Cooden Sea Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex
St Martha’s is an attractive building, if a little dour internally, with a distinctive west end that is a landmark in an outer suburb of Bexhill.
The foundation stone was laid on 11 August 1939 and the building was completed the following year. The cost was £7,114. The architect is recorded as one Marshall Wood of Hooe (a village near Little Common). It is a simple brick church but with a striking west (ritual) end reminiscent of Spanish or Italian Romanesque, though the tiled bell stage and pyramid roof give a distinctively Sussex flavour. The base of the tower combine with the narthex into a single composition with soaring blind arches and a Calvary of crosses. The single roof spanning nave and aisles, together with the aisle windows rising into dormers, contribute to the Sussex vernacular character. Inside the nave forms the main space, with a short chancel and narrow aisles.
Architect: Marshall Wood
Original Date: 1939
Conservation Area: Yes
Listed Grade: Not Listed