Eastbourne: St Elizabeth
Overview
Grid reference: TQ 590 5
The church is a large-scale exercise in the rather forbidding style which some architects used between the wars to blend modernistic forms with traditional gothic details. The foundation stone was laid by Princess, Alice, Countess of Athlone, on 2nd October 1935, and the church was consecrated by Bishop Bell of Chichester towards the end of February 1938.
Visiting and facilities
Building is open for worship
Building
Ground Plan Description and Dimensions
Ground plan:
Nave of five bays with passage aisles, two-storeyed transepts opening from the broader eastern bays; porches at the west end of each aisle and against the west wall of each transept. Chancel with north chapel and south staircase and vestry, the staircase giving access to the room called the library on the upper floor of the south transept and to a chapel in the crypt below the chancel.
Dimensions:
Nave and chancel 137'½ft by 33½ft; transepts 19ft by 22½ft; aisles 4½ft wide; crypt chapel 46ft by 34ft.
Footprint of Church buildings: 848 m²
Description of Archaeology and History
The church was built to the designs of Peter D Stonham & Son and Fenning, architects, of Eastbourne, with Tatchell and Wilson of London acting as consultant architects. The builders were Mark Martin & Son of Eastbourne and the Quantity Surveyor was S.C. Addison of Eastbourne. The foundation stone was laid by Princess, Alice, Countess of Athlone, on 2nd October 1935, and the church was consecrated by Bishop Bell of Chichester towards the end of February 1938. During the War the roof was stripped by blast and the church suffered other damage. War damage repairs were carried out by W A Forsyth and the church was re-hallowed in June 1950.
Exterior Description
The church is a large-scale exercise in the rather forbidding style which some architects used between the wars to blend modernistic forms with traditional gothic details. It owes not a little to the work of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, whose church of St. Peter, Luton, is in a similar vein. Set on a prominent site, this church needs no tower to proclaim its presence; the sheer bulk of the building has a notable impact on the townscape even from a considerable distance.
The nave and chancel are roofed together under one long hipped roof set within a parapet, and form in effect one great rectangular box round which the subsidiary elements in the form of aisles, transepts and porches cluster. The walls are sheer, the east and west walls rising unbroken from the ground to the parapet and the north and south walls similar but with off-sets just below the parapet. The east wall is completely blind save for five lights for the crypt chapel at the foot and the foundation stone above them. There is no east window.
The west wall has a doorway under a pointed arch of receding orders of brickwork set under a projecting gable of the proportions of a pediment which is so often a feature of architecture at this date. The buttresses at each side have the same profile as the north and south walls of the church, rising sheer until almost at the top, where there are two set-offsets. There is a relatively small west window of two lights with a pair of mouchettes above an ogee head to each main light and a pointed quatrefoil between.
This is the standard design for windows in the upper part of the church and is used in the north and south walls of the nave and chancel (three pairs in the nave and two in the chancel). They are glazed with "crown" glass with feathery designs in the leading of the tracery. The side walls of the nave have low passage aisles masking the lower parts, with severely rectilinear porches at the west end and at the east end against the transepts. The oak doors have good bronze door-furniture of simple post-Arts-and-Crafts inspiration. Above the aisles tall buttresses with three set-offs closely spaced near the top mark the bays.
The transepts fall short of the parapet and have pediment-proportioned gables north and south and rectangular windows of five lights in the lower part to light the transepts. The upper part of the north transept, approached by a stair in a projection against the west face, forms the organ chamber and has no windows. The inner part of the south transept, forming a room called the library, has a three-light window facing south, and the turret on the west side contains one bell in an arch rising above the parapet.
The chancel has two windows in the north and south walls like those in the nave and below these on the north a small chapel with blind rectangular windows (intended to be open) in the north wall and a circular window with a cross-transom in the east wall. Below this a doorway leads into a lobby for the crypt chapel. The vestry on the south side has windows of grouped rectangular lights and between this and the transept there is a staircase giving access to the crypt below and the library above. The eastern angles of the church have diagonal buttresses.
Building Fabric and Features
Nave
20th century 5 bays with passage aisles
Transept
20th century 2-storey
Porch
20th century west end of each aisle
Chancel
20th century
Chapel (component)
20th century north side of chancel
Vestry
20th century south side of chancel
Staircase
20th century to library above and crypt below
Crypt
20th century below chancel
Building Materials
Brick
20th century walls
Stone
20th century window tracery
Tile
20th century roofing
Interior
Interior Description
The interior of the church likewise is chiefly one large rectangular room with subsidiary spaces forming the aisles, porches, transepts (at two levels), north chapel and south vestry. The floor is paved with woodblock in the nave and slopes from west to east. The walls are plastered and whitened, and exposed stone dressings in cream coloured stones are limited to vertical bands marking the bays of the nave and the responds and voussoirs of the plain arches opening into the aisles and transepts.
