Christ Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
Encyclopedia
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, the original building was superseded by a much larger church built next to it between 1873 and 1875.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 (including the former parish of the now closed St Mary Magdalene's Church) 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
. English Heritage
has listed Christ Church at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
by the Middle Ages. There were seven churches by the end of the 13th century. All but two vanished by the 18th century, but after a period of decline the town grew in importance again from that time and was a fashionable resort by the 1820s. In that decade, builder and speculator James Burton
bought land immediately to the west from the Eversfield Baronets
and founded a high-class new town, designed to his specifications. St Leonards-on-Sea, which took its name from one of the ancient churches of Hastings, grew rapidly in size and popularity, rivalling its older neighbour by the mid-19th century.
The new community had two Anglican
churches of its own by 1858: Burton himself founded St Leonard's parish church in 1831, and St Mary Magdalene's Church
was built in 1858. Neither were suitable for the large numbers of poor and working-class people who had been attracted to the town to work in domestic service, shops and on the railway, or the labourers who built the town and lived there temporarily: the churches charged pew
rents and were patronised by wealthy residents and visitors. The nearest church with free sittings, the Church in the Wood
, was several miles away in Hollington village.
Countess Waldegrave
was a local benefactor who paid for many improvements to the religious and social life in Hastings and St Leonards-on-Sea in the 19th century. Holy Trinity Church
was built in central Hastings at her expense in 1857–58. Its site had been a wasteland which was home to hundreds of itinerant workers and poor people who lived in shacks; they were displaced when the church was built, and many had to move to St Leonards-on-Sea, exacerbating the problem of a lack of accommodation for worship. Lady St John (Louisa Boughton), the widow of Sir John Vaughan
and St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso
and a friend of Countess Waldegrave, was concerned by the situation, and paid for a new church for central St Leonards-on-Sea which would be free of pew rents. Built on the site of a former quarry and paid for entirely by Lady St John, Christ Church opened on 9 September 1860 and was served by clergy from St Mary Magdalene's Church. It was an Early English Gothic Revival
-style sandstone
building with a small bell-tower. Stone to build it was taken from the quarry.
Lady St John's son, Rev. Charles Lyndhurst Vaughan, became the first permanent vicar of the church in 1863 after moving from St Neots
in Cambridgeshire. Despite early opposition, particularly to his introduction of High church
Anglo-Catholic ritual and ceremony to services, he became influential and well-respected in the church and town. His early works included founding a daughter church in the newly developed Upper St Leonards in 1865—St John the Evangelist's Church
is still in use as a separate parish church—and opening church schools in 1873. In the same year, he founded a new, much larger church next to the original building. The old Christ Church was frequently full, even though St John the Evangelist's Church had provided extra capacity in the north of the town, and Vaughan believed that a 1,000-capacity building would be needed. Alexander Beresford Hope
laid the foundation stone
of the new building, which was built on derelict land adjoining the north end of the old church, on 6 November 1873—the feast day of Saint Leonard
. Construction continued throughout 1874, when the Lady chapel
, baptistery
, nave walls and clerestory
were erected, and in 1875 Vaughan decided to open the church for worship despite its incomplete state. A temporary roof was added, and work on the planned tower and spire was postponed. The designer was Sir Arthur Blomfield
, who usually worked in the Early English Gothic Revival style and designed many churches in Sussex and elsewhere. A "distinguished" and prolific architect of the Victorian era
, his other churches included All Souls in Hastings, a rebuild of St John the Evangelist's Church in Upper St Leonards, and others in central Brighton
and that town's Queen's Park
area, Roffey
, Bexhill and Worthing
. In 1875, Christ Church's magazine described Blomfield's design as "the simplest form of early Gothic". The builders were Dove & Co. of Isleworth
.
