NOSTALGIA: Look back at history of St Elisabeth's Church

A group pictured at St Elisabeth's Church, Eastbourne SUS-180602-112459001

As the debate over whether Eastbourne's imposing St Elisabeth's Church should be demolished to make way for a redevelopment of the site Looking Back has been through the photographic archives with the help of reader George Turner.

Mr Turner kindly sent in these pictures including cuttings from newspapers depicting the long history of the church.

He has also helpfully provided a booklet detailing the time line of the church building and hall, which was published in January 2014.

The history dates back to 1928 when a Mrs Elisa Watson died and left £80,000 to the Diocese of Chichester for a church to be built in or near Eastbourne.

A service at St Elisabeth's Church SUS-180602-112532001

At the time that part of Old Town had a population of about 5,000 with only a few house in Victoria Drive beyond Downs Avenue.

The Bishop of Chichester then, Dr George Bell, felt a church was needed in the area because it would soon be developed and after the Duke of Devonshire donated the land, building started on the hall in 1933.

The architect for the whole complex was Peter Stoneham, who also designed the Curzon Cinema and the NatWest Bank.

The hall cost £16,000 to build and furnish and there was a projection room in the main hall, a caretaker’s flat, a stage and the lower hall was fully equipped as a gym.

A service at St Elisabeth's Church SUS-180602-112447001

The Reverend H Wallace Bird was appointed the vicar designate and the area was known as the Conventional District of St Elisabeth’s becoming a parish in 1936.

He faced the task of starting a church which at the time had no staff, no