Robertsbridge United Reformed Church

The village of Salehurst, mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086, had an extensive parish spanning the River Rother, East Sussex. There was no settlement at Robertsbridge, 1 mi southwest of Salehurst village, until after 1210, when a Cistercian abbey founded in 1176 moved there from its site further up the valley. By the 14th century Robertsbridge was by far the larger village. and the parish church remained in Salehurst. In 1676, when a religious census was taken, Salehurst parish was found to have the second highest number of Nonconformists (28) of any parish in the area: it was behind only Rye, whose Nonconformist population was increased by refugees from continental Europe. (In…

Congregationalism was traditionally "a prosperous denomination [that] built well-finished and well-furnished buildings"; by the late 19th century, the quality of some exceeded even that of contemporary Anglican churches, and as of 2006 26% of the surviving 1,115 such churches in England had listed status. Most of his commissions were for Congregationalists, his St Leonard's Baptist Church of 1883 at St Leonards-on-Sea was a "rich Italianate"; and the Robertsbridge church displayed an eclectic mix of styles. It has elements of the Classical, Renaissance Revival and Italianate styles with some Gothic Revival features. As an architect, Thomas Elworthy is "often maligned", and critical reaction…