The new building was dedicated on 13 May 1875, its first day of public service. It could not be consecrated at that time, though, as debts from the building work were still outstanding. These debts, and the church itself, still therefore belonged to Fr Vaughan. All the required money was raised by October 1884, and the Bishop of Chichester
The Right Reverend Richard Durnford
conducted the consecration ceremony on 20 November 1884. Further structural additions were made during the rest of the 19th century: timber flooring and an alabaster
altar were added in 1890 and 1891 respectively, and the long-awaited tower and spire were erected soon after a building fund was started in 1888. Work began in 1894 and was completed in time for a dedication ceremony on 5 February 1895. Some of the bells and an iron cross which surmounted the spire was given as memorials by people associated with the church. In the next decade, stained glass
was installed in the clerestory windows, a new font
was acquired and the church commemorated Fr Vaughan (who had died in 1895) with a brass monument and a Calvary
. The church was extended at the west end with an organ chamber in 1919–20, although the original plans were more ambitious: a war memorial chapel, a new (and much grander) entrance and a baptistery
were intended. Designs were drawn up by an architect named Temple Moore, but the cost was found to be too great and some money already raised was donated to a fund established to build a hospital in Hastings. A memorial chapel was built within the body of the church instead, and another architect designed a reredos
, altar, marble memorial pillar and other decorative elements. It was dedicated as the Chapel of the Holy Souls on 24 April 1921. Further improvements, which opened out the interior, added a new marble floor and wooden choir stalls, and defined the sanctuary more clearly, were carried out in 1933. William Milner and Romilly Craze's work cost £850.
The church was only slightly damaged during World War II despite frequent bombing raids on St Leonards-on-Sea, although services had to be held in the Lady chapel and later in the basement vestries
. Structural defects were found after the war, though, especially in the roof; this required emergency repairs, partly covered by an anonymous donation. Most work was complete by 1951, although some of the windows were then found to be defective. During this time, many eminent visitors appeared at the church to encourage fundraising efforts and chair discussions and meetings: the well-connected rector of the time, Rev. Sir Percy Maryon-Wilson, 12th Baronet
(who inherited his title in 1944) invited friends such as Sir David Bowes-Lyon
and John Betjeman
. Maryon-Wilson, the church's longest-serving rector, died in 1964 and was commemorated by the creation of a memorial garden and the founding of a new church in the Kinondoni
district of Dar es Salaam
, Tanzania
. Also named Christ Church, it was opened in 1968.
St Mary Magdalene's Church
, which had opened nearby in 1858, was declared redundant
by the Diocese of Chichester
in 1980 and was sold to the Greek Orthodox
community. Christ Church's parish was extended to absorb the former parish of that church, and the parish legal name was changed to Christ Church and St Mary Magdalen .
building, and Arthur Blomfield
's new church was a much larger and more ambitious, although still simple, version of the same style. Built mostly of rubble and sandstone with rock and stone dressings, its plan consists of a six-bay
nave
with arcades and a clerestory
, chancel
, aisles to the north and south sides (the north aisle being apsidal
), transept
s, Lady chapel
, vestries below the body of the church (due to the slope of the land), a memorial chapel, an organ chamber, two porches, a tower and a stone spire. It is a very long and tall church, especially inside. The "impressive" buttress
ed east end faces the main London Road and has a five-light lancet window
and paired lancets below the gable
. To the northeast, the partly ashlar
-faced tower rises in four stages with an octagonal upper stage containing bells. There are also lancets, lucarne
s and stone gargoyle
carvings. The peal of eight bells were installed in 1894 and were first sounded on 23 February 1895. The floor of the bell stage is of steel and Portland stone
. The tower is of Bath Stone
with a Portland stone
roof and rises to 119+3/4 ft; the spire adds a further 64+1/2 ft, and the 9+3/4 ft cross on top takes the total height to 189 feet (57.6 m). The bells were cast by Gillett & Johnston
.
The two interior chapels are both decorated with frescoes. The Lady Chapel has a Madonna of the Magnificat, an Annunciation
and images of various female saints surrounding Jesus and Mary. The designs are attributed to Bodley
and Hare. The Chapel of the Holy Souls (war memorial chapel) features Abraham
meeting Melchizedek
and three saints defeating the Angel of Darkness. There is also a sculpture of Saint Martin
. The sanctuary also has frescoes representing an array of saints. Some were again executed by Bodley and Hare in 1908 as copies of the originals, which dated from 1883 but suffered fading.
The set of stained glass
windows is extensive and "outstanding". Most was provided by the Burlison and Grylls
and Heaton, Butler and Bayne
firms. The east window alone features images of cherub
im, the Holy Women, Apostles, Martyrs, Magi
, Archangels, Archbishops and Doctors of the early Church, Prophets, soldier-saints, seraph
im, hermits, monks and friars, all presented at the Adoration of the Heavenly Court.
on 14 September 1976. This defines it as a "particularly important" building of "more than special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 13 Grade II* listed buildings, and 535 listed buildings of all grades, in the borough of Hastings. Its former daughter church, St John the Evangelist's
, is also listed at Grade II*, as is the nearby St Peter's Church
; other churches with listed status in St Leonards-on-Sea are St Leonard's Anglican church, St Leonard's Baptist Church
, St Mary Magdalene's Church
(now Greek Orthodox
), the Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs
and the former St Leonards-on-Sea United Reformed Church
further up London Road. Each of these have the lower Grade II status.
