St. Andrew's Church
| St. Andrew's Church |
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St Andrews Church stood on Queen's Road and was designed by Messrs Haversham & Brock, A benevolent lady (Miss M. J. Sayer)[1], a resident of Hastings, having granted a site for the Church, giving £1,000 towards its erection, and a further sum of £1250 for endowment and repairs. The church was to be situated on the land allocated during the sale of the Great Brook Estate[1].
Plans were produced by Mr. Brock, one of which was decided upon, and a local builder erected the edifice around 1870, the total cost of which was £3600. The Church was in the Gothic style, and consisted of a nave, south aisle, and apse chancel, and sat 450 persons. The organ was from the well-known manufactory of Mr. T. J. Robson, St. Martin's Lane, London.[2] The church was consecrated by the Rev. George Hodges on the 30th of November 1870[3]. By 1874, the congregation had grown to such a point that a further aisle was designed by the same architects and constructed during the same year.[4]
Tressell Artwork
Robert Tressell carried out a number of paintings within the church, some of which were saved during the church's demolition and lodged with the museum (against the wishes of J. Manwaring Baines who was curator at the time) by David Haines with the assistance of his wife. Mrs Pamela Haines, a librarian and J. M. Baines were both members of Hastings Area Archeological Research Group and there were a number of rumours that their relationship extended beyond that of a professional nature.
Tressell did not design the murals himself, but used stencils which the firm had to create the murals. He gained the commission for his firm because he was a regular worshipper at the church. The murals lasted until 1966 when they received attention from 'The Dauber' who painted obscene French slogans all over the town. The 'Dauber' was never caught. By this time, the murals were very faded and dirty and it was decided to paint over it with white emulsion. In 1970, the church was demolished and the site sold for redevelopment. St Andrew's itself came under Blacklands Church which needed repairs, so it was decided to sell up and use the money for Blacklands which was a more popular place of worship.
Images
References & Notes
- ↑ a b Hastings & St Leonards Observer 07 August 1869 pg. 3
- ↑ Whiteman's guide to Hastings, St. Leonards, and the neighbourhood – Spencer Whiteman (6th ed) pg.33 Google Books
- ↑ Hastings of Bygone Days and the Present (Henry Cousins - 1911) pg.202 ISBN: 9789332862449 ESCC Library Google Books " Amazon
- ↑ Hastings and St Leonards Observer - Saturday 18 October 1873
