St Leonards-on-Sea: St Peter & St Paul
Overview
Grid reference: TQ 803 99
A large Victorian Gothic church of red brick with no tower, but some townscape value due to its mass and street corner location. The church was completed in 1885, designed by James Brooks, one of the most distinguished early Gothic Revival church architects, to serve the new terraces being built here. This church is mostly designed in the Early English style with elements of Brooks’ normal favoured early French Gothic, more obvious on the original unfulfilled design.
Visiting and facilities
Building is closed for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
5-bay aisled nave and 3-bay chancel in one; south porch. South chapel, octagonal north-west baptistery, north transept with vestry and organ chamber above and porch.
Dimensions:
Nave 26m (90ft) x 10m (35ft).
Description of Archaeology and History
Bohemia House (now Summerfield Park) near to the church was recorded in the Domesday Book, meaning that the area has some archaeological potential.
From the Hastings News of 10/08/1883: “Lady Brassey laid the foundation stone of the new St Peter’s Church, at the top of Chapel Park Road, just before its junction with Bohemia Road, on Saturday 4 August. The contractor was John Howell, and building costs (excluding site) would be more than £10,000. It was paid for through the munificence of an unknown lady member (later identified as Miss Blanche E Elliott, who gave ₤14,300) of the congregation of St Paul’s Church in nearby Church Road. The style was Early English, with red bricks specially made at Maidenhead, and the terminal stones would be Doulton. The nave would be 90 feet long, and the apex of the roof 78 feet high”.
The church was completed in 1885, designed by James Brooks, one of the most distinguished early Gothic Revival church architects, to serve the new terraces being built here. He set up his own practice in London in 1851. He designed the extraordinary church of St Columba, Kingsland Road (Hackney), in 1868 as well as numerous other notable churches. His ambitious and in some respects similar design for this church survives, which included a tall fleche and turreted transepts which were never realised as funds ran out. Harry Hems was commissioned to carve the reredos and chancel screen.
The parish was amalgamated with that of St Paul, the mother church, in the 1960s when this was demolished. Some time after this the roofs were re-covered in asbestos slates. The glazing from the chancel to the Lady Chapel must also be of around this time.
Exterior Description
This church is mostly designed in the Early English style with elements of Brooks' normal favoured early French Gothic, more obvious on the original unfulfilled design. The tall nave and chancel in one with steep-pitched roof and subservient low aisles allow for a tall clearstorey with unusually large 2-light plate tracery windows, with small paired lancets to the aisles.
The west end has a gabled portal in a wide moulded arch containing two small cusped-head doorways below a quatrefoil light in the tympanum, 2-light pointed windows above. Gabled south-west porch with moulded pointed arched doorway of several orders with small statue of St Peter in a niche above. Polygonal north-west baptistry with spired roof and 2-light pointed windows. North transept with double gables with 2-light pointed windows and circular corner turret, lean-to porch with pointed west entrance.
The roof od the Lady Chapel soars above the south aisle almost to the eaves of the chancel, with two correspondingly shorter clearstorey windows. The chapel has three lancets and a 2-light east of a gabled pointed doorway, and a 3-light east window with Decorated tracery. The chancel east wall is pierced by a large 5-light east window of stepped lancets.
Building Fabric and Features
Nave
19th century 5-bay aisled nave
Chancel
19th century 3-bay chancel
Porch
19th century south porch
Chapel (component)
19th century south chapel
Baptistery
19th century octagonal north west baptistery
Transept
19th century north transept with vestry and organ chamber above
Vestry
19th century vestry above north transept
Organ Loft
19th century above north transept
Building Materials
Brick
19th century red brick
Stone
19th century Doulton stone dressings
Slate
20th century asbestos slate roof
Interior
Interior Description
The inner porch takes up the west bay of the south aisle, the doors have good ironwork. The internal arch has an architectural surround. The interior is very austere, with bare brick walls and stained glass throughout. Arcades with plain pointed arches under a continuous stone hoodmould carried on stone columns with almost cushion capitals, except with inverted pyramids at the corners. Boarded barrel roofs with tie-beams and king-posts, the sanctuary and baptistery with stone lierne ribs. The nave has modern chairs on woodblock floors with carpet down the central alley and in the chancel, encaustic tiles in the baptistery and sanctuary. There is a nave altar.
South Lady chapel with beech-framed chairs. Chest altar and Crucifix in front of large north vestry, accessed through a wooden screen with glazed ironwork in the arched head. Within the north-east corner is a toilet in the porch and doorway to spiral staircase in turret to organ loft, the pipes displayed high in the north chancel wall.
High chancel arch on colonettes, framing the Alabaster chancel screen with integral pulpit and lectern by Hems and iron gates, good. 2-bay stone arcades with clustered piers, good ironwork quatrefoil glazed screen on the north side, glazing on the south to the chapel. Good choir stalls with arcaded backs. 3-bay stone Early English sedilia and piscina. Fine alabaster reredos by Hems, the chancel walls faced with stone.
Fixtures and fittings
Reredos
19th century Huge carved alabaster reredos with fully clothed crucifix (the Volto Santo) flanked by two angels against an architectural frame, by Harry Hems.
Altar
19th century Oak altar chest with paintings of Christ flanked by the Four Evangelists, Big Six. Wooden chests to Lady Chapel and north aisle.
Pulpit
19th century Carved marble and alabaster pulpit, semi-circular projection from screen with open quatrefoils.
Lectern
19th century Simple carved alabaster.
Font (component)
19th century Carved alabaster font on squat marble columns, raised up by several steps.
Stained Glass (window)
19th / 20th century Fine east window with tiers of Saints with Christ in Glory at the top and St George below him (a World War I memorial?), also stained glass in the aisles with figures of saints and the Nativity in the Lady Chapel, an early 20th-century scheme by Jones & Willis of London. Baptistery stained glass with baptism themes by Lavers, Barraud and Westlake, signed N-W, good. Also by them the quatrefoil “Feed my Sheep” above the west portal?
Plaque (component)
19th century several brass plaques
Organ (component)
19th century 3-manual organ by Forster & Andrews, 1887, rebuilt and augmented with solo trumpet by Morgan & Smith in the 1950s.
Portable Furnishings and Artworks
Registers of baptisms and marriages from 1885.
Churchyard
Grid reference: TQ 803 99
Burial and War Grave Information
It is unknown whether the building is consecrated.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has been used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard is used for burial.
It is unknown whether the churchyard has war graves.
National Heritage record for England designations
There are no records of National Heritage assets within the curtilage of this site.
Environment
Ancient, Veteran & Notable Trees
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
There are no records of Ancient, Veteran or Notable Trees within the curtilage of this site.
Renewables
| Renewable | Installed |
|---|---|
| Solar PV Panels | No |
| Solar Thermal Panels | No |
| Biomass | No |
| Wind Turbine | No |
| Air Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ground Source Heat Pump | No |
| Ev Charging | No |
Species summary
There are no records of species within the curtilage of this site.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
'Seek advice' Species
More information on species and action to be taken upon discovery.
Caring for God's Acre is a conservation charity working to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy the wildlife and heritage treasures found within churchyards and other burial grounds. Look on their website for information and advice and please contact their staff directly. They can help you manage this churchyard for people and wildlife.
To learn more about all the species recorded against this church, go to the Burial Ground Portal within the NBN Atlas. You can check the spread of records through the years, discovering what has been recorded and when, plus what discoveries might remain to be uncovered.
Further information
Sources
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