The parish, which includes that of the former St Mary Magdalene's Church on St Margaret's Road, covers central St Leonards-on-Sea. Its boundaries are Gensing Road, Kenilworth Road, Pevensey Road, Clyde Road, London Road, Warrior Gardens, Edward Road, the railway line between St Leonards Warrior Square
and Hastings
railway stations, Falaise Road and the English Channel
coast.
Many services are offered weekly, all with a strong Anglo-Catholic
character. There is a daily Mass
, three Masses on a Sunday morning (the main Mass is preceded by the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
) and various prayer services. The Sacrament of Reconciliation
, a rite principally associated with the Roman Catholic Church, is also offered.
The original (1860) church building was converted into a parish hall, and was also used as a theological centre and for some of Christ Church School's activities. It was refurbished in 2002.
Christ Church continues to be one of the most recognisable landmarks in the town, and London Road "presents the visitor with a fascinating array of 19th-century church architecture". The old and new churches stand together, and higher up the hill to the north the former St Leonards-on-Sea United Reformed Church
(closed 2008) looks down on them. Described as one of the finest and most ambitious Nonconformist
churches in Sussex, the 1863 structure lost its distinctive spire in the Great Storm of 1987
.
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church in the town and seaside resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
of St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea is part of Hastings, East Sussex, England, lying immediately to the west of the centre. The original part of the settlement was laid out in the early 19th century as a new town: a place of elegant houses designed for the well-off; it also included a central public garden, a...
, part of the Borough
Borough status in the United Kingdom
Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...
of Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
in East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, 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
St Mary Magdalene's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
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...
, the original building was superseded by a much larger church built next to it between 1873 and 1875. Prolific ecclesiastical architect Sir Arthur Blomfield
Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect.-Background:The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College,...
's simple Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
design forms a landmark on one of St Leonards-on-Sea's main roads, continues to serve a large area of the town (including the former parish of the now closed St Mary Magdalene's Church) and maintains a strong Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
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
St John the Evangelist's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
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...
, founded as a daughter church nearby in 1865, also continues to thrive as a separate parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
. English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
has listed Christ Church at Grade II* for its architectural and historical importance.
History
The seaside town of Hastings, founded in the 8th century, developed as an important trading hub, ecclesiastical centre and the chief Cinque PortCinque Ports
The Confederation of Cinque Ports is a historic series of coastal towns in Kent and Sussex. It was originally formed for military and trade purposes, but is now entirely ceremonial. It lies at the eastern end of the English Channel, where the crossing to the continent is narrowest...
by the Middle Ages. There were seven churches by the end of the 13th century. All but two vanished by the 18th century, but after a period of decline the town grew in importance again from that time and was a fashionable resort by the 1820s. In that decade, builder and speculator James Burton
James Burton (1761–1837)
James Burton was a builder and developer, responsible for large areas of Bloomsbury and the houses around Regent's Park in London. He later founded the new town of St Leonards-on-Sea, which is now part of the built-up area of Hastings...
bought land immediately to the west from the Eversfield Baronets
Eversfield Baronets
The Fermor, later Eversfield Baronetcy, of Welches in the County of Suffolk and of Sevenoak in the County of Kent, was a title in the Baronetage of Great Britain. It was created on 4 May 1725 for Henry Fermor, with remainder in default of male issue of his own to Charles Eversfield, of Denne Park,...
and founded a high-class new town, designed to his specifications. St Leonards-on-Sea, which took its name from one of the ancient churches of Hastings, grew rapidly in size and popularity, rivalling its older neighbour by the mid-19th century.
