Brighton and Hove – St Cuthman, Whitehawk

Built in 1937-38 for a new housing estate on the eastern edge of Brighton to a design by M Travers (CDG 18 p341), its cost was estimated at £7,300 including the site.  It was one of the few realised designs by Travers who was better known for his fittings and stained glass, but sadly it was destroyed by bombing in 1943.  The most prominent feature, which survived the bombing according to a contemporary picture, was a heavy belfry on the gable.

The church was rebuilt in 1952 by J L Denman (BAL/MSS DeJ/6/4).  He used brick and the most prominent feature of the west front is an open arched porch.  To the north projects a baptistery and, further east, a further projection supports what is either Travers’s pre-war belfry or one very like it.  As with so many Brighton churches the site slopes steeply, so there is a crypt beneath, part of which was retained from the original church.  The interior is spacious under a continuous tunnel-vault and there is no chancel arch.

Fittings

Chancel fittings: J L Denman (BE(E) p292).
Painting: Two saints by Travers (ibid).
Rood figures: (over entrance to chancel) Also by Travers (ibid).

Photo: The Voice of Hassocks