Originally designed as a church hall, the church stands in a prominent position at the junction of  Southlands Road and Ninfield Road. The portico frontage makes it something of  a local landmark.

*Update: The church closed in 2019*

Our Lady of the Rosary church was designed by Alex F. Watson of the London practice Hannen & Markham, and was blessed by Bishop Cowderoy in May 1954. The Bexhill-on-Sea Observer reported (8 May 1954) ‘The church stands in Southlands Road on a site given by Mr George Ravenshear. Cost of the building, which has a seating capacity of 240, was £12,800 and the contractors were Messrs Godwin & Sons. It was designed as a church hall by Mr A. Watson, a London architect, and will be used for that purpose when a larger and permanent church is built adjacent. But that is looking far ahead’. The same article states that the ‘interior is beautifully decorated with works by leading artists’. These included the Stations of the Cross, oil paintings by J.E. Nuttgens (who had made a stained glass window for St Mary Magdalene’s, Bexhill-on-Sea in the previous year), tabernacle, altar cross and candlesticks by Michael Murray and a hanging crucifix and statues of Our Lady and St Joseph by Anthony Foster.

Description

On plan the church is a simple rectangle but with an internal apse to the sanctuary behind which are the sacristies. The west gable projects an additional bay and is supported on four massive piers. The massive effect is heightened by the oversailing gable treated with the returns of an open pediment. The piers are of reinforced brickwork and they support a reinforced concrete cranked beam. The main space of the church is lit from a band of clerestory windows. The walls are of hazel brown facing bricks and the internal joinery is hardwood.

Entry amended by AHP 27.10.2026

Heritage Details