Hastings – St Paul, Church Road, St Leonards

Opened in 1868 and demolished in 1964, this is the most grievous loss among the Victorian churches of Hastings.  The work of a little known architect, J Newton (BN 15 p622), it cost over £20,000, though modest in size.  Its sumptuous interior used a variety of materials, including brick, stone, polished granite and marble.  The windows had plate tracery and a tower north of the chancel was also decorated with shafting.  Its top was flat, but it was certainly intended to have a spire.   The chancel had a polygonal apse, and was vaulted throughout, with striped in-filling between the ribs.  The fittings, of which few details were kept, appear to have been of comparable quality.  According to KD 1899, both the reredos and the pulpit were of alabaster and marble and the font was made of ‘Sienna marble’, whilst there was a fine metalwork screen.