Built in 1820 by prolific local architect Amon Henry Wilds on land sold to the fledgling Unitarian community by the Prince Regent, the stuccoed Greek Revival building occupies a prominent position near the corner of Church Road and New Road in the centre of Brighton, near the Royal Pavilion and the city's main theatres.

[3] Brighton in the late eighteenth century was turning from a fishing village to a fashionable resort, largely because of the patronage of the Prince Regent.

The main north-south road leading out of the old town ran next to the Royal Pavilion, where he lived; noise and traffic disturbed him and made access to his stables difficult.

[6][8] When the Prince sold the land he owned west of New Road, the congregation paid £650 for a plot on which a new chapel could be built.

Architect Amon Henry Wilds, whose career in Brighton was just beginning, designed the stuccoed, temple-style building on the instruction of Dr Morell, a classical scholar who became the first minister at the chapel.

Ancient Greek writing quoting the letter of St Paul to the Romans — "To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ" (Rom 16:27) — originally featured on the pediment, but it was removed later in the 19th century to prevent confusion: some even believed the writing was Hebrew and the building a synagogue.