In Memoriam
HONORARISSIMAM FREDERICI GULIELMI,
PRIMI MARCHIONIS DE BRISTOL.
FUNDATORIS HUJUS ECCLESIÆ.
Nati, A.D. 1769; Mortii, xv. Mar. 1859.
The present Marquis of Bristol bore the expense of the enclosure of the Chancel and the painting of the walls in a style accordant with the new ornamental window, thus completing the work.
The Chapel in Prince’s Place, subsequently named by special Act of Parliament the Chapel Royal, was projected originally for the accommodation of the increasing number of visitors, and especially to lull an outcry prevailing at the time in consequence of the non-attendance of the heir apparent at any place of worship during his periodical residence in Brighton. The corner stone was laid with masonic honours by H.R.H. George, Prince of Wales, K.G., G.M., &c., on the 25th November, 1793. Divine service was performed in the building, which was unconsecrated until the year 1803, by various clergymen connected with the Court, and only during the season. Among them may be named Archbishop Moore, Bishop Horsley, and Bishop Horne, the latter of whom preached his celebrated published sermon there, on the text, “The sea is His, and He made it.” The Prince regularly attended, and the chapel was thronged with the nobility and gentry. A story is told that H.R.H finally took umbrage at some very personal remarks spoken at him from the pulpit by the Rev. W. Brooke, who had taken for his text the words, “Thou art the man.” Mr. B. was then Curate of Brighton, and had been suddenly requested to take the duty in consequence of the indisposition of the appointed clergyman. The Prince never again entered the chapel, and curiously enough Mr. Brooke soon after quitted the established church and officiated for some years in a building, erected by certain of his followers, in Church Street. The last occupant of the Royal Closet was H.R.H. the late amiable Princess Augusta, who died in London in 1840. This chapel was the last place of public worship in which H.R.H. was enabled to appear. In 1803, during the incumbency of the Rev. T. Hudson, it was thought desirable by him, as Vicar of Brighton, to secure the building as a Chapel of Ease to the Parish Church, St. Nicholas. He held the freehold, and obtained an Act, 43rd Geo. III., cap. 91, constituting the Church a perpetual curacy, and reserving to himself and his successors in the Vicarage the right of nomination. The incumbent is subject solely to the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Chichester, “as if the curacy of the said chapel were a presentative Vicarage.” It may be mentioned that under the special Act, the perpetual Curate is required to solemnize baptisms and churchings (marriages are exempted), and empowered to demand double the fees usually received at the Parish Church for the like duties. After Mr. Hudson’s removal from Brighton, the lay property of the chapel passed, by purchase, to his successor (Rev. Dr. R. J. Carr) and others. The present proprietors are R. Sedly Tilstone, Esq., of Alverstoke and Moulse-coombe, R. C. Cox, Esq., of Taunton, and Rev. Thomas Trocke, M.A., the present Incumbent. The building externally is very plain, having none other decoration than a fine cast of the Royal Arms in patent stone, on the pediment over the central window in front. The interior, however, is somewhat elegant. The Royal Closet still remains, and the Pulpit, Desk, and Altar arrangements are very handsome. Over the latter, there is a valuable Painting of “The Crucifixion,” by Van Een, a pupil of Vandyke. The organ has two sets of manuels. There are sittings for about 800 persons, of which 150 are thrown open to the public.
St. Peter’s Church was commenced in 1824, the first stone being laid the 8th of May. It is a beautiful Gothic structure of Portland stone, embellished with various decorations, and from its combined elegance and situation forms one of the most striking features of the town. The interior is divided into three aisles, the principal of which runs through the body of the Church, leading from the chief entrance to the altar, over which there is a magnificent stained glass window representing the Evangelists and the Apostles, which was presented by the Vicar, the Rev. H. M. Wagner. The Church was designed by the late Sir Charles Barry, built by Mr. Ranger, and consecrated 27th January, 1828. Incumbent, Rev. Thomas Cooke, M.A.
