However, when Revd Thomas Peacey was appointed the first vicar of Hove in the same year, he immediately showed his intention of replacing it with a new, more impressive church by selecting the prominent ecclesiastical architect John Loughborough Pearson to submit a design.

[4] Construction did not begin until 1889, with the first stone being laid on 25 April 1889;[4] during the 1880s, Pearson had been working on various projects, including the vicarage (on the same plot of land) and the nearby St Barnabas Church.

The church was built, opened and consecrated in stages: the nave and side aisles, forming the core of the present building and costing £14,000, were opened in 1891 after a consecration ceremony by the Bishop of Chichester (Richard Durnford, who personally gave £1,000 towards the cost of the church) on 1 May 1891; the eastern end was not finished until 1901, four years after Pearson's death—its completion was overseen by his son, and the new Bishop of Chichester, Ernest Roland Wilberforce consecrated it on 1 November 1901; and an incomplete tower on the southwestern side, and an adjacent narthex, were provided in 1924.

[4][9] One of these is separated from the body of the church by a canopied screen of great richness carved in wood, dedicated to people from the parish killed in the First World War.

Other internal fixtures include oak choir stalls and canopies designed by Frank Loughborough Pearson in memory of Thomas Peacey, a stone pulpit and red marble seven sided font.

It has informed the restoration of other large Hill organs, including those of Peterborough and Lichfield cathedrals and also Eton College.

[9][11][12] The church is regularly open to casual visitors, and is often used as a venue for live music, in addition to holding services several days a week.