St Peter's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea

St Leonards-on-Sea experienced continuous rapid growth after it was founded in 1828 by London-based builder and speculator James Burton. The seaside resort, immediately west of the ancient port of Hastings, had a 2/3 mi esplanade with high-class buildings facing the English Channel, but also extended a long way inland by the late 19th century as housing was built up the wooded valley which formed part of the land Burton bought in 1828. St Mary Magdalene's Church (1858) and Christ Church (1860)—and a fourth, dedicated to St Paul, was built on the newly developed Church Road in 1868. Further growth around the Bohemia Road, leading to the Silverhill suburb of Hastings, occurred over the next…

and quatrefoils.]] James Brooks made his reputation designing "large and economical churches" in inner London, which combined simple, well-proportioned Gothic Revival designs (usually in brick) with interesting architectural touches. These features are also in evidence at St Peter's Church, even though he was working with a less restricted budget than he often had to in London. It is an Early English Gothic Revival-style red-brick building with lancet windows which feature extensive plate tracery. The walls have some limestone as well, and the roof is laid with slates and red clay tiles. The plan consists of a two-bay chancel and nave separated by a chancel arch which almost reaches the…

St Peter's Church was listed at Grade II* by English Heritage on 14 September 1976. As of February 2001, it was one of 13 Grade II* listed buildings, and 535 listed buildings of all grades, in the borough of Hastings. Two other Anglican churches in St Leonards-on-Sea, St John the Evangelist's and Christ Church, are also listed at Grade II*; other churches with listed status in the town are St Leonard's Anglican church, St Leonard's Baptist Church, St Mary Magdalene's Church (now Greek Orthodox), the Roman Catholic Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs and the former St Leonards-on-Sea Congregational Church further up London Road. Each of these have the lower Grade II status.…