The new community had two Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
churches of its own by 1858: Burton himself founded St Leonard's parish church in 1831, and St Mary Magdalene's Church
St Mary Magdalene's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
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...
was built in 1858. Neither were suitable for the large numbers of poor and working-class people who had been attracted to the town to work in domestic service, shops and on the railway, or the labourers who built the town and lived there temporarily: the churches charged pew
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
rents and were patronised by wealthy residents and visitors. The nearest church with free sittings, the Church in the Wood
Church in the Wood, Hollington
Church in the Wood, officially known as St Leonard's Church and originally as St Rumbold's Church, is an Anglican church in the Hollington area of the town and borough of Hastings, one of six local government districts in the English county of East Sussex...
, was several miles away in Hollington village.
Countess Waldegrave
Sarah Waldegrave, Countess Waldegrave
Sarah Waldegrave, Countess Waldegrave was a British philanthropist.Sarah Whitear was born in 1787, the daughter of Rev. William Whitear, a prebendary of Chichester, at Hastings Old Town Rectory. She later married Edward Milward, who later served as Mayor of Hastings several times and she inherited...
was a local benefactor who paid for many improvements to the religious and social life in Hastings and St Leonards-on-Sea in the 19th century. Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church, Hastings
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...
was built in central Hastings at her expense in 1857–58. Its site had been a wasteland which was home to hundreds of itinerant workers and poor people who lived in shacks; they were displaced when the church was built, and many had to move to St Leonards-on-Sea, exacerbating the problem of a lack of accommodation for worship. Lady St John (Louisa Boughton), the widow of Sir John Vaughan
John Vaughan (puisne judge)
Sir John Vaughan PC was an English judge.Vaughan was born at Leicester, the third but second surviving son of Dr. James Vaughan a physician at Leicester, and his wife, Hester née Smalley. He was called to the bar in June 1791. In 1816 he became King's Serjeant and in 1827 he became Baron of...
and St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso
St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso
St Andrew St John, 14th Baron St John of Bletso PC FRS was an English politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1780 until 1806 when he inherited a peerage....
and a friend of Countess Waldegrave, was concerned by the situation, and paid for a new church for central St Leonards-on-Sea which would be free of pew rents. Built on the site of a former quarry and paid for entirely by Lady St John, Christ Church opened on 9 September 1860 and was served by clergy from St Mary Magdalene's Church. It was an Early English Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
-style sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
building with a small bell-tower. Stone to build it was taken from the quarry.
Lady St John's son, Rev. Charles Lyndhurst Vaughan, became the first permanent vicar of the church in 1863 after moving from St Neots
St Neots
St Neots is a town and civil parish with a population of 26,356 people. It lies on the River Great Ouse in Huntingdonshire District, approximately north of central London, and is the largest town in Cambridgeshire . The town is named after the Cornish monk St...
in Cambridgeshire. Despite early opposition, particularly to his introduction of High church
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
Anglo-Catholic ritual and ceremony to services, he became influential and well-respected in the church and town. His early works included founding a daughter church in the newly developed Upper St Leonards in 1865—St John the Evangelist's Church
St John the Evangelist's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
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...
is still in use as a separate parish church—and opening church schools in 1873. In the same year, he founded a new, much larger church next to the original building. The old Christ Church was frequently full, even though St John the Evangelist's Church had provided extra capacity in the north of the town, and Vaughan believed that a 1,000-capacity building would be needed. Alexander Beresford Hope
Alexander Beresford Hope
Sir Alexander James Beresford Beresford Hope PC , known as Alexander Hope until 1854 Sir Alexander James Beresford Beresford Hope PC (25 January 1820 – 20 October 1887), known as Alexander Hope until 1854 Sir Alexander James Beresford Beresford Hope PC (25 January 1820 – 20 October 1887), known as...
laid the foundation stone
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
of the new building, which was built on derelict land adjoining the north end of the old church, on 6 November 1873—the feast day of Saint Leonard
Leonard of Noblac
Leonard of Noblac or of Limoges or de Noblet , is a Frankish saint closely associated with the town and abbey of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, in Haute-Vienne, in the Limousin of France.-Traditional biography:According to the romance that...
. Construction continued throughout 1874, when the Lady chapel
Lady chapel
A Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
, baptistery
Baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistry or baptistery is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistry may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel...
, nave walls and clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
were erected, and in 1875 Vaughan decided to open the church for worship despite its incomplete state. A temporary roof was added, and work on the planned tower and spire was postponed. The designer was Sir Arthur Blomfield
Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect.-Background:The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College,...
