The parish of Goring existed at the time of the Domesday survey in 1086, under the name Garinges.[1] Unlike the other parishes in the area covered by the present Borough of Worthing, which lay in the Rape of Bramber, it was part of the neighbouring Rape of Arundel.[2] (Rapes were the six ancient subdivisions of the county of Sussex, each named after a castle and its associated town.)[3] It incorporated four manors. The most important of these passed from the Earls of Arundel to Roger de Montalt, 1st Baron Montalt and several other holders. Intermittent residential development began in the 19th century and continued throughout the 20th century, especially after the old village became part of the Borough of Worthing in 1929. Since then it has developed into one of Worthing's main suburbs.[1][4]
Some evidence exists for a Saxon-era place of worship in Goring,[5] but this is not certain. A church on the present site, dedicated to Mary, was founded in the late 12th century.[6][7] It was in regular use for worship thereafter, and apart from some additions in the 14th century[5] it remained structurally unchanged until the intervention of David Lyon in 1836–1837.[6][8] Lyon, a rich merchant, bought land and one of the manor houses in 1834, and set about transforming the area.[1] As well as demolishing the manor house and building Goring Hall, a new mansion, he commissioned architect Decimus Burton to redesign St Mary's Church. The 12th-century building was partly demolished: Burton retained only the original arcades in the nave.[6][7] Lyon paid for the reconstruction himself.[5]
The World War I memorial on the south wall
A memorial to casualties of World War I, in the form of a sculpture of Jesus, was added on the south exterior wall in the early 20th century.[8] In 1954, German artist and muralistHans Feibusch, known to the then-incumbent Bishop of ChichesterGeorge Bell since 1940,[9] was commissioned to design a mural for the chancel arch in the church. His design, representing Christ in Majesty,[6] is well regarded—for example, Ian Nairn and Nikolaus Pevsner recorded that the "swirling, Baroque design" was "a good deal better"[7] than other church decoration of the era—but its unveiling aroused strong feeling at diocesan level. Some traditionalist members of the diocesan advisory committee, perturbed by the boldness of the design (which included imagery described as "violently masculine and brutal"),[10] raised their objections at the diocese's consistory court—a type of ecclesiastical court.[9] Bishop Bell, who passed the judgement at the court, managed to settle the dispute, and the mural was unveiled in September 1954.[10] The outcome of the court case has been described as being crucial to how art and the present-day Church of England interact and relate to each other.[11]
Architecture
Decimus Burton's design for St Mary's Church—described as "disappointingly limp"[7] by Nairn and Pevsner—was simple Early English Gothic Revival.[12] The surviving parts of the original nave are late Norman, from the "Transitional" period into Gothic architecture. Parts of the north and south interior walls were also retained, and fragments of the original chancel arch remain.[8] There is a tower at the west end, topped with a tall spire and incorporating the entrance door, a nave with a galleried west end, a central chancel arch leading to a three-baychancel, and a vestry to the northeast.[6][8] A supplementary vestry was added to the north side in 1966.[8] A separate church hall, built of brick, was erected in 1950.[6] The church is clad in smooth grey render, relieved by stone quoins and dressings,[12] and the roof is of slate. Buttresses support the chancel on the outside. The tower rises in three stages, of which the lower two are supported by corner buttresses. Above these, there is a belfry stage with lancet and round windows. A prominent parapet separates the belfry from the spire.[8]
Inside, the 12th-century arcades show some remodelling, and the capitals at the top of the piers may be entirely Burton's work.[7][8] The nave roof is rib-vaulted into six sections and is plastered; the chancel roof is similar. Both have ornate decoration on the beams and braces. The pulpit and pews date from a renovation of the interior in 1888. The windows on all sides of the church are Decorated Gothic-stylelancets with either two or three panes, except for the much larger east window.[8]
There are several monuments in various forms inside the church. The oldest, dating from about 1490, are a pair of 26-inch (66cm)brass effigies of a husband and wife.[7][8] A funerary hatchment dated 1860 commemorates Sir George Richard Brooke-Pechell, 4th Baronet, of the Pechell Baronetcy, who died in that year.[6][12] A bust commemorating Susan Cook, who died in 1707, has been praised as "lively" and "full of femininity".[7][8][13] A white marble sculpture created in 1841 by Francis Legatt Chantrey, commemorating Isabella Lyon (a relative of David Lyon), is considered less impressive but still of some merit.[7][8]
The parish covers a rectangular area in the southwest corner of the borough of Worthing, and includes a long, narrow strip to the northwest. The boundaries are the railway line to the north, George V Avenue to the east, the English Channel coast to the south and the borough boundary (where it adjoins the district of Arun) to the west. At the northwest corner, the parish boundary follows the borough boundary as far as its northwesternmost point at the A27/A280 road junction, and returns along Titnore Lane and Goring Street.[16]
The parish has a second church in the southeast corner. St Laurence's Church was founded as a mission chapel in 1936 to serve residential development in the Sea Place area of Goring-by-Sea. A brick-built hall served worshippers until 1962, when another hall was added next to it. This was extended in 1969.[6]
Beevers, David; Marks, Richard; Roles, John (1989). Sussex Churches and Chapels. Brighton: The Royal Pavilion, Art Gallery and Museums. ISBN0-948723-11-4.
