St Peter's Church, Preston, Brighton

St Peter's Church
The church from the northwest
50°50′32″N 0°08′58″W / 50.8423°N 0.1495°W / 50.8423; -0.1495Coordinates: 50°50′32″N 0°08′58″W / 50.8423°N 0.1495°W / 50.8423; -0.1495
Location	Grounds of Preston Manor, Preston Drove, Preston, Brighton and Hove
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Anglican
History
Dedication	Saint Peter
Architecture
Status	Former parish church
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade II* listed
Designated	13 October 1952
Style	Early English
Closed	1988

St Peter's Church is a former Anglican church in the Preston Village area of Brighton, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. The 13th-century building, standing on the site of two older churches, was restored in the late 19th century and again after a serious fire in 1906. It was the parish church of Preston until 1908, when the newly built St John the Evangelist's Church gained this status. The Diocese of Chichester declared St Peter's redundant in 1990, and it is now owned by the Churches Conservation Trust. It has Grade II* listed status, reflecting its architectural and historical importance.

The village of Preston was established on a downland site 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-northwest of Brighton before the time of the Domesday Book. At that time, it was known as Prestetone (an Anglo-Saxon name) and had a church, a mill and a population of about 50. The manor was held by the Bishop of Chichester, who at the time was Stigand of Selsey.

The church mentioned in the Domesday Book was replaced in the mid-13th century by the present structure, which is the third church on the site (a grassed area within the grounds of Preston Manor). It consisted of a chancel, nave with no aisles and a tower at the west end with a shallow pyramidal cap (of the type known as a Sussex Cap),corbel table and narrow lancet windows. Its main feature of interest was a series of 13th- and 14th-century wall paintings around the chancel arch and the nave, which depicted the Nativity of Jesus, Saint Michael weighing the souls of the dead at the Last Judgment, the murder and martyrdom of Thomas Becket, Doubting Thomas, other saints, and the "Noli me tangere" scene at Jesus's Resurrection. They were covered with plaster at the time of the Reformation and were rediscovered in 1830 by the vicar, Reverend Charles Townsend.