Best Friends
By Sherrie McQuillan
My name is Sherrie. We moved to Brighton from Rottingdean in 1983 when I was eight. My dad worked for the Co-op and we lived in Hanover Crescent.
We started going to St Peter’s as a family every Sunday. My brother and I would go the Sunday School and then join the Eucharist toward the end.
One Sunday, I met a girl called Emma at church. She went to boarding school, so was only there during the odd visit home at the weekend and holidays. They were the best Sundays, and she quickly became one of my best friends.
It’s now 40 years on and Emma is still one of my best friends. We have been there for each other through our teenage years, GCSE results, boyfriends, breakups, getting married, having children, and she was there when my mum died.
Whenever I go past St Peter’s I feel really grateful to the church for those days and for bringing Emma and I together.
Other key areas
Jean Wheeler: Everyday Life
Jean Wheeler and the Wheeler family started coming to St Peter's in the 1950s. Here she tells us how she navigated family life and being part of the church.
St Peter’s is a Landmark
Born in Brighton in 1945 at the bottom of what was then Carlton Hill to the east of the church, Marie Elvin describes what life was like in the seaside city in the aftermath of the Second World War, and her lifelong connection to St Peter's Church.
Coming to Faith
Lisa Williamson describes how an emotional connection to St Peter's evolved into a life full of faith.
Bonfire Nights on The Level
Sitting right at the centre of Brighton, a short walk from the Palace Pier and the Pavilion, London Road and the station, and right on the edge of The Level, St Peter’s has formed the backdrop for thousands of memories. Brighton native Sue Clement tells us her childhood recollections of bonfire night.
The Donnes: A Typical Brighton Family
The Donne family arrived in Brighton at the turn of the nineteenth century just as the Brighton building boom got underway. It included the construction of a new church, St Peter's, which began in 1824. Living in York Place, the family had a front row seat from which to watch.
‘This project is kindly funded by Historic England as part of the Everyday Heritage - Working Class Histories. We are grateful to them for this funding.’