St Leonards-on-Sea United Reformed Church
| St Leonards-on-Sea Congregational Church | |
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The church from the east
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| 50°51′17″N 0°33′33″E / 50.8548°N 0.5591°ECoordinates: 50°51′17″N 0°33′33″E / 50.8548°N 0.5591°E | |
| Location | London Road/Pevensey Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Congregational Federation |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | St Leonards Congregational Church |
| Founded | 1863 |
| Founder(s) | James Griffin |
| Consecrated | 1864 |
| Events |
1864: Opened as St Leonards-on-Sea Congregational Church 1987: Building damaged in the Great Storm 2002: Last service 2008: Officially closed |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Church |
| Functional status | Disused |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 10 September 2003 |
| Architect(s) | Edward Habershon but credited to William Habershon |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1863 |
| Completed | 1864 |
| Closed | 2008 |
| Specifications | |
| Number of spires | 1 (until 1987) |
| Materials | Local sandstone |
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 is having full renovations before it reopens to the public in early 2014.
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.
James Burton, a London-based builder and speculator who had executed large-scale developments in North London before moving to Tunbridge Wells in Kent, 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. 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 until it was destroyed between 1404 and 1428. 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.
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