NOW a centre for the homeless, St Stephen’s Hall in Brighton celebrated its 250th anniversary last month.
Originally situated in the Old Steine (where the Royal Bank of Scotland is now located), it was once the Castle Ballroom, used by the Prince Regent as a dance hall and then, subsequently, by Queen Victoria as a chapel.
When Queen Victoria sold the Pavilion Estate to the Corporation of Brighton in 1850, the Church was given permission to retain the building as a place of worship but not on the land it stood on.
In 1851, the building was moved, brick by brick, from its original location to Montpelier Place where it became a church until 1937, a centre for deaf people from 1945 and, from 1984, Brighton Housing Trust’s First Base Day Centre.
Speaking previously to The Argus Mary McKean, chairwoman of the Regency Society, said Brighton and Hove was blessed with a range of important buildings, but finding a 21st-century use for them all was a challenge. She said the day centre represented one of the successes of re-use for a Grade II* building.
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