These are uniform towards the aisles and slightly larger towards the lower parts of the transepts. Arches of similar proportions open into the upper parts of the transepts. The arches at the lower level, to aisles and transepts, are provided with a hollow chamfer rising continuously from the floor to the apex. The windows of the aisles are set within shallowly recessed arches and the aisle bays are marked by transverse arches. The nave is ceiled with a boarded canted ceiling with off-white panels divided by moulded ribs painted red and relieved with stencilled gold stars.
There is no structural division between nave and chancel, and the roof continues unbroken above both. The division is only marked by a change in rhythm in the side walls (in the chancel the windows are closer together and undivided by vertical stone strips) and by the raising of the floor by three shallow steps within a low stone screen on a polished grey-green marble plinth incorporating two ambos which form the pulpit and lectern. The floor is paved with polished grey travertine marble and there is one further step at the communion rails and a footpace of darker stone standing free of the west wall.
An arch on the north opening into the chapel is filled by an iron screen and a recent timber partition and the arch between the chapel and the lower part of the north transept is similarly treated. Because of the lack of windows (only the small east window, and that is filled with the only stained glass in the building) the chapel is very dark. The east window has a figure of Christ carved in relief on the mullion and transom. The arch on the south side frames the detached organ console. Beyond it lies the staircase giving access to the crypt and the upper room in the south transept, and this has typical detailing of the period with parallel iron bars and a chromium plated rail. The upper arches of each transept are provided with small galleries almost like theatre boxes. The bell is rung from a small room beside the south transept with a glazed lancet giving a view of the high altar.
The chapel in the crypt is of no architectural interest, but is enriched by a series of wallpaintings by Hans Feibusch which date from the early years of his time in this country. It has a woodblock floor and no furnishings of special interest. The furnishings throughout the church, including such items as the altar ornaments, dossal, light fittings, pews and most of the woodwork is original, and as such of considerable interest as a virtually unaltered example of the style of the period.
Fixtures and fittings
Altar
20th century Of oak, long in relation to its depth, probably original (c1938) but of no particular interest. Oak altar of the same date in the north chapel.
Reredos
20th century The reredos takes the form of a dossal of fabric suspended from a tester with a cornice enriched with florets and cresting; the dossal has three tall panels of grey and blue woven in a design of lozenges divided by strips of gold and the curtains at each side and round the walls of the sanctuary are of the same design but in fawn and silver.
Pulpit
20th century Of stone, simply a front with canted sides with raised rectangles in relief on each face.
Lectern
20th century Forms a pair to the pulpit.
Font (component)
20th century Hexagonal, set on two steps, with raised rectangles on each face; the oak cover has a shallow dome.
Stained Glass (window)
20th century Only the circular east window of the Lady Chapel, with its cross-shaped stone tracery, contains stained glass; this depicts the childhood of Samuel, David, Isaac and Joseph; by Goddard and Gibbs, 1950.
Inscribed Object
20th century Monuments To The Revd Spencer Hugh Hamilton, incumbent 1941-51; grey stone tablet with blue incised lettering. To The Revd Fenby Edwards Parkhouse, incumbent 1955-1958; similar. Tablet on the west wall recording that "This church was erected to the Glory of God by Eliza Watson late of Leahurst, Carlisle Road, Eastbourne, and in loving memory of Thomas Clarke and William Clarke, her brothers, and of Amy Watson her dearly loved daughter".
Organ (component)
20th century A three-manual instrument with electric action and a detached console, the pipework being in the upper level of the north transept and the console on the south side of the choirstalls; the console was locked, but it is probably by a firm such as Compton.
Stall
20th century The clergy stalls, choirstalls and pairs are of similar design, all of c1932, with pale seats and ends outlined by roll-mouldings stained dark; all oak, and obviously very expensive though not especially beautiful.
Rail
20th century The communion rails are of iron with panelled uprights set with shields containing symbols such as Alpha and Omega, Chi-Rho, IHS; the rail is moulded, of brass; altogether very good, presumably of c1948.
Portable Furnishings and Artworks
Registers date from 1933.
Churchyard
Grid reference: TQ 590 5
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.
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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