Union Chapel, Brighton

Union Chapel
The façade viewed from the southwest
Location	Union Street, The Lanes, Brighton, Brighton and Hove BN1 1HA, United Kingdom
Coordinates	50°49′20″N 0°08′28″W / 50.8223°N 0.1410°W / 50.8223; -0.1410Coordinates: 50°49′20″N 0°08′28″W / 50.8223°N 0.1410°W / 50.8223; -0.1410
Founded	1683
Built	1683, 1688 or 1698
Built for	Presbyterian Church
Rebuilt	1825
Architect	Amon Wilds; possible involvement of Amon Henry Wilds and Charles Busby
Architectural style(s)	Classical
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name: Elim Tabernacle and attached railings
Designated	20 August 1971
Reference no.	481384
Location of Union Chapel in Brighton

The Union Chapel, also known as the Union Street Chapel, Elim Free Church, Four Square Gospel Tabernacle or Elim Tabernacle of the Four Square Gospel, is a former chapel in the centre of Brighton, a constituent part of the city of Brighton and Hove, England. After three centuries of religious use by various congregations, the chapel—which had been Brighton's first Nonconformist place of worship—passed into secular use in 1988 when it was converted into a pub. It was redesigned in 1825, at the height of Brighton's Georgian building boom, by at least one of the members of the Wilds–Busby architectural partnership, Brighton's pre-eminent designers and builders of the era, but may retain some 17th-century parts. It has been listed at Grade II in view of its architectural importance.

Although evidence of Neolithic settlement has been found in the area now occupied by the city, Brighton started to develop as a fishing village in the 12th century. Fishermen's houses were clustered together below the cliffs on the English Channel coast, a parish church (St Nicholas' Church) was built on higher ground to the northwest, and development gradually spread to the land immediately above the cliffs. By the 17th century, four streets named after the cardinal directions formed the boundaries of the village.

Until that time, St Nicholas' Church was the only place of worship in Brighton. Nationally, only the Church of England was recognised as legitimate. Various Acts of Parliament proscribed Roman Catholic and Nonconformist worship: in particular, the Conventicle Act 1664 prevented groups of non-Anglican Christians meeting for worship. By about 1660, however, a Nonconformist community had developed sufficiently to be able to found a school. A religious census carried out in 1676 found 260 Nonconformists, 8% of the village's population of 3,340. As restrictions on their religious practices eased, a chapel was built; this was initially used by Presbyterians. It was built in the heart of the old village on a street which was later named Union Street in reference to the chapel. Sources disagree on the date of its founding and construction. Many identify 1683, others prefer 1698, and 1688 has also been put forward as the date of construction or the date the land was sold to the Presbyterian community. A foundation stone still exists in the south wall, but its date has been identified as either 1683 or 1688.