St Mary's Church, Preston Park

St Mary’s Church stands on Surrenden Road at the corner with Preston Drove, opposite Preston Park in the Preston Village area of Brighton and Hove. Built between 1910 and 1912 in the Arts and Crafts style of Gothic Revival architecture, it was designed by Percy Aidan Lamb, a student of Edward Goldie. The church is a Grade II listed building and occupies land once part of Preston Manor. Its construction followed a donation from Catherine and Denis Broderick, while the Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction of Nevers had settled in the area in 1903. The first Mass was celebrated there in April 1912, though the east side remained unfinished for many years. The church’s history reflects wider Catholic life in Brighton. Fr Frederick Hopper became chaplain to the convent in 1906 and pushed for a new church as the congregation grew. The architect, Lamb, had previously worked on Westminster Cathedral under John Francis Bentley and designed the onyx font himself. In 1918, the high altar came from the old Xaverian College, and the pews were made by the congregation after those in St Michael and All Angels Church in Harbledown, Kent. Later, in the 1970s, a polygonal sanctuary and presbytery were added by Patrick Foley, and a stained glass window by Cox & Barnard was installed in 1979. Inside, the church contains the onyx font designed by Lamb and crafted by J. Whitehead & Son. The pews, made by parishioners, line the nave in a simple arrangement. The sanctuary, added in the 1970s, features a polygonal shape and is set against the east wall. A stained glass window behind the font, designed by Caroline Benyon, brings colour to the interior. Attached to the east end, the Cassidy Centre was opened in 2007 and serves as a parish meeting place. The church remains a quiet focus for worship within Preston Park’s residential setting.