Question: Who directed the development of the Eastbourne town that is home to Beamsley Methodist Church ?

text: List of places of worship in Eastbourne
Closed or disused places of worship

The borough of Eastbourne, one of six local government districts in the English county of East Sussex, has around 40 extant churches and other places of worship. Several other former places of worship are still in existence but are no longer in religious use. The borough is on the English Channel coast and encompasses the town of Eastbourne and its suburbs. Until the late 18th century, the area was mostly farmland punctuated by four well-spread hamlets; but a fashionable seaside resort gradually developed from about 1780, based on a combination of royal patronage, a good climate, railway connections and the demands of rich visitors. Church-building rapidly followed; and although the town lacks the range of worthwhile Victorian churches found in seaside resorts such as Brighton and Bournemouth, a wide variety of architectural themes and denominations are represented. Most residents of Eastbourne identify themselves as Christian, and churches representing many Christian denominations exist in the town. The largest number of these, including the town's oldest church, belong to the Church of England, the country's officially established church. Several Nonconformist and Roman Catholic churches were founded in the 19th century, while new churches were established on housing estates such as The Hydneye and Langney as the town grew inland. There are also Jewish and Muslim places of worship. Historic England or its predecessor English Heritage have awarded listed status to several current and former church buildings in Eastbourne. A building is defined as listed when it is placed on a statutory register of buildings of special architectural or historic interest in accordance with the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, a Government department, is responsible for this; Historic England, a non-departmental public body, acts as an agency of the department to administer the process and advise the department on relevant issues.
Name Location Denomination/ Affiliation Grade Notes
Beamsley Methodist Church Eastbourne 50°46′36″N 0°17′55″E / 50.7767°N 0.2987°E / 50.7767 ; 0.2987 ( Former Beamsley Methodist Church , Eastbourne ) Methodist - This combined church and school was in use by Methodists for less than 20 years : it was built in 1886 and sold to Christ Church in 1904 . It is no longer in religious use . The school was in the basement of the red-brick Gothic Revival building , which is now painted over
Wish Hill Methodist Church Lower Willingdon 50°47′47″N 0°15′10″E / 50.7965°N 0.2527°E / 50.7965 ; 0.2527 ( Former Wish Hill Methodist Church , Lower Willingdon ) Methodist - This building is now used as the headquarters of the Beachy Head Chaplaincy , whose volunteers patrol the cliffs at the infamous suicide location and offer support and counselling
St Elisabeth 's Church ( original building ) Downside 50°46′59″N 0°15′18″E / 50.7831°N 0.2549°E / 50.7831 ; 0.2549 ( St Elisabeth 's Church ( original building ) , Downside ) Anglican II Peter Dulvey Stonham 's gigantic unadorned Gothic red-brick church was founded in 1935 and consecrated on 19 February 1938 . Eastbourne was well provided with Anglican churches , but the will of its reclusive donor stipulated her £80,000 had to be spent in the town - so the diocese 's desire to build new churches in Brighton with the legacy was unfulfilled . Design faults in the construction of walls and roof affected the structural integrity , and the church has been declared redundant . The adjacent parish hall is now used for worship
Ceylon Place Baptist Church Eastbourne 50°46′11″N 0°17′31″E / 50.7696°N 0.2919°E / 50.7696 ; 0.2919 ( Former Ceylon Place Baptist Church , Eastbourne ) Baptist - The first church on the site , an iron chapel erected in 1871 and registered for marriages ( under the name Baptist Tabernacle ) in April 1876 , was given to the Anglican community in 1885 when John Wills designed a permanent replacement . The brick and Bath Stone Early English-style church has a corner tower . World War II bomb damage closed it for five years ; it reopened in 1948 , but was sold in 2005 for conversion into flats . The congregation meets at Central Methodist Church but expects to move to a new building
Upperton Congregational Church Upperton 50°46′28″N 0°16′09″E / 50.7745°N 0.2693°E / 50.7745 ; 0.2693 ( Upperton Congregational Church ( original building ) ) Congregational - Congregationalism in Eastbourne originated with services at a hall in 1862 , and the town 's second permanent Congregational church was built for £1,135 in 1885 in the newly developed Upperton area . When the present church was built next to it in 1901 , the brick building became a church hall and lecture theatre . Since 2008 it has housed the Eastbourne Montessori Nursery School
First Church of Christ , Scientist , Eastbourne Eastbourne 50°45′57″N 0°16′55″E / 50.7657°N 0.2820°E / 50.7657 ; 0.2820 ( First Church of Christ , Scientist , Eastbourne ) Christian Scientist - This church has stood on Spencer Road opposite St Saviour 's Church since 1922 , but its present appearance is attributable to local architectural firm Benz and Williams 's refurbishment of 1975-79 . It is built on to the side of the neighbouring house . The church was put up for sale in 2018
Edgmond Evangelical Church Old Town 50°46′20″N 0°15′51″E / 50.7722°N 0.2641°E / 50.7722 ; 0.2641 ( Edgmond Evangelical Church , Old Town ) Evangelical - Edgmond Hall was built as Eastbourne 's excise office in about 1840 , but was converted to an Open Brethren church in 1872 by William Brodie . The stucco -faced Neoclassical building was extended and taken over by an Evangelical congregation in 1993 , but they sold it in 2011 and merged with the Frenchgate church on the Hydneye estate
Bourne Hall Eastbourne 50°46′12″N 0°17′33″E / 50.7701°N 0.2926°E / 50.7701 ; 0.2926 ( Bourne Hall , Eastbourne ) Plymouth Brethren - This small building , on Bourne Street in central Eastbourne , was used by town 's Plymouth Brethren community but has been sold and now houses a company offering private tuition
St Gregory 's Church ( original building ) Downside 50°46′58″N 0°15′15″E / 50.7827°N 0.2541°E / 50.7827 ; 0.2541 ( St Gregory 's Church ( original building ) , Downside ) Roman Catholic - The first Roman Catholic place of worship in the northwest suburbs of Eastbourne was this small painted wooden chapel , built for £1,000 in 1934 . The new St Gregory 's Church was built on adjacent land in 1965 , and the timber building became a hall and later a Montessori nursery school
St Andrew 's Church Eastbourne 50°45′54″N 0°17′05″E / 50.7649°N 0.2846°E / 50.7649 ; 0.2846 ( St Andrew 's United Reformed Church , Eastbourne ) United Reformed Church - F.J. Barker designed this church in 1878 for the Presbyterian community , and it later became part of the United Reformed Church . The cruciform Early English-style red-brick building has good interior decoration , and exterior embellishments include a flèche . Schoolrooms were added to the east in 1912 . The church closed as part of the Emmanuel Church project , and there are plans to demolish it in favour of housing . Its marriage registration was cancelled in March 2016