Bishop Hannington Memorial Church

Although born at Hurstpierpoint, a few miles north of Brighton and Hove, James Hannington was part of the Brighton family which owned the long-established Hanningtons department store in Brighton. He was ordained into the priesthood in 1874, and served as the curate of St George's Church in Hurstpierpoint until volunteering for missionary work in east Africa in 1882. Although he had to return to Britain in 1883 because of illness, he went back to Uganda in 1884 and was ordained as Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa on 24 June 1884. Along with a group of men, he prepared to enter Uganda by way of a new, more direct route from the northeastern side of Lake Victoria. The group had almost…

It was designed and built by Sir Edward Maufe between 1938 and 1939, who was notable, chiefly, for his design of Guildford Cathedral and his work for the Imperial War Graves Commission. The church is a large building on a corner site, with an entrance at the west end and a tall bell tower at the northeast corner. Brown brick is the main building material, although the roof is laid with pantiles. This roof has a shallow pitch, while the large tower has a similar but steeper roof topped with a cross. An annex used as a day centre was added on the northern side in the 1970s in a matching style, although it has a flat roof. The main body of the church consists of a chancel, an organ bay in the…

Church services are evangelical in nature; there is a weekly Communion service on Sunday mornings at 8am, two other services on Sundays at 10am and 6.30pm, small groups that meet for bible study and prayer in people's homes, CAMEO for older people to come and meet each other and various youth groups and children's facilities. As well as the clergy the Church has a staff team made up of a youth minister, women & families minister, music minister and office staff who help with the running of many of the groups and Sunday services alongside many of the members of the Church family. The church is within the Conservative Evangelical tradition. The Benefice and parish of Bishop Hannington…