Saint Paul's Church

The site of St Paul's Church had been occupied since 1830 by a small chapel for the use of fishermen. At that time, many of the town's fishermen lived in poor housing on streets surrounding Russell Street (an area now hidden under the rear of the Churchill Square shopping centre). In 1846, Reverend Henry Michell Wagner, Vicar of Brighton since 1824, bought the chapel and some surrounding buildings for £3,000, cleared the site and appointed a builder and a designer. St Paul's was the fourth church to have been built on the instruction of Rev. Henry Michell Wagner. His first was All Souls on Eastern Road, built between 1833 and 1834 but demolished in 1968. This was followed by Christ Church…

Brighton-based builders Cheesman & Son, as they were known at the time, were chosen to construct the building to a design by R. C. Carpenter: they had worked with Rev. Wagner since 1834, when they built a vicarage for him, and were responsible for both Christ Church and the church of St John the Evangelist. However, Rev. Wagner's intention had always been for the church to be his son Arthur's first ministry following his ordination, and Arthur asked for the design work to be undertaken by a separate designer. Arthur Wagner was 22 years old at the time the land was purchased, and was preparing to be ordained (this took place in 1850). He was a follower of the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian…

St Paul's church opened to the public on 18 October 1848 after approximately two years of building works. The cost of £12,000 was met by a combination of grants from various bodies and societies, public donations, Henry Wagner himself (£1,475) and other members of his family (£1,263). At the time, the practice of pew rental was still common, and although Arthur Wagner wanted his church to have free seating for all, his father Henry insisted that 460 of the 1,200 seats should be reserved for rental. The consecration took place on 23 October 1849, and Arthur Wagner assumed responsibility for the church in 1850 when his father presented its curacy to him in perpetuity. Rev. Arthur Wagner, held…