St Leonard's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
| St Leonard's Church | |
|---|---|
St Leonard's Church (viewed from Marina) was rebuilt between 1953 and 1961, and functioned as a parish church until 2018. | |
| 50°51′05″N 0°33′05″E / 50.8513°N 0.5514°E | |
| OS grid reference | TQ 79695 08848 |
| Location | Undercliff, St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex TN38 0YW |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| History | |
| Founded | 8 September 1831 |
| Founder(s) | James Burton |
| Dedication | Leonard of Noblac |
| Dedicated | 22 May 1834 |
| Consecrated | 22 May 1834 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Closed |
| Heritage designation | Grade II |
| Designated | 25 September 1998 |
| Architect(s) | James Burton (first church); Giles and Adrian Gilbert Scott (present building) |
| Style | Modern Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 1831 |
| Completed | 1832 (first church); 1961 (present building) |
| Administration | |
| Province | Canterbury |
| Diocese | Chichester |
| Archdeaconry | Lewes and Hastings |
| Deanery | Rural Deanery of Hastings |
| Parish | St Leonard, St Leonards-on-Sea |
St Leonard's Church is an Anglican church in the St Leonards-on-Sea area of Hastings, a town and borough in the English county of East Sussex. The main church serving James Burton's high-class mid 19th-century new town of St Leonards-on-Sea was designed by Burton himself just before his death, and it survived for more than a century despite being damaged by the cliff into which it was built; but one night during World War II, the sea-facing building was obliterated by a direct hit from a damaged V-1 "doodlebug" which had crossed the English Channel. The Gilbert Scott brothers' bold replacement church was ready in 1961, and along with a sister church at nearby Bulverhythe served the parish of St Leonards-on-Sea, covered by the Hastings Archdeaconry. Historic England has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.