, who usually worked in the Early English Gothic Revival style and designed many churches in Sussex and elsewhere. A "distinguished" and prolific architect of the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
, his other churches included All Souls in Hastings, a rebuild of St John the Evangelist's Church in Upper St Leonards, and others in central Brighton
Chapel Royal, Brighton
The Chapel Royal is an 18th-century place of worship in the centre of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Built as a chapel of ease, it became one of Brighton's most important churches, gaining its own parish and becoming closely associated with the Prince Regent and...
and that town's Queen's Park
St Luke's Church, Queen's Park, Brighton
St Luke's Church is an Anglican church in the Queen's Park area of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. Occupying a large corner site on Queen's Park Road, it was designed in the 1880s by Sir Arthur Blomfield in the Early English style, and has been given listed building status...
area, Roffey
All Saints Church, Roffey
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...
, Bexhill and Worthing
St Andrew's Church, Worthing
St Andrew's Church is an Anglican church in Worthing, West Sussex, England. Built between 1885 and 1886 in the Early English Gothic style by Sir Arthur Blomfield, "one of the last great Gothic revivalists", the church was embroiled in controversy as soon as it was founded...
. In 1875, Christ Church's magazine described Blomfield's design as "the simplest form of early Gothic". The builders were Dove & Co. of Isleworth
Isleworth
Isleworth is a small town of Saxon origin sited within the London Borough of Hounslow in west London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane. Isleworth's original area of settlement, alongside the Thames, is known as...
.
The new building was dedicated on 13 May 1875, its first day of public service. It could not be consecrated at that time, though, as debts from the building work were still outstanding. These debts, and the church itself, still therefore belonged to Fr Vaughan. All the required money was raised by October 1884, and the Bishop of Chichester
Bishop of Chichester
The Bishop of Chichester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the Counties of East and West Sussex. The see is in the City of Chichester where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity...
The Right Reverend Richard Durnford
Richard Durnford
The Rt Rev Richard Durnford was the Bishop of Chichester from 1870 to 1895.He was born in Newbury, Berkshire into an ecclesiastical family . He was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford and ordained in 1831. From 1833 he was Rector of Middleton, Lancashire and then its Rural Dean...
conducted the consecration ceremony on 20 November 1884. Further structural additions were made during the rest of the 19th century: timber flooring and an alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
altar were added in 1890 and 1891 respectively, and the long-awaited tower and spire were erected soon after a building fund was started in 1888. Work began in 1894 and was completed in time for a dedication ceremony on 5 February 1895. Some of the bells and an iron cross which surmounted the spire was given as memorials by people associated with the church. In the next decade, stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
was installed in the clerestory windows, a new font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
was acquired and the church commemorated Fr Vaughan (who had died in 1895) with a brass monument and a Calvary
Calvary (sculpture)
A calvary is a type of monumental public crucifix, sometimes encased in an open shrine, most commonly found across northern France from Brittany east and through Belgium and equally familiar as wayside structures provided with minimal sheltering roofs in Italy and Spain...
. The church was extended at the west end with an organ chamber in 1919–20, although the original plans were more ambitious: a war memorial chapel, a new (and much grander) entrance and a baptistery
Baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistry or baptistery is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistry may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel...
were intended. Designs were drawn up by an architect named Temple Moore, but the cost was found to be too great and some money already raised was donated to a fund established to build a hospital in Hastings. A memorial chapel was built within the body of the church instead, and another architect designed a reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
, altar, marble memorial pillar and other decorative elements. It was dedicated as the Chapel of the Holy Souls on 24 April 1921. Further improvements, which opened out the interior, added a new marble floor and wooden choir stalls, and defined the sanctuary more clearly, were carried out in 1933. William Milner and Romilly Craze's work cost £850.
The church was only slightly damaged during World War II despite frequent bombing raids on St Leonards-on-Sea, although services had to be held in the Lady chapel and later in the basement vestries
Vestry
A vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
. Structural defects were found after the war, though, especially in the roof; this required emergency repairs, partly covered by an anonymous donation. Most work was complete by 1951, although some of the windows were then found to be defective. During this time, many eminent visitors appeared at the church to encourage fundraising efforts and chair discussions and meetings: the well-connected rector of the time, Rev. Sir Percy Maryon-Wilson, 12th Baronet
Maryon-Wilson Baronets
The Wilson, later Maryon-Wilson Baronetcy, of Eastbourne in the County of Sussex, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 4 March 1661 for William Wilson. The sixth Baronet sat as Member of Parliament for Sussex. The eleventh Baronet assumed the additional surname of Maryon in...