The following are the names of the trees planted in St. Peter’s Church-yard, with their symbolical description:—
Cedar of Lebanon—being the tree selected by Solomon for building the Temple of Jerusalem; Weeping Willow—a native of Babylon, and the tree on which the unhappy Israelites hung their harps when they bemoaned the loss of Jerusalem; Sycamore—the tree on which Zaccheus climbed to see Christ pass on His way to Jerusalem; Thorn—to remind us of the Crown of Thorns; Aspen—it being the tree of which the Cross is said to have been formed; Lime—the principal papyraceous tree of the ancients, and on the bark of which the Scriptures were probably first written; Ash—esteemed a sacred tree in ancient times, and one to which the Serpent is said to have a strong antipathy; Plane—the favourite tree of the Greeks, and under whose shade the Athenian philosophers retired to study; Birch—the tree from which the Lictors made their fasces; Elm—the funeral tree of the Romans, and the coffin timber of Britons; Cypress—the funeral tree of all Eastern nations; Yew—the funeral Yew so famed in war, and a tree consecrated and dedicated to the grave; Arbor Vitæ—although the tree of life, it shows that immortality is not the lot of anything terrestrial; Holly—as being used in the decorations of churches at sacred festivals; Box—the plant formerly used in the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin; Poplar—a plant held sacred by the Romans, and the tree used to mark the boundaries of their lands; Maple—the tree of which the bowl of hospitality was formed in days of yore; Pine—“And the tall pines for future navies,”—Dant utile lignum Navigus Pinus, (the useful pine for ships,) “To thee I consecrate the pine:”—in Pagan days it was consecrated to Diana; Bay—the “Laurus Nobilis” of the ancient warriors, the crown of our Poet Laureates, a supposed protection from lightning, and a purifier of pestilential air; Laurel—as an honourable badge for those who bravely defend their country and their laws; Oak—once the refuge of a British Monarch, and ever the best bulwark of our Church and State.
Of all the places of worship in the town not one has a more interesting history attached to it than the Countess of Huntingdon’s Chapel—commonly known as North Street Chapel,—facing the New Road.
Before entering into the particulars of this Chapel the following anecdote may not be deemed uninteresting, as it is somewhat connected with the subsequent motives of Lady Huntingdon[364] building a religious edifice in the town:—In the year 1755, the illness of the youngest son of the Countess induced her ladyship to come to Brighton for the benefit of sea-bathing. About this time the following singular circumstance occurred, which Lady Huntingdon related to the Rev. A. M. Toplady, and which is extracted from the manuscript in the Posthumous Works of that gentleman, published by the executors in 1780:—“A gentlewoman who lived a little way out of Brighthelmston dreamt that a tall lady dressed in a particular manner would come to that town, and be an instrument of doing much good. It was about three years after this dream that Lady Huntingdon came to Brighton. A few days after her Ladyship’s arrival, the above gentlewoman met her in the street, and, making a full stop, exclaimed ‘Oh! Madam, you are come.’ Lady H., surprised at the singularity of such an address from an entire stranger, thought the woman was bereft of her senses. ‘What do you know of me?’ asked the Countess. ‘Madam’ replied the gentlewoman, ‘I saw you in a dream three years ago, dressed just as you are now,’ and proceeded in the relation of her dream to the Countess. This person was, in consequence of her acquaintance with Lady H., converted in a few weeks, and died in the triumph of faith about a year after.”
About three months after her Ladyship’s arrival she visited a poor soldier’s wife who had just been delivered of twins, and administered to her temporal and spiritual wants. It happened that next to that room was an oven belonging to a baker’s shop, thither the people flocked for bread. Overhearing the pious conversation, some of the poor women sought and obtained admission, and from time to time they met there and conversed on religious topics. The news of the religious labours of a person of rank was soon scattered through the town, and the people began to be anxious of doing more good than was yet accomplished. The Countess sent for her Chaplain, the Rev. George Whitefield. He came, and preached his first sermon in a field at the back of the White Lion Inn, North Street. A little society was formed in consequence, and after a time there was a growing anxiety for a place wherein they might hold their meetings. The Countess would have been glad to have provided a house of meeting, but at that time her funds were exhausted, she having already given some hundred thousand pounds to the cause of God. She, however, devised a plan for raising the necessary means; she sent for her jeweller, opened her casket of jewels, and disposed of them, the following account of which cannot fail to interest:—
| £ | s. | d. | |
| Two 13 × drops | 400 | 0 | 0 |
| Twenty-eight 13 × 3 drops | 90 | 0 | 0 |
| Thirty-seven pearls, at £4 15s each | 175 | 15 | 0 |
| Seed pearls | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Gold Box | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| £698 | 15 | 0 |