St Leonards-on-Sea Congregational Church is a former Congregational church in St Leonards-on-Sea, part of the town and borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. Considered "one of the most ambitious Nonconformist buildings in Sussex", the sandstone building of 1863 forms a significant landmark on one of the Victorian resort's main roads—despite the loss of its copper spire in the Great Storm of 1987. Unlike most churches of its denomination, it did not join the United Reformed Church when that denomination was formed in 1972. It fell out of religious use in 2008 and had stood empty and was at risk of demolition. English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance. Bought by a new owner in 2012 it was almost completely renovated, but was then sold again in 2019. The new owner plans to open the church to the public as an arts and antiques centre with a cafe in the tower.[1]
Hastings, an important fishing port, Cinque Port and defence site on the southeast coast of England, was already a significant town in 928 when it was first documented. Its development, constrained for many centuries by a deep valley and poor transport links, accelerated rapidly in the late 18th and early 19th centuries as sea-bathing, promenading and other seaside leisure activities became increasingly fashionable. Roads and (later) railway lines were built, attracting day-trippers and new residents, and by the 1820s the town was a noted leisure destination.[2]
James Burton, a London-based builder and speculator who had executed large-scale developments in North London[3] before moving to Tunbridge Wells in Kent,[4] saw the potential of the land immediately west of the growing town. It was originally the pre-medieval Manor of Gensing. By the 1820s it consisted of a large area of flat land on top of some small cliffs leading to the beach, and a gently sloping tree-lined valley. The landowner had died in 1818, and his trustees planned to sell the site to be built upon. Burton bought it on 27 February 1828, having already drawn up plans to found and construct a new, high-class town and resort to rival neighbouring Hastings.[5] The town was called St Leonards-on-Sea in reference to the ancient Hastings parish of St Leonard's, whose church of that dedication stood in the area covered by the new town from the 11th century[6] until it was destroyed between 1404 and 1428.[5] Burton's development immediately became fashionable, and even attracted early royal visitors when Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (the Duchess of Kent) and her daughter Princess (later Queen) Victoria stayed during the winter of 1834.[7]
A turnpike was built in 1836 connecting St Leonards-on-Sea to the main road to London (the present A21), cutting out the former indirect route via Hastings, Ore and The Ridge.[8]St Leonards Warrior Square railway station was opened nearby in February 1851,[9] and this inland part of St Leonards-on-Sea became a new growth area housing mostly working-class people.[6] The construction of an Anglican place of worship, Christ Church, in 1860,[10] was soon followed by the establishment of a Nonconformist community who needed a church of their own: Protestant Nonconformity was thriving in the Hastings area by the mid-19th century, in common with many other parts of Sussex.[11] James Griffin, a local Congregationalist, founded the church in 1863,[12] and building work started on 23 February 1864 when the foundation stone was laid. The first service at St Leonards-on-Sea Congregational Church was held on 27 October of that year.[13] Thomas Spalding, board member of Spalding & Hodge and the owner of Ore Place (formerly the manor house of the nearby village of Ore),[14] donated locally quarried sandstone,[15] and the design and building work were credited to William Habershon and his pupil Edgar Brock.[12] As a Grade II listed building it is mistakenly credited to Edward Habershon's brother William; but it was Edward who was employed in the Habershon-Brock partnership.[12][16] The partnership were prolific in the mid-19th century; most of their work was on Anglican churches such as the new St Helen's Church at Ore, St Andrew's Church (now demolished) in central Hastings and the former St Peter's Church at Baldslow, and further afield in Sussex in places such as Hove (St John the Baptist's Church), Ebernoe, Copthorne, Ashurst Wood and Scaynes Hill.[17][18]
The church faces the junction of two roads and is a local landmark.
