St Andrew's Church, Waterloo Street, Hove

St Andrew’s Church stands in Brunswick Town, Hove, a short distance west of Brighton. Built in the early 19th century, it was designed by Charles Barry in the Italianate style, the first church in England to use this form. The brick and ashlar exterior features twin pilasters framing a round-headed door and a small domed bell tower with a 1930 bell. Inside, the church once held 420 pews, many rented to wealthy worshippers, and now contains Italianate domes and top-lighting after later alterations. The church was fashionable in the 19th century, attended by royalty and aristocracy including the Duke of Cambridge. It became a proprietary chapel under Rev. Edward Everard, who secured an Act of Parliament to control its income and curacy. By 1851, between 300 and 350 people attended regularly, though attendance later declined and the building was declared redundant in 1990. Grade I listing in 1950 prevented demolition, and the Churches Conservation Trust now cares for it. Visitors find a restored interior with a west gallery, transepts, a chancel added by Edward Middleton Barry, and a narthex holding memorial stones. The church retains its organ case, stained glass and Venetian glass surrounds, installed in the 1920s to brighten the space. Below lie burial vaults, the first used in 1831, later serving as air-raid shelters during the Second World War.