(who inherited his title in 1944) invited friends such as Sir David Bowes-Lyon
David Bowes-Lyon
Sir David Bowes-Lyon KCVO was the sixth son of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and Cecilia Nina Cavendish-Bentinck...
and John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
. Maryon-Wilson, the church's longest-serving rector, died in 1964 and was commemorated by the creation of a memorial garden and the founding of a new church in the Kinondoni
Kinondoni
Kinondoni District is the northernmost of three districts in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the others being Temeke and Ilala . To the east is the Indian Ocean, to the north and west the Pwani Region of Tanzania. The 2002 Tanzanian National Census showed that the population of Kinondoni was 1,083,913...
district of Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. Also named Christ Church, it was opened in 1968.
St Mary Magdalene's Church
St Mary Magdalene's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
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...
, which had opened nearby in 1858, was declared redundant
Redundant church
A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...
by the Diocese of Chichester
Diocese of Chichester
The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It was created in 1075 to replace the old Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey from 681. The cathedral is Chichester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Chichester...
in 1980 and was sold to the Greek Orthodox
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
community. Christ Church's parish was extended to absorb the former parish of that church, and the parish legal name was changed to Christ Church and St Mary Magdalen .
Architecture
The original church of 1860 was a sandstone-built Early English Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
building, and Arthur Blomfield
Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect.-Background:The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College,...
's new church was a much larger and more ambitious, although still simple, version of the same style. Built mostly of rubble and sandstone with rock and stone dressings, its plan consists of a six-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with arcades and a clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
, chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
, aisles to the north and south sides (the north aisle being apsidal
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
), transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
s, Lady chapel
Lady chapel
A Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
, vestries below the body of the church (due to the slope of the land), a memorial chapel, an organ chamber, two porches, a tower and a stone spire. It is a very long and tall church, especially inside. The "impressive" buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
ed east end faces the main London Road and has a five-light lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
and paired lancets below the gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
. To the northeast, the partly ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
-faced tower rises in four stages with an octagonal upper stage containing bells. There are also lancets, lucarne
Lucarne
A lucarne is a small dormer window that is built on a spire or roof during the Gothic and Romanesque time period....
s and stone gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
carvings. The peal of eight bells were installed in 1894 and were first sounded on 23 February 1895. The floor of the bell stage is of steel and Portland stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
. The tower is of Bath Stone
Bath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
with a Portland stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
roof and rises to 119+3/4 ft; the spire adds a further 64+1/2 ft, and the 9+3/4 ft cross on top takes the total height to 189 feet (57.6 m). The bells were cast by Gillett & Johnston
Gillett & Johnston
Gillett and Johnston is a clock and formerly bell manufacturing business in Croydon, England.-History:William Gillett started a clock making business on Union Road in Croydon, England in 1844. Charles Bland became a partner in 1854 and the company became known as Gillet and Bland. In 1877, Arthur...
.
The two interior chapels are both decorated with frescoes. The Lady Chapel has a Madonna of the Magnificat, an Annunciation
Annunciation
The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...
and images of various female saints surrounding Jesus and Mary. The designs are attributed to Bodley
George Frederick Bodley
George Frederick Bodley was an English architect working in the Gothic revival style.-Personal life:Bodley was the youngest son of William Hulme Bodley, M.D. of Edinburgh, physician at Hull Royal Infirmary, Kingston upon Hull, who in 1838 retired to his wife's home town, Brighton, Sussex, England....
and Hare. The Chapel of the Holy Souls (war memorial chapel) features Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
meeting Melchizedek
Melchizedek
Melchizedek or Malki Tzedek translated as "my king righteous") is a king and priest mentioned during the Abram narrative in the 14th chapter of the Book of Genesis....
and three saints defeating the Angel of Darkness. There is also a sculpture of Saint Martin
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
. The sanctuary also has frescoes representing an array of saints. Some were again executed by Bodley and Hare in 1908 as copies of the originals, which dated from 1883 but suffered fading.