The church formed a landmark on the main road, especially in conjunction with the old and new Christ Churches slightly further down the hill towards the seafront, and particularly after its copper spire was added.[12] Over time, though, its exposed situation led to wind and sea-spray damaging the oak-shingled roof;[19] the shingles were replaced by tiles in the 20th century.[15] A more sudden weather event then caused more severe damage in 1987. The Great Storm of the night of 15/16 October wrecked the spire, which had to be removed soon afterwards.[15][20] (A United Reformed church in Hastings, St Luke's at Silverhill, also had its spire destroyed in the same storm.)[21]
The church founded a mission hall in the Silverhill suburb in 1892. The incumbent, Reverend Freeman, built a tin tabernacle on Sedlescombe Road South, and Congregational services were held there until the mid-1940s. The building was demolished in 1966.[22] Later, the Congregational Church in England merged with various Presbyterian churches to form the United Reformed Church denomination in 1972.[23] St Leonards-on-Sea Congregational Church declined to join the new denomination and instead joined the Congregational Federation, a group formed of churches which had opted to remain separate.[24]
In the years after the storm, the structure continued to deteriorate, and damage caused by a series of burglaries in 2002 caused the building's insurance contract to be withdrawn. The congregation stopped using the church for worship in 2002, after which vandalism and continued weathering accelerated its decline into dereliction.[19] The building was officially classed as disused from 2008.[15]
The former church was listed at Grade II by English Heritage on 10 September 2003;[15] this defines it as a "nationally important" building of "special interest".[25] As of February 2001, it was one of 521 Grade II listed buildings, and 535 listed buildings of all grades, in the borough of Hastings.[26] Hastings Borough Council enacted a "fast-track" policy to get the building listed quickly by English Heritage, giving it some protection against alteration or demolition.[19] It is one of several listed churches in St Leonards-on-Sea: three Anglican churches (Christ Church, St John the Evangelist's and St Peter's) have the higher Grade II* status; and other Grade II-listed churches are St Leonard's Anglican church, St Leonard's Baptist Church, St Mary Magdalene's Church (now Greek Orthodox) and the Roman CatholicChurch of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs.[27] Under its former name of St Leonards Congregational Church, it had been licensed for worship in accordance with the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 with the registration number 16637.[28]
Architecture
The view at the junction of London Road and Kings Road in St Leonards-on-Sea "presents ... a fascinating array of 19th-century church architecture". The former and present Christ Churches are in the foreground; the former Congregational Church is up the hill in the background.
The prevalence of Nonconformist worship in Sussex caused many chapels to be built in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although many architectural styles were represented, most buildings were simple, matched the local vernacular and used plain materials such as brick and weatherboarding.[11] The church at St Leonards-on-Sea, with its bold tower and spire, cross-gabling and pale sandstone exterior, was a departure from these typical forms, and has been described as both "one of the most ambitious"[15] and "one of the finest Nonconformist buildings in Sussex".[12]
The exterior is of sandstone quarried at Ore, donated by the church's sponsor Thomas Spalding and laid in courses. This is supplemented by some Bath stonework. The roof is tiled, but was covered with wooden shingles until they deteriorated.[15] The layout takes advantage of the steeply sloping site by incorporating a schoolroom and hall below the body of the church but still at ground level on the ritual south (London Road; geographical east) side. The plan consists of a tower at the ritual west (geographical south) end, leading into a six-bay combined nave and chancel with aisles on each side, a clerestory, a vestry and the lower-level hall on the ritual south side.[15]
The tower is of three slightly tapering stages. At the top, there are lancet windows and a cinquefoil (five-lobed) window flanked by colonnettes of granite. Trefoil and lancet windows on the middle stage are accompanied by gargoyles and stone pilasters.[15]
On both sides, the aisles have six cross-gables (corresponding to the bays of the nave), below which are trefoil and quatrefoil windows with intricate tracery and stained glass. The clerestory above also has trefoil-headed windows.[15] Structural stability is improved by a series of buttresses with stone facing and gabled tops between each bay. The hall, which has an exterior wall only on the London Road side because of the slope of the land, also has arch-headed trefoil windows and stone dressings. The vestry at the ritual east (geographical north) end rises to two storeys.[15] The cross-gabling effect on the aisles has been described as a "highly effective" architectural feature.[29]
Inside, the ends of the nave near the entrances have decorative panels with arched and moulded headers. Similar treatment is given to the glazed doors. The main entrance is through the lowest stage of the tower, which leads into a lobby whose floor is laid in a "classic Gothic Revival form" with encaustic and geometric tiles.[15] The wooden roof has arch- and cross-braces. Other timberwork includes the reredos between the body of the church and the vestry, a gallery with a balustraded staircase and built-in clock, box pews and a pulpit with some wrought ironwork.[15]
↑ "St Leonards Church". Hastings News. Hastings Chronicle (republished 2010). 27 October 1864. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
↑ "Heritage Gateway". Listed buildings online: Congregational Church Of St Leonard, Including Attached Walls And Piers. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
↑ Allen, John (29 March 2013). "Architects and Artists H". Sussex Parish Churches website. Sussex Parish Churches (www.sussexparishchurches.org). Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
↑ Allen, John (4 February 2013). "Architects and Artists B". Sussex Parish Churches website. Sussex Parish Churches (www.sussexparishchurches.org). Archived from the original on 6 March 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
Silverhill is a suburb and local government ward of Hastings, East Sussex, England. It has a central location within the town, where the A21 meets the B2159 road.
