St George's Church, Worthing facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St George's Church |
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The church from the southwest
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| 50°48′51″N 0°21′26″W / 50.8142°N 0.3573°W | |
| Location | St George's Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN11 2DS |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Tradition | Conservative evangelical |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Founded | 1868 |
| Dedication | Saint George |
| Consecrated | 10 July 1868 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade C (Equivalent to Grade II) |
| Designated | 21 May 1976 |
| Architect(s) | George Truefitt |
| Style | Decorated Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 1867 |
| Completed | 1868 |
| Construction cost | Approximately £5,000 (£322,000 in 2025) |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Worthing, St George |
| Deanery | Rural Deanery of Worthing |
| Archdeaconry | Archdeaconry of Chichester |
| Diocese | Diocese of Chichester |
| Province | Province of Canterbury |
St George's Church is an Anglican church located in East Worthing, a part of the town of Worthing in West Sussex, England. It was built between 1867 and 1868 to serve the growing number of homes in the area. The church has a beautiful Decorated Gothic style. Over the years, it was made bigger and even helped start three smaller church halls in other parts of Worthing. Because of its important design and history, English Heritage has officially protected it as a Grade C listed building, which is like a Grade II listing today.
Contents
A Look Back: The Church's History
Worthing grew very quickly in the early 1800s. This was partly because the nearby town of Brighton was very popular. However, the land east of Worthing was quite marshy, making it hard to build on. Only a few houses were there, relying on a brickworks and two windmills.
Building a New Church
As Worthing slowly expanded eastward, people decided a new church was needed for the area, which became known as East Worthing. Building work began in 1867. The Bishop of Chichester, Ashurst Turner Gilbert, laid the first stone. George Truefitt was the architect who designed the church. It officially opened on July 10, 1868, after Bishop Gilbert held a special ceremony to make it a holy place. A local writer, Alfred Longley, noted that a Mr. Longhurst was the builder.
St George's Church was made larger twice in its first 16 years. When it was first built in 1868, it had a main area for the congregation (the nave) and a special area for the altar (the chancel) with a rounded end. It also had a small belfry for bells. In 1875, two porches and a vestry (a room for clergy robes) were added. Nine years later, in 1884, a transept (a part that sticks out like the arms of a cross) was built between the nave and the chancel. There were plans for a tall tower with a spire, but only a small part of it was ever built. The church hall, designed by H. Overnell, was built in 1935.
The Church's Parish and School
From the very beginning, St George's was a parish church. This means it served a specific local area. In 1867, its parish was created from a part of the area looked after by St Mary's Church at Broadwater. The land for St George's was actually given for free by the rector (a senior priest) of St Mary's.
In 1874, St George's Church started its own school on Lyndhurst Road. The school became very popular and was made bigger twice by 1897. However, it closed in 1940, and the students went to other schools. The school building was later removed in 1985 to make way for a supermarket.
Church Design: What It Looks Like
St George's Church is admired for its design, especially considering it was built for a fairly low cost of about £5,000. This would be a lot more money today!
Unique Features
One interesting thing about the church is that it's built on a north–south line, which is unusual for churches. Most churches are built on an east–west line. The building is in the Decorated Gothic style, with some parts that look like the Perpendicular Gothic style. It's made of Bargate stone and has a red tiled roof.
The church has a wide chancel and a nave with side aisles. Both ends have rounded sections. There's an entrance porch with a gable roof that leads into a narthex (an entrance hall). It also has a small belfry with a stone spire on top, and a vestry. Most of the windows are small and narrow, called lancet windows. However, the five windows around the chancel are taller. The inside of the church is simple and open. Some architectural experts, Ian Nairn and Nikolaus Pevsner, said it was "very intelligent, rational, [...] logical [and lacking] the artificial piety of the 1860s."
Smaller Churches: Mission Chapels
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Worthing's population grew very fast. The existing churches couldn't hold everyone. So, many smaller "mission chapels" or "mission halls" were built. These were simple chapels used by the clergy from the main church. They were meant to be temporary until a bigger, permanent church could be built. St George's Church started three of these chapels. Two of them are still standing today.
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- Newland Road Mission Hall: This was the first one, built in 1883. It's a brick building that was used for worship until 1936. Today, it's used as a studio.
- Ham Arch Mission: Built two years later, this tiny building on Ham Road was sometimes jokingly called "The Cathedral" by locals! It was one of the smallest places of worship in Sussex. After 29 years of religious use, it is now a garage.
- Emmanuel Mission Hall: This hall was built in 1911. It was replaced by a new, octagonal church in 1976, also called Emmanuel. However, this church was closed and taken down in 2008.
St George's Church Today
St George's Church was officially listed as a Grade C building by English Heritage on May 21, 1976. Grade C was an older way of ranking churches, similar to today's Grade II listing. This means it's an important building that needs to be protected. In 2001, it was one of many listed buildings in Worthing.
The church's parish covers the southeastern part of Worthing. Its borders are the railway line to the north, the border with Adur district to the east, the English Channel to the south, and the High Street and Steyne to the west.
The church follows a Conservative Evangelical style of worship within the Anglican tradition. They mostly use the Common Worship books for their services. There is one main service on Sunday mornings, which includes worship and prayer. Holy Communion is held once a month and on special days.
See also
