Church of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady

Church History

Before Peacehaven had its own church built, local Catholics had to travel to Newhaven for services. Thus the start of her history is that of Newhaven's.

Fact File
First baptism First burial First confirmation First marriage Average offering (1900s)	September 15th 1895 September 15th 1895 January 2nd 1902 September 1909 2s6d (approx. 12p)

A Mission had been set up in Newhaven in 1895, and was taken over in 1902 by the Assumptionist Brothers (A.A.) at the command of Cardinal Bourne, Bishop of Southwark. Consequently, in the early days of the church's history the priests were mostly French missionaries. And her first priest was Fr. Barnaby Gizaud.

The church began life in what used to be the old church hall. The building was constructed between Horsham Avenue and Edith Avenue and completed in around 1924.

But it had only ever been intended as a temporary structure.

And as the church hall in 2001...

And 'The Immaculate Conception' as we now know it today was built in 1963...

Parishoner Phyllis Panario first came to Peacehaven in 1945 as a young lady. She remembers an altogether different church to the one we know today. At that time the church (now the old church hall) was in use. Up on the stage was where the altar was to be found. At one side was the Sacred Heart Altar and, at the other, a shrine to Lourdes which featured a statue of St. Bernadette. The confessional eventually become the kitchen, and in those days there was only one toilet. At the rear of the church was a harmonium organ. In the turret were five electronic bells. They were not to last as neighbours complained, and now the turret is empty.

The priests serving the parish came from Newhaven. At the time it was a Fr. Charles (an "ancient" man originally from Alsace) who gave mass, and he was assisted by Fr. Delphin (a Frenchman). They were from the order of the Assumptionist Brothers. It was difficult for them to come to Peachaven on a Sunday because of the infrequent buses. (So some things never change!) As a result Sunday mass was quite a strange event. Holy Communnion had to be 'ordered' in advance. Holy Communion was at 10am, and a mass without Holy Communion was at 10.30am. Weekdays were not a problem as buses were normal, and mass was celebrated at 8am.

All baptisms, First Holy Communions, marriages, and funerals had to be performed at Newhaven. Confirmations were also carried out in a different way. It is the norm now for children of the age of 14 or 15 to get confirmed at Arundel Cathedral. In those days (and until relatively recently) the child would be confirmed once they had partaken in their First Holy Communion on the very next visit by the Bishop, which would be about once every three years. The service was also much shorter. And Arundel, at that time, was not a cathedral, but a very large church dedicated to Our Lady and St. Philip Neri (later Our Lady and St. Philip Howard - not the same saint).

Phyllis recalls that for Sunday mass the congregation size was only around a dozen people. The parishoners were almost all retired. (Pretty much like nowadays.)

Across the road was a Convent School (where the local primary school stands). It was not to last for long as there were only a couple of Catholic children. Before 1950 could arrive the two nuns were recalled to their convent at Summer's Place, Billingshurst, and the rest as we know, is history.

Following the end of the Second World War a large sum of money was donated for the reparations of the bomb-damaged church at Newhaven, and for a new church to succeed the one at Peacehaven. In 1963 the new church was built. It cost £15,000. A new addition was to come at the same time that would summon a turning point in the church's history and bring more fortune and misfortune than could have been predicted. A Miss Muriel Harvey had insisted while she was alive that the congregation size would increase considerably if only the church were to have its own 'live-in' priest.

She was right.

In her will she set aside £5000 (a lot of money in those days) to build a presbytery. The news also entered the local newspaper.

Another benefit was that the church could now run social functions as it had its own church hall.

The layout of the new church has not changed much since the 1960's. One notable change is the location of the confessional. Initially it was in a tiny room that formed part of the sacristy on the left. With the growing number of altar servers (we have had a lot) this was knocked through and the confessional was shifted to the back of the church where there used to be a repository. And in March 2007 the organ and choir were relocated to the rear of the church.

Our church also used to have its own stone baptismal font (the repository was the baptistry), paid for by Mr. and Mrs. Schlinger. When the church altered the way by which one gets baptised, the stone font disappeared.

The tabernacle was a gift from Mrs. Stirrup to commemorate her late husband.

The church today is now a thriving, busy parish. There are a number of social events throughout the year. We have a prayer group, and hold many fund-rasing events. And every year many members of our parish make a once in a lifetime pilgrimage to Lourdes.

The congregation according to the last census is 250-strong, with a regular Sunday service attendance of 200.

So, the presbytery in many ways was inevitable for this parish's success. But the fortune was tinged by a tragic twist of fate. For misfortune hit on Maundy Thursday 2001 when a fire destroyed the presbytery and, more sadly, took away our dearly beloved priest, Father Patrick Emmanuel, leaving the parish stunned. His funeral took place on April 30th 2001, and was attended by hundreds including a dozen priests who assisted Msgr. Hull who lead the mass. Following the funeral mass Fr Pat was flown back to Sri Lanka at his family's request.

Money was raised for two lasting memorials for Father Pat. On the outside wall of the front of the church you will find a mosaic cross with a plaque (left). There is also a new set of Chalices and Ciboriums.

However, in the years since that historic event much has happened to reconstruct the parish.

After a number of visiting priests we now have a permanent priest with Father Tom Ryan who was appointed to our parish on 17th July 2004.

The parish buildings have vastly changed. The old presbytery was demolished and a new church hall was built to fill its space. It was unofficially opened after the 6.30 pm mass on Saturday 15th October, but was officially unveiled on Sunday 22nd January 2006 by Bishop Kieran Conry.

The old church hall was also demolished on 26th November 2005. One final mass was celebrated in the original church at the end of September 2005. In its space now stands the new presbytery which was blessed by Bishop Kieran on Sunday 17th January 2010 following mass.

And so, we now to look to the future and pray for our continued success as a parish and also that all that Fr. Pat taught us will not be forgotten.

Peace and love to you all.

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