Eastbourne – St Peter, Meads

The church started as a chapelry of St Saviour in 1878, when it stood on a different site (Elleray (1981) pl 93).  H Currey and P Currey built a permanent church in 1894-96 in the Meads area (ibid p58), on land donated by the Duke of Devonshire, who also gave £5000 (Arch J 1 p112).  A further donation of £5000 enabled the whole church to be built at the same time.  Previously it had been intended to add the chancel later (ibid), though a planned tower (Arch J 2 p413) was never built and the side chapel, though foreseen from the start, may have been part of unspecified alterations by C W Tomes in 1901 (B 80 p241).  The lancet style was old fashioned by this date and the broad west front had gabled aisles and a west narthex, the centre part of which was raised.  The brick-faced interior had blank arcading and no chancel arch.  In an age where fewer people went to church, there were too many churches in the area, so this was pulled down in 1971.  A few fittings are now in Holy Trinity Trinity Trees and some panelling has found its way to the church of St Mary Magdalene at Winton, Lancashire (BE Lancashire: Manchester and the South East p681).

Fittings (Formerly)

Glass:
1. (Five windows in apse) C E Kempe, 1894-1906 (Brown).  Some of this is now in St Peter Hydneye; the rest is missing (Collins p302).
2. (West window) P Bacon, 1931 (Brown).