St Mary's Church The Virgin Mary, Hampden Park, Eastbourne
St Mary's Church (dedicated in full to St Mary the Virgin) is the Anglican Parish Church of the Hampden Park suburb of Eastbourne. Originally linked to the church at nearby Willingdon, it later became a separate parish church. The first building was destroyed by a bomb during World War II, and Edward Maufe was commissioned to design a replacement church; the hilltop building, finished in 1954, has been called "one of his most charming designs". English Heritage has listed it at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.
St Mary's Church became one of the first postwar churches to gain Listed status and it has been praised for the "sculptural quality of its interior" and its "attractive" Perpendicular Gothic Revival form "refined by Maufe in a very personal way". Describing the style as "quintessential Maufe" featuring "the most distinctive elements of his personal style", architectural historian Elain Harwood called it "one of his most charming designs". The style is a simplified, unadorned interpretation of Perpendicular Gothic Revival with elements of the domestic vernacular style in particular in the treatment of the wood-framed nave windows. The plan comprises a nave with north and south aisles supported by buttresses, a chancel and sanctuary with an apsidal end, a bellcote at the northwest corner, a Lady Chapel and an axially placed tower—an unusual style for Maufe—at the east end. The brick walls are painted white, The wide tower and the church's position on a low hill next to the park make it stand out from the surrounding houses.[11] The roof has a shallow pitch and is laid with red pantiles. The tower, which has the memorial clock on one side, has two pointed-arched openings on each face. The straight-headed entrance is at the west end, set beneath an arch with decorative moulding. A large simplified lancet window is set into the pointed-arched recess above this
The interior is coated with greyish-white render, and the ceiling is painted pale blue. There is a gallery at the west end. A series of pointed concrete transverse arches form the arcades between the aisles and nave. They have square bases and lack mouldings or capitals recalling Maufe's earlier (1934) St Thomas The Apostles Church at Hanwells, London. Other internal features drew inspiration from Scandinavian architecture. Each bay of the aisle has a square timber-framed leaded light window. Stone sedillia are placed in an arched recess near the central altar in the sanctuary, whose ceiling is decorated with stars.
Fittings include a set of limed oak alter frames, a stone font with a wooden cover, and a stone and rendered pulpit attached to the side of the chancel arch.
To find the cache collect the following information - From the brass Clock plaque 1952-ABCD, From the LH Corner stone for George 1EFG
N50 47. (B-A),(E-A),(F+D) E000 15.(G+D+A), (F+D),((C+G)/F)
****************** ********************
For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him at churchmicro.co.uk
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
****************** *******************