History:
In 1864 the church opened as St Leonards-on-Sea Congregational Church. The last service took place in 2002. Six years later in 2008 the church officially closed and ever since then has been left abandoned. English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance. The church was bought by a new owner in 2012 and it was almost completely renovated, but was then sold again in 2019. The new owner apparently has plans to open the church to the public as an arts and antiques centre with a cafe in the tower. However the man that lead us out the church told us they were converting it into flats.
Explore:
Visited with @Seany Explores
We drove past this beauty on our way home from the beach. I saw an open door and told Sean to pull over as soon as possible. We climbed up the wall and went on in. We was in here for about 10 minutes and then we got caught by a man who was working inside. He was working downstairs in the basement and he must’ve heard us upstairs in the main church bit. I must say so myself I was definitely not expecting this grand interior. I was almost expecting for it to be completely ripped out with no church features but I was so wrong... The inside is absolutely beautiful. Shame about the scaffolding in parts of the church, as it blocked off the route to the balcony that we could’ve gone on to. The tower had no floor so we couldn’t go inside, which was a bit of a shame as it was just a bit of a ruin inside really. A nice little touch was the wooden dobell clock attached to the balcony that said “Hastings” on, I just found it really unique as the town was stated on the clock. On the church organ there was a black and white old photo in a glass frame of who I am guessing the man who played the organ when the church was open during its service. This is by far the best abandoned church I have ever been inside and the fact that this was a local unexpected explore for us was absolutely outstanding!
In 1864 the church opened as St Leonards-on-Sea Congregational Church. The last service took place in 2002. Six years later in 2008 the church officially closed and ever since then has been left abandoned. English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance. The church was bought by a new owner in 2012 and it was almost completely renovated, but was then sold again in 2019. The new owner apparently has plans to open the church to the public as an arts and antiques centre with a cafe in the tower. However the man that lead us out the church told us they were converting it into flats.
Explore:
Visited with @Seany Explores
We drove past this beauty on our way home from the beach. I saw an open door and told Sean to pull over as soon as possible. We climbed up the wall and went on in. We was in here for about 10 minutes and then we got caught by a man who was working inside. He was working downstairs in the basement and he must’ve heard us upstairs in the main church bit. I must say so myself I was definitely not expecting this grand interior. I was almost expecting for it to be completely ripped out with no church features but I was so wrong... The inside is absolutely beautiful. Shame about the scaffolding in parts of the church, as it blocked off the route to the balcony that we could’ve gone on to. The tower had no floor so we couldn’t go inside, which was a bit of a shame as it was just a bit of a ruin inside really. A nice little touch was the wooden dobell clock attached to the balcony that said “Hastings” on, I just found it really unique as the town was stated on the clock. On the church organ there was a black and white old photo in a glass frame of who I am guessing the man who played the organ when the church was open during its service. This is by far the best abandoned church I have ever been inside and the fact that this was a local unexpected explore for us was absolutely outstanding!