Ebenezer Particular Baptist Chapel is a former Strict Baptist place of worship in Hastings, East Sussex, England. Founded in 1817 by members of the congregation of an older Baptist chapel in the ancient town, it was extended several times in the 19th century as attendances grew during Hastings' period of rapid growth as a seaside resort. It was closed and converted into a house in the late 20th century, but still stands in a prominent position in Hastings Old Town. English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
Christ Church is an Anglican church in the Ore area of the town and borough of Hastings, one of six local government districts in the English county of East Sussex. It is one of three Anglican churches with this dedication in the borough. The Decorated Gothic-style church, in the centre of a village which has been surrounded by suburban development, was built in 1858 to supplement Ore's parish church, St Helen's. The most distinctive structural feature, a corner bell turret, has been described as both "outstanding" and "very naughty" by architectural historians. English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
St Luke's Church is a United Reformed church in the Silverhill suburb of Hastings, a town and borough in East Sussex, England. The congregation was originally independent before taking up Presbyterianism, and worshipped in a private house from its founding in 1853 until a permanent church was provided in 1857; this was one of the oldest Presbyterian places of worship in southeast England. The growth of the community has resulted in several extensions since then, and severe damage caused by the Great Storm of 1987 was quickly repaired—except for the loss of the building's distinctive spire. The church, along with most other Presbyterian congregations, joined the United Reformed Church when that denomination was formed in 1972. It is one of four United Reformed Churches in the borough of Hastings.
St Matthew's Church is an Anglican church in the Silverhill suburb of Hastings, a town and borough in the English county of East Sussex. The present building, a large brick structure of 1884 by ecclesiastical architect John Loughborough Pearson, replaced a much smaller church founded in 1860 when Silverhill began to grow from an agricultural area with scattered cottages into a suburb of the increasingly fashionable seaside resort of Hastings. Although a planned tower was never built, the "imposing" church dominates its steeply sloping site; and although its architect—a leading Gothic Revivalist—considered it one of his lesser works, it has been described as "outstanding" and "architecturally inventive". English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
St Leonard's Baptist Church is the Baptist place of worship serving St Leonards-on-Sea, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. The elaborate building was designed by the architectural firm of Thomas Elworthy, responsible for many churches in late-Victorian era Sussex, and serves the residential hinterland of St Leonards-on-Sea—an area which grew rapidly after its early 19th-century founding by James Burton. English Heritage has listed the church at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
St Mary Magdalene's Church is a Greek Orthodox place of worship in St Leonards-on-Sea, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. Dedicated to Mary Magdalene and built in 1852 for Anglican worshippers in the growing new town of St Leonards-on-Sea, a seaside resort which had been laid out from the 1820s, the church's prominent position on the skyline overlooking the town was enhanced in 1872 by the addition of a tower. No longer required by the Anglican community in the 1980s, it was quickly bought by the Greek Orthodox Church and converted into a place of worship in accordance with their requirements. The alterations were minimal, though, and the building retains many of its original fittings and its "archaeologically correct Gothic" exterior which reflected architectural norms of the early Victorian era. English Heritage has listed the church at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
The Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs is the Roman Catholic church serving St Leonards-on-Sea, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. The present church, which combines a plain, unadorned Gothic Revival exterior with a lavishly decorated interior featuring extensive early 20th-century paintings by Nathaniel Westlake, is the third building used for Roman Catholic worship in the seaside resort. James Burton's new town of 1827, immediately west of Hastings, was home to a convent from 1848; public worship then transferred to a new church nearby in 1866. When this burnt down, prolific and "distinguished" architect Charles Alban Buckler designed a replacement. The church remains in use as the main place of worship in a parish which extends into nearby Hollington, and has been listed at Grade II by English Heritage for its architectural and historical importance.
