St Philip's Church, Hove

The road now named New Church Road is the old route between the ancient villages of Hove and Aldrington. There was some Roman and Saxon activity at Aldrington, but severe decline set in during the 18th and 19th centuries, such that only one person was living there by 1831. The rapid residential growth of Hove in the mid-19th century stimulated development in Aldrington from around 1850, however, and St Leonard's Church was rebuilt from its ruined state to serve the area. By 1894, Aldrington and Hove had merged, and the population of Aldrington alone exceeded 2,200. It was decided that a chapel of ease was needed to serve the area east of St Leonard's Church. Its rector bought land from the Duke of Portland in November of that year and commissioned Sir George Gilbert Scott's son John Oldrid Scott to design a church. Building work took less than a year: the first service at St Philip's took place on 28 October 1895. The consecration ceremony was not held until 29 May 1898, however. By that date, £5,492.15s.10d (£ in ) had been spent on construction and the land. It was extended at a cost of about £4,000 (£ in ) between 1909 and 1910, at which point the deeds transferring ownership of the land from the Duke of Portland to the rector of St Leonard's Church was found to be invalid. A new arrangement was drawn up and the church became the property of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. Another extension was added in 1941: architecture firm Tetley and Felce designed and added a porch. The church received national attention in its centenary year when an edition of the long-running BBC Radio programme Any Questions? was recorded there. On 10 March 1995, three major political figures and The Spectator deputy editor Anne Applebaum took part in a debate and answered questions from the audience. The programme was broadcast live on BBC Radio 4. Former Conservative Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath, Labour minister and SDP founder Roy Jenkins and former Labour minister Gerald Kaufman were on the panel. ==Architecture==

St Philip's Church is considered a good example of Oldrid Scott's architectural techniques. Architecturally it is broadly Gothic Revival and is distinguished by its impressive use of building materials of various colours and types. A new bell was cast for the church in 1961. ==Holy Cross Church==

In 1903, the Bishop of Chichester Ernest Wilberforce opened a mission hall to serve the northern part of St Leonard's and St Philip's parish. The Holy Cross Church, as it was called, then became part of St Philip's parish in 1912, The building had been used as a church hall and social venue as well as a place of worship until 1932. Although the vicar of St Philip's later acquired land for a new hall, no such facility was ever built, which encouraged the conversion of part of the church into a hall in 1956. ==The church today==

English Heritage made the church a Grade II listed building on 2 November 1992. As of 2012, the church is still open, and offers two services every Sunday. The parish is bounded by Portland Road, Westbourne Street, Westbourne Place, the seafront, Wish Road and Coleman Avenue on the borders of Hove and Aldrington. The church was closed after a final service held on 11 October 2023. ==See also==