page_title: St Leonard's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
section_title: The first church
hierarchical_section_title: St Leonard's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea / History and architecture / The first church
caption_attribution_description: English: St Leonards Parish Church
context_page_description: St Leonard's Church is an Anglican church in the St Leonards-on-Sea area of Hastings, a town and borough in the English county of East Sussex. The main church serving James Burton high-class mid 19th-century new town of St Leonards-on-Sea was designed by Burton himself just before his death, and it survived for more than a century despite being damaged by the cliff into which it was built; but one night during World War II, the sea-facing building was obliterated by a direct hit from a damaged V-1 "doodlebug" which had crossed the English Channel. The Gilbert Scott brothers' bold replacement church was ready in 1961, and along with a sister church at nearby Bulverhythe it continues to serve the parish of St Leonards-on-Sea, now part of the Hastings conurbation. English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
context_section_description: Burton's chosen site for his church was in the west of the town, on top of the steep West Hill overlooking the town and the English Channel.  Friends pointed out that it would be too far to climb, so he found a new site set back from Marina (the seafront road) between some rows of houses.  To fit the church in, a large section of cliff had to be dug out.  Originally the church was a proprietary chapel, built in accordance with an Act of Parliament; it was not consecrated for public use immediately, and the Bishop of Chichester had to grant temporary permission for public worship to take place.  Burton asked Princess Sophia of Gloucester, who happened to be staying in St Leonards-on-Sea, to lay the foundation stone on 8 September 1831.  Construction continued until late 1832, and the Bishop of Durham dedicated the church to St Leonard and consecrated it on 22 May 1834.  Burton himself was the architect; it was the only church he ever designed.
  The building, described as "a simple Gothic chapel", faced south towards the English Channel rather than adopting the standard eastward orientation.  A stair-turreted bell tower topped with battlements and containing an entrance porch stood at the south end.  The porch led to the nave, which lacked aisles but had a chancel arch leading to the chancel.  A round window with tracery lit the north end of the church, and the side walls had lancet windows.  A photograph dated c. 1910 shows diagonal buttresses to the tower, paired arched openings with louvres at the top of the tower, and pinnacles at the corners of the nave.  Built of stone, it was closest in style to 15th-century Perpendicular ("Late") Gothic.
  From the beginning, St Leonard's Church was popular and fashionable.  Two years before she became Queen, Princess Victoria attended services regularly in 1834–35, and a drawing by John Foulon at that time shows a large flag flying from the tower.  A guidebook of 1831 noted that "its situation [under the cliff] will produce a most extraordinary and picturesque effect".  The building displeased some people, though, including Sussex writer John Parry: he stated "it is to be regretted that the style and proportions are not on a grander scale – it cannot fairly said to be worthy of [the town]".
  The church suffered structural problems almost immediately.  In 1837, it was partly crushed when the cliff behind it collapsed: the chancel was destroyed and had to be rebuilt to smaller dimensions.  (It originally measured 50 by 108 feet (15 m × 33 m) and had a capacity of 800, of which 320 sittings were free and not subject to pew rents.)  The whole church was in danger of destruction, but the reconstruction work saved it.  Later that year, the church received its first organ, partly paid for by Queen Adelaide.  One source indicates that John Billing "extensively renovated" the church in 1861–62, although he is known to have been undertaking similar work during those years at St Leonard's Church in Seaford, East Sussex.  A new parish, consisting of parts of the ancient parishes St Leonard's and St Mary Magdalene's, was created for the church in 1868.  Thereafter the church was officially a parish church and had its own rector.
caption: The church was set back from the seafront and built into the cliff behind.  The present church (pictured) stands in the same position.
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