St John the Evangelist's Church is the Anglican parish church of the Upper St Leonards area of St Leonards-on-Sea, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. The present building—a "very impressive and beautifully detailed" church in the Gothic Revival style, with a landmark tower—combines parts of Arthur Blomfield's 1881 church, wrecked during World War II, and Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel's 1950s rebuild. Two earlier churches on the site, the second possibly designed by Samuel Sanders Teulon, were themselves destroyed earlier in the 19th century. The rich internal fittings include a complete scheme of stained glass by Goodhart-Rendel's favoured designer Joseph Ledger and a 16th-century painting by Ortolano Ferrarese. English Heritage has listed the church at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
Christ Church is an Anglican church in the town and seaside resort of St Leonards-on-Sea, part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. Opened as the town's third Anglican church in 1860 to serve a rapidly developing residential area and to accommodate poor worshippers who could not afford pew rents at the fashionable St Leonard's and St Mary Magdalene's Churches, the original building was superseded by a much larger church built next to it between 1873 and 1875. Prolific ecclesiastical architect Sir Arthur Blomfield's simple Gothic Revival design forms a landmark on one of St Leonards-on-Sea's main roads, continues to serve a large area of the town and maintains a strong Anglo-Catholic tradition. It has been described as Blomfield's "finest achievement in Sussex" and "one of the main centres of Anglo-Catholic worship in Southern England". The interior fittings are the best of any church in the borough, and the design has been called one of Blomfield's most successful. St John the Evangelist's Church, founded as a daughter church nearby in 1865, also continues to thrive as a separate parish church. Historic England has listed Christ Church at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
St Peter's Church is a former Anglican church in the Bohemia area of the town and seaside resort of St Leonards-on-Sea, part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. Founded in 1883 in response to the rapid residential growth of this part of St Leonards-on-Sea, the "outstanding late Victorian church" was completed and opened in 1885. Architect James Brooks was towards the end of his career but still produced a successful, powerful Gothic Revival design, which was built by prolific local firm John Howell & Son—builders of several other churches in the area.
Robertsbridge United Reformed Church is a former United Reformed Church place of worship in Robertsbridge, a village in the district of Rother in the English county of East Sussex. Built for Congregational worshippers in 1881 following their secession from a long-established Wesleyan Methodist chapel, it was the third Nonconformist place of worship in the village, whose nearest parish church was in the neighbouring settlement of Salehurst. Like the former Strict Baptist and Methodist chapels in the village, which have both closed, it no longer serves Robertsbridge as a place of worship. Local architect Thomas Elworthy's distinctive design—a "rich" and highly decorated blend of several styles—has divided opinion amongst architectural historians. English Heritage has listed the church at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
St Leonard's Church is an Anglican church in the St Leonards-on-Sea area of Hastings, a town and borough in the English county of East Sussex. The main church serving James Burton high-class mid 19th-century new town of St Leonards-on-Sea was designed by Burton himself just before his death, and it survived for more than a century despite being damaged by the cliff into which it was built; but one night during World War II, the sea-facing building was obliterated by a direct hit from a damaged V-1 "doodlebug" which had crossed the English Channel. The Gilbert Scott brothers' bold replacement church was ready in 1961, and along with a sister church at nearby Bulverhythe served the parish of St Leonards-on-Sea, covered by the Hastings Archdeaconry. Historic England has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
All Souls Church is a former Anglican church that served the Clive Vale suburb of Hastings, a seaside resort town and borough in the English county of East Sussex, between 1890 and 2007. The "large [and] serious town church" has been described as one of the best works by prolific ecclesiastical architect Arthur Blomfield. Built almost wholly of brick, inside and out, it dominates the streetscape of the late Victorian suburb and has a tall, "dramatic" interior displaying many of Blomfield's favourite architectural features. The church also has Heaton, Butler and Bayne stained glass and an elaborate reredos. Falling attendances and high maintenance costs caused it to close after a final service in November 2007, and the Diocese of Chichester officially declared it redundant soon afterwards. English Heritage has listed it at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
Matthew Edward Habershon, known as Edward Habershon, was an architect practising in London and south-east England. He specialised in neo-gothic buildings, especially churches and chapels. With his brother W.G. Habershon he designed St John the Baptist's Church, Hove, now a Grade II building. With E.P.L. Brock he designed a number of churches including St Leonards-on-Sea Congregational Church, also listed at Grade II. He designed St Andrews church in Hastings, where Robert Tressell's large mural was created. In 1862 he was involved in the relocation of London's burial grounds, moving more than one thousand hundredweight of human remains.
South Street Free Church is a church in the centre of Eastbourne, a town and seaside resort in the English county of East Sussex. Originally Congregational, it is now aligned to the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion—a small group of Evangelical churches founded by Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon during the 18th-century Evangelical Revival. The church was founded in 1897 as an offshoot from an earlier Congregational chapel, and initially met in hired premises. Local architect Henry Ward designed the present church in 1903; the "characterful" and "quirky" Arts and Crafts-style building has been listed at Grade II by Historic England for its architectural and historical importance.
Ote Hall Chapel is a place of worship belonging to the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion—a small Nonconformist Christian denomination—in the village of Wivelsfield in East Sussex, England. The Connexion was established as a small group of Evangelical churches during the 18th-century Evangelical Revival by Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, and this chapel is one of the earliest: founded by the Countess herself in 1778 as a daughter church of the original chapel in Brighton, it has been in continuous use since 1780. Historic England has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
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