Delorme, Mary (1987). Curious Sussex. London: Robert Hale Ltd. ISBN0-7090-2970-5.
Elleray, D. Robert (1977). Worthing: a Pictorial History. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. ISBN0-85033-263-X.
Elleray, D. Robert (1998). A Millennium Encyclopaedia of Worthing History. Worthing: Optimus Books. ISBN0-9533132-0-4.
Elleray, D. Robert (2004). Sussex Places of Worship. Worthing: Optimus Books. ISBN0-9533132-7-1.
Goring-by-Sea, commonly referred to simply as Goring, is a neighbourhood and former civil parish in Worthing in West Sussex, England. It lies west of West Worthing, about 2.5 miles (4 km) west of Worthing town centre. Historically in Sussex, in the rape of Arundel, Goring has been part of the borough of Worthing since 1929.
St Mary's Church is an Anglican church in the Kemptown area of Brighton, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. The present building dates from the late 1870s and replaced a church of the same name which suddenly collapsed while being renovated. The Gothic-style red-brick building, whose style resembles Early English revival and French Gothic revival, is now a Grade II* listed building, and remains in use despite threats of closure.
St George's Church is an Anglican church in the East Worthing area of the borough of Worthing, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. Built in 1867–68 to serve new residential development in the southeast of the town, the Decorated Gothic-style structure was extended later in the 19th century, and expanded its reach further by founding three mission halls elsewhere in Worthing. English Heritage has listed it at Grade C for its architectural and historical importance.
St Botolph's Church is an Anglican church in the Heene area of the borough of Worthing, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. It had 11th-century origins as a chapelry within the parish of West Tarring, but declined and fell into disuse by the 18th century. Neighbouring Worthing's rapid development as a seaside resort in the 19th century encouraged residential growth around the ancient village of Heene, and a new church with the same dedication was built to serve both Heene and the high-class planned estate of West Worthing. Edmund Scott's Early English Gothic-style church stands next to the fragmentary ruins of the old church, which are listed separately at Grade II.
St Mary's Church is an Anglican church in the village of Slaugham in Mid Sussex, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. The 12th- and 13th-century church, restored in the Victorian era, serves a large rural area of the Sussex Weald, covering three villages as well as the ancient settlement of Slaugham. It also controlled the church in the market town of Crawley—now one of the area's largest towns—for the first few centuries of its existence. A locally important family built a private chapel in the church in the 17th century, and a series of memorials to deceased family members are considered to be excellent examples of their type. 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.
Holy Trinity Church is an Anglican church in the centre of Hastings, a town and borough in the English county of East Sussex. It was built during the 1850s—a period when Hastings was growing rapidly as a seaside resort—by prolific and eccentric architect Samuel Sanders Teulon, who was "chief among the rogue architects of the mid-Victorian Gothic Revival". The Decorated/Early English-style church is distinguished by its opulently decorated interior and its layout on a difficult town-centre site, chosen after another location was found to be unsuitable. The church took eight years to build, and a planned tower was never added. English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
Hastings Fishermen's Museum is a museum dedicated to the fishing industry and maritime history of Hastings, a seaside town in East Sussex, England. It is housed in a former church, officially known as St Nicholas' Church and locally as The Fishermen's Church, which served the town's fishing community for nearly 100 years from 1854. After wartime damage, occupation by the military and subsequent disuse, the building was leased from the local council by a preservation society, which modified it and established a museum in it. It opened in 1956 and is now one of the most popular tourist attractions in the town and borough of Hastings. The building, a simple Gothic Revival-style stone chapel, has been listed at Grade II by English Heritage for its architectural and historical importance.
All Saints Church is an Anglican church in the hamlet of Highbrook in Mid Sussex, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. The tiny settlement, in the parish of West Hoathly, was distant from the parish church in that village; two wealthy sisters accordingly funded the construction of a new church to serve the local population. Richard H. Carpenter and Benjamin Ingelow's stone building, with a prominent spire, opened in 1884 and was allocated its own parish. The "handsome" church, designed in the 14th/15th-century style of the Gothic Revival, has been listed at Grade II by English Heritage for its architectural and historical importance.
All Saints Church is the Anglican parish church of Roffey, in the Horsham district of the English county of West Sussex. The present church, built to serve the Victorian suburb of Roffey—part of the ancient market town of Horsham—replaced a schoolroom in which religious services had been held since 1856. Arthur Blomfield's Early English-style church, built of locally quarried sandstone and funded by a widow as a memorial to her late husband, was completed in 1878 and was allocated a parish immediately. Roman Catholic services were also held in the building to serve Roffey's Catholic population, but these ceased in the early 21st century. English Heritage has listed the church 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 Jesus' companion 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.
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.
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.
St Leodegar's Church is the Anglican parish church of Hunston, a hamlet in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. The dedication—rare in England and unique in Sussex—has also been spelt St Ledger historically. A ruinous church dating from the 12th century was dismantled and rebuilt by prolific ecclesiastical architect Arthur Blomfield in 1885, but some old features were retained. The building, an Early English Gothic Revival structure of stone, was criticised by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner but was built on a "generous" budget and has some elaborate structural features such as a double belfry.
The Holy Trinity Church, Eastbourne, is an Anglican Early English-style place of worship in Eastbourne in the English county of East Sussex.
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