St Mary Magdalene's Church is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Bexhill-on-Sea Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish in the Rother District in the county of East Sussex in South East England. It is located along the Sussex Coast and between the towns of Hastings, England, Hastings ...

, East Sussex, England. It was founded in 1893 and built in 1907 in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

. Dedicated to Jesus' companion

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

, it is situated on the corner of Sea Road and Magdalen Road opposite Station Road and Bexhill railway station in the centre of the town. It was designed by Arthur Young and is a Grade II listed building.

History

In 1893, a Catholic

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

was founded in the town. There was a small church and school housed in the same building. This was next to a presbytery. From 1906 to 1907, the present church was built. When it was completed, the building that housed the old church and school became the church hall. The church was designed by a convert to Catholicism, Arthur Young. He was born in 1853 and went to Stamford Grammar School before apprenticing with Somers Clarke & Mickelthwaite. In 1877, he started his own architectural firm and went on to design churches and chapels including the

Benson Memorial Church The Benson Memorial Church, dedicated to St Richard of Chichester, is an English Roman Catholic church in the Hertfordshire town of Buntingford. Its name derives from the notable priest and author Robert Hugh Benson who lived locally at Hare ...

St Dominic's School St. Dominic's School in Hambledon, Surrey, England is a co-educational day school, one of the oldest special schools in the United Kingdom. It specialises in the education of children with various disabilities, such as autism, whilst integrati ...

in Harrow and

Church of Our Lady and St Peter, Aldeburgh The Church of Our Lady and St Peter is a Roman Catholic church in Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the English county, county of Suffolk, England, north of the R ...

, when he died during its construction in 1924.Bexhill-on-Sea St Mary Magdalene
from

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

, retrieved 1 March 2016 The church contains a painting of the

Crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion of Jesus was the death of Jesus by being crucifixion, nailed to a cross.The instrument of Jesus' crucifixion, instrument of crucifixion is taken to be an upright wooden beam to which was added a transverse wooden beam, thus f ...

by August Neven du Mont and a war memorial mentioning Awdry Vaucour. In 1913, the church was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

Parish

The church also serves two nearby Catholic churches: Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Sidley and St Martha's Church in Little Common, Bexhill. Our Lady of the Rosary Church was built in 1954, designed by Alex F. Watson from the architectural firm of Hannen & Markham, and cost £12,372. St Martha's Church was designed by Marshall Wood, cost £7,114 and was built from 11 August 1939 to 1940. St Mary Magdalene's Church has three Sunday

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

es: 6:00pm on Saturday, and 11:00am and 6:00pm on Sunday. Every week, Monday to Saturday, St Mary Magdalene's Church has a Mass at 10:00am. Our Lady of the Rosary Church has one Sunday Mass at 10:00am. St Martha's Church also has one Sunday Mass, it is at 9:00am.Mass Times
from StMMBexhill.org.uk, retrieved 1 March 2016 File:Our Lady of the Rosary RC Church, Sidley, Bexhill.JPG, Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Sidley File:St Martha's Church, Little Common, Bexhill.JPG, St Martha's Church, Little Common

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary Magdalene's Church, Bexhill-on-Sea Roman Catholic churches in East Sussex Grade II listed churches in East Sussex Gothic Revival church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in East Sussex Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1907 1893 establishments in England 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom St Mary Magdalene's Church

History

Parish

See also

References

External links