Brighton Unitarian Church

Image: © Cathy Cox Taken: 8 Jun 2008

The Unitarian Congregation in Brighton dates from 1793 and by 1819 had grown enough to be able to buy a plot of land in order to build a church. The land in New Road on which the church stands was bought from the Prince Regent for £650 in 1819. It had been part of the Royal Pavilion gardens but the Prince Regent was strapped for cash at the time and the Unitarians got a bargain. The building, based on the ancient Temple of Theseus in Athens was designed by Amon Henry Wilds, architect of much of Brighton's Kemp Town and completed in 1820. It was not universally liked - the Royal Brighton Guide of 1827 said it was "built after the manner of a heathen temple". The pediment on top of the Greek columns was originally engraved with ancient Greek script which, translated, was a New Testament quotation: “To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ.” But this was covered over in the late 1800s because hardly anyone could read ancient Greek, and cabmen were given to telling visitors that the place was a synagogue, and the lettering Hebrew. This information and more can be found here http://www.brightonunitarianchurch.org.uk

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