Dr. Carr, the present Bishop of Chichester.

— , J. Whittemore, , Whittemore's Royal Brighton Guide, , 1826

1838 description:

THE OLD CHURCH which is dedicated to St. Nicholas is on a rising ground to the North-West of the town, about one hundred and fifty feet from the level of the sea when the water is at ebb. On the summit of the square tower or steeple of the Church, is a copper gilt vane, in the figure of a Dolphin, below which, the British flag is hoisted on all particular occasions. The steeple contains an excellent ring of eight bells. The interior of the structure has nothing striking in its ornaments, but it is spacious, well contrived, and neat. This building is supposed to have been erected in the reign of Henry the Seventh, though that point has not been satisfactorily ascertained, nor are there any records that can he referred to on that subject. The font is a curious piece of antiquity, and an interesting specimen of ancient sculpture. There is a tradition of its being brought from Normandy in the reign of William the Conqueror, but where it was deposited previous to its occupying its present situation is not mentioned. In this tradition, however, it is our opinion, there is no truth, for, we are strongly inclined to imagine, that it is of Saxon origin, and that it was fabricated in this country. The sculpture represents the last Supper of our

Saviour with the Apostles, &c., though some parts of it, of late years, have unfortunately been defaced.

The Vicar is the Rev. H.M. Wagner, assisted by two curates. ...

The church, from the elevation of its situation, is not only an excellent sea-mark, but the view from the church-yard is one of the most extensive in the vicinity.

— , Saunders, , The Stranger's Guide in Brighton; Being a Complete Companion to that Fashionable Place, and the Rides and Drives in Its Vicinity., , 1838

1933 description:

By far the most interesting historically is—

St. Nicholas Church

, on the high ground in Church Street, to the right of the Queen's Road coming from the Station. The stroll up to the Church well indicates the remarkable growth of Brighton. In 1720 the Church of St. Nicholas stood "on the Downs, at a furlong distance from the town." To-day "the Downs" are submerged beneath a sea of houses and shops and the only indication of their presence is the gradient of such thoroughfares as Queen's Road, Dyke Road and Church Street.

Before the Reformation the mariners of Brighthelmstone used to celebrate St. Nicholas Day (December 6) with great enthusiasm, St. Nicholas being the patron saint of seamen and children. The edifice appears to have been partially destroyed and rebuilt on various occasions, as it exhibits several dissimilar styles. The main body is of cut flints and grouting of lime and coarse sand, with stone coigns, and is surmounted by a low embattled tower, containing a peal of ten bells. These were overhauled and re-hung in 1922; the ancient timbers have been allocated to a Lych Gate at the Dyke Road entrance. The Church was restored in 1853 in memory of the Duke of Wellington, who as a boy frequently attended the services and was for some time a pupil of the then vicar. Near the west door is a lofty cenotaph to the great Duke's memory, surmounted by a four-cornered canopy containing an image of St. George. The Early Norman font has sculptures representing the Lord's Supper; the Baptism of our Lord; a panel of doubtful significance; and a fourth panel depicting "St. Nicholas admonishing pilgrims to throw into the water a vessel of oil received from the Devil."

The churchyard is as interesting as the church itself. It contains the stump and steps of the ancient churchyard cross, mutilated, probably, by sixteenth-century iconoclasts. Just outside the porch is the tomb of Captain Nicholas Tettersell, of whose connection with the Merry Monarch we have already written.

...

By the pathway at the south-east of the chancel are the remains of Martha Gunn, "who was peculiarly distinguished as a bather in this town nearly seventy years." She died on May 2, 1815, aged eighty-eight. Her portrait occupies a prominent place in the Pavilion collection of local prints.

The churchyard also contains a large headstone to the memory of Phoebe Hessell, a famous old lady who died in 1821, aged 108, having been for many years one of the celebrities of the town from the fact that when young she had, in order to be near her lover, adopted man's dress, and served for seventeen years as a soldier in the West Indies and various parts of Europe, being severely wounded at the battle of Fontenoy. She always figured on public occasions, and when George IV came to the throne, and Brighton was of course jubilant, old Phoebe, who appeared in a carriage by the side of the vicar, was probably the only person in his dominions who had been one of the subjects of Queen Anne. She was allowed a pension of £18 yearly by the Prince Regent, who called her "a jolly old fellow." She kept a stall near the Steine for years.

— , -, , A Pictorial and Descriptive Guide to Brighton and Hove, 10th Edition, , Ward, Locke & Co Ltd., , 1933