St Mary in the Castle, Hastings

Heritage listing

Details 757/13/193 PELHAM CRESCENT 757/14/193 CHURCH OF ST MARY IN THE CASTLE 19-JAN-51 Amended 25-NOV-2010 GV II* Former parish church. St Mary in the Castle, 1825-8 forms the centrepiece of Pelham Crescent which was designed by Joseph Kay (1775-1847) for Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester between 1823 and 1828. The church was subject of an Act Parliament which received royal assent on 2 May 1825, and was consecrated on 28 January 1828. The roof substantially rebuilt 1829; the church reworked in the later C19, probably after 1884 when the parishioners took responsibility; it was declared redundant in 1970 and refurbished in the early 1990s. MATERIALS: Stone and brick, cement-rendered, and lined as ashlar, stone dressings. PLAN: The church sits in a commanding position overlooking the sea, forming the centrepiece of Pelham Crescent, which is raised above Pelham Arcade and reached by a ramp at the western end of the composition. It is set on a shallow plinth of three stone steps and over a crypt which extends southwards to the rear of Pelham Arcade. The façade is laid out as a double-depth tetrastyle Ionic portico, flanked by single entrance bays, the double depth formed by rear columns set in antis; The church is semicircular on plan, the upper level projecting over the rock face at the rear so that it is constructed of two concentric stone walls, an inner one at lower level, and an outer wall at gallery level, built into the rock. The interior of the church is laid out with a horseshoe gallery to the north overlooking a shallow rectangular three-bay sanctuary which is flanked by single bays which break forward to enclose lobbies which give access to the portico and gallery. Stairs, either side of the church, descend to a crypt, T-shaped on plan, which protrudes into

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.