October 1823. The ballroom was converted into the recently completed Royal Pavilion's private chapel for the Prince Regent—who by this time was King—and was consecrated on 1 January 1822 by the Bishop of Chichester. The King had moved into the Pavilion the previous year. In its new guise, the chapel had over 400 seats and admission was by invitation only. Designer William Tuppen was responsible for the interior refit, which included the conversion of the musicians' gallery into the King's own pew and the installation of an organ supported by Gothic-style columns. The Royal Pavilion was unpopular with Queen Victoria, whose reign began in 1837. Her last visit was in 1845; soon afterwards the Government wanted to demolish the building and sell the land to pay for building work at Buckingham Palace. This proposal was unpopular in the town, and in May 1850 the Town Commissioners received consent to buy the site, including the chapel. It became the property of Brighton Corporation (the forerunners of the present-day Council) in 1855. Because the chapel had been consecrated for Anglican worship, the Church Commissioners claimed it on behalf of the Diocese of Chichester. Instead of leaving the building on the same site, the Diocese decided to demolish it and re-erect it brick by brick on a site away, at Montpelier Place near the boundary with Hove. Because the Diocese's claim on the church was upheld, the Town Commissioners reduced their payment to the Government for the Pavilion estate by £3,000 (£ in ). The land at Montpelier Place was transferred free of charge to the Diocese by the Vicar of Brighton's sister. The interior of the chapel was only minimally altered by the move and reconstruction, which was completed in 1851. It was given a new stuccoed façade in the Classical style, however. The church was opened for public worship under its new name, St Stephen's, on 25 July 1851, and was consecrated on 11 June 1852 by the Bishop of Chichester, Ashurst Turner Gilbert. The Vicar of Brighton's nephew George Wagner became its first vicar; he was an adherent of the mid-19th century idea that Gothic architecture was the only appropriate design for Anglican churches, and regarded the Classical building as "pre-eminently ugly". The church could hold more than 700 worshippers, and approximately one-quarter of the pews were free (not subject to pew rents). It attracted a mostly poor congregation. Some