The set of stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows is extensive and "outstanding". Most was provided by the Burlison and Grylls
Burlison and Grylls
Burlison and Grylls is the name of an English company who produced stained glass windows from 1868 onwards.The company of Burlison and Grylls was founded in 1868 at the instigation of the architects George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner. Both John Burlison and Thomas Grylls had trained in the...
and Heaton, Butler and Bayne
Heaton, Butler and Bayne
Heaton, Butler and Bayne is the name of an English firm who produced stained glass windows from 1855 onwards.-History:Clement Heaton originally founded his own stained glass firm in 1852, joined by James Butler in 1855. Between 1859-61 they worked alongside Clayton and Bell and were joined by...
firms. The east window alone features images of cherub
Cherub
A cherub is a type of spiritual being mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and cited later on in the Christian biblical canons, usually associated with the presence of God...
im, the Holy Women, Apostles, Martyrs, Magi
Biblical Magi
The Magi Greek: μάγοι, magoi), also referred to as the Wise Men, Kings, Astrologers, or Kings from the East, were a group of distinguished foreigners who were said to have visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh...
, Archangels, Archbishops and Doctors of the early Church, Prophets, soldier-saints, seraph
Seraph
A seraph is a type of celestial being in Judaism and Christianity...
im, hermits, monks and friars, all presented at the Adoration of the Heavenly Court.
The church today
Christ Church was listed at Grade II* by English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
on 14 September 1976. This defines it as a "particularly important" building of "more than special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 13 Grade II* listed buildings, and 535 listed buildings of all grades, in the borough of Hastings. Its former daughter church, St John the Evangelist's
St John the Evangelist's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
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...
, is also listed at Grade II*, as is the nearby St Peter's Church
St Peter's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
St Peter's Church is an Anglican church in the Bohemia area of the town and seaside resort of , 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...
; other churches with listed status in St Leonards-on-Sea are St Leonard's Anglican church, St Leonard's Baptist Church
St Leonard's Baptist Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
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...
, St Mary Magdalene's Church
St Mary Magdalene's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
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...
(now Greek Orthodox
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
), the Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs
Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs, St Leonards-on-Sea
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...
and the former St Leonards-on-Sea United Reformed Church
St Leonards-on-Sea United Reformed Church
St Leonards-on-Sea United Reformed Church is a former United Reformed church in St Leonards-on-Sea, part of the town and borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England...
further up London Road. Each of these have the lower Grade II status.
The parish, which includes that of the former St Mary Magdalene's Church on St Margaret's Road, covers central St Leonards-on-Sea. Its boundaries are Gensing Road, Kenilworth Road, Pevensey Road, Clyde Road, London Road, Warrior Gardens, Edward Road, the railway line between St Leonards Warrior Square
St Leonards Warrior Square railway station
St Leonards Warrior Square railway station is one of four railway stations serving Hastings in East Sussex, England. It is on the Hastings Line and the East Coastway Line, and train services are provided by Southeastern and Southern.- History :...
and Hastings
Hastings railway station
Hastings railway station is in Hastings in East Sussex, England. It is situated on the Hastings Line to Tunbridge Wells, the East Coastway Line to Brighton and the Marshlink Line to Ashford International....
railway stations, Falaise Road and the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
coast.
Many services are offered weekly, all with a strong Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
character. There is a daily Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
, three Masses on a Sunday morning (the main Mass is preceded by the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
Eucharistic adoration
Eucharistic adoration is a practice in the Roman Catholic Church, and in a few Anglican and Lutheran churches, in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed to and adored by the faithful....
) and various prayer services. The Sacrament of Reconciliation
Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)
In the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is the method by which individual men and women may be freed from sins committed after receiving the sacrament of Baptism...
, a rite principally associated with the Roman Catholic Church, is also offered.
The original (1860) church building was converted into a parish hall, and was also used as a theological centre and for some of Christ Church School's activities. It was refurbished in 2002.
Christ Church continues to be one of the most recognisable landmarks in the town, and London Road "presents the visitor with a fascinating array of 19th-century church architecture". The old and new churches stand together, and higher up the hill to the north the former St Leonards-on-Sea United Reformed Church
St Leonards-on-Sea United Reformed Church
St Leonards-on-Sea United Reformed Church is a former United Reformed church in St Leonards-on-Sea, part of the town and borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England...
(closed 2008) looks down on them. Described as one of the finest and most ambitious Nonconformist
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
churches in Sussex, the 1863 structure lost its distinctive spire in the Great Storm of 1987
Great Storm of 1987
The Great Storm of 1987 occurred on the night of 15/16 October 1987, when an unusually strong weather system caused winds to hit much of southern England and northern France...
.