Robertsbridge United Reformed Church
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Robertsbridge United Reformed Church (originally Robertsbridge Congregational Chapel) is a former United Reformed Church place of worship in
Robertsbridge Robertsbridge is a village in the civil parish of Salehurst and Robertsbridge, and the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Hastings and 13 miles (21 km) south-east of Royal Tunbridge ...
, a village in the district of Rother in the English county of
East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
. Built for Congregational worshippers in 1881 following their secession from a long-established Wesleyan Methodist chapel, it was the third
Nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...
place of worship in the village, whose nearest parish church was in the neighbouring settlement of
Salehurst Salehurst is a village in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, within the civil parish of Salehurst and Robertsbridge. It lies immediately to the north-east of the larger village of Robertsbridge, on a minor road; it is approximately no ...
. Like the former Strict Baptist and Methodist chapels in the village, which have both closed, it no longer serves Robertsbridge as a place of worship. Local architect Thomas Elworthy's distinctive design—a "rich" and highly decorated blend of several styles—has divided opinion amongst architectural historians. English Heritage has listed the church at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.


History

The ancient village of Salehurst, mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086, had an extensive parish spanning the River Rother. There was no settlement at Robertsbridge, southwest of Salehurst village, until after 1210, when a
Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
abbey founded in 1176 moved there from its site further up the valley. By the 14th century, Robertsbridge was by far the larger village. There was no place of worship serving the
Established Church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...
, though: a chapel associated with the abbey was last recorded in 1567 and was probably demolished soon afterwards, and the parish church remained in Salehurst. In 1676, when a religious census was taken, Salehurst parish was found to have the second highest number of Nonconformists (28) of any parish in the area: it was behind only
Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...
, whose Nonconformist population was increased by refugees from continental Europe. (In England, people and ministers who worshipped outside the Church of England but were not part of the Roman Catholic Church were historically known as Nonconformists or
Dissenter A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, and ...
s. Nonconformism became officially recognised after the
Act of Uniformity 1662 The Act of Uniformity 1662 (14 Car 2 c 4) is an Act of the Parliament of England. (It was formerly cited as 13 & 14 Ch.2 c. 4, by reference to the regnal year when it was passed on 19 May 1662.) It prescribed the form of public prayers, adm ...
.) Independents apparently dominated the early Nonconformist scene locally, but Wesleyan Methodism became prominent in the late 18th century.
John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
visited Robertsbridge five times between 1771 and 1784 and preached to large crowds. A chapel was built in 1812 and extended in 1842, and a
Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...
was added in 1872. One of the early lay preachers during this period of rapid growth, and a leading member of the local Methodist Society, was Edward Piper. In 1876, there was a split in the local Methodist Society, causing some members of the Methodist chapel's congregation to secede. This move was led by Edward Piper, who started holding meetings for Congregational-style worship in a house on Robertsbridge High Street. Five years later, Piper commissioned the
St Leonards-on-Sea St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origina ...
-based architect Thomas Elworthy to design a new chapel on the site of this house. It was founded on 29 June 1881 by Piper with the help of Rev. Charles New, incumbent at the Robertson Street Congregational Chapel in Hastings. Construction finished soon afterwards, but Piper died almost immediately afterwards—on 20 November 1881, at the age of 70—just before he was due to preach his inaugural sermon. An inscribed stone tablet commemorates him. As well as the foundation (or Memorial) stone on the exterior, Thomas Elworthy inserted a stone inscribed with his name and the date. The church maintained its connection with the Robertson Street Congregational Church in Hastings into the 20th century, and was served by ministers from
Burwash Burwash, archaically known as Burghersh, is a rural village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. Situated in the High Weald of Sussex some 15 miles (24 km) inland from the port of Hastings, it is located five m ...
at times. The Methodist chapel closed in 1960, after which the remaining Methodists in Robertsbridge joined worshippers at the Congregational Church. After this, the name ''Congregational Methodist Church'' was sometimes used for the building. In 1972, the Congregational Church,
Presbyterian Church of England The Presbyterian Church of England was a late-19th century and 20th century Presbyterian denomination in England. The church's origins lay in the 1876 merger of the English congregations of the chiefly Scottish United Presbyterian Church with vario ...
and some other denominations merged to form the United Reformed Church, and the church at Robertsbridge became part of that denomination. Until its closure it was part of the denomination's Southern Synod. Under the name ''Robertsbridge United Reformed Church'', the building was listed at Grade II by English Heritage on 13 May 1987. This defines it as a "nationally important" building of "special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 1,991 Grade II listed buildings, and 2,106 listed buildings of all grades, in the district of Rother. It was licensed for worship in accordance with the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 and had the registration number 33848. Robertsbridge United Reformed Church closed on 5 September 2015. The building was put up for sale for £200,000 in October 2015, and was later offered at auction at a lower price. The members joined with others to form Community Church Robertsbridge, which is affiliated with the Baptist Union of Great Britain and which meets in the youth centre on George Hill in Robertsbridge.


Architecture and description

Congregationalism was traditionally "a prosperous denomination hatbuilt well-finished and well-furnished buildings"; by the late 19th century, the quality of some exceeded even that of contemporary Anglican churches, and as of 2006 26% of the surviving 1,115 such churches in England had
listed status In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. Thomas Elworthy, the local architect commissioned to design the church at Robertsbridge, was closely associated with the Hastings area and Nonconformist ecclesiastical architecture. Most of his commissions were for Congregationalists, and most of his works reflect the localised reaction against the
Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
seen in several parts of Sussex in the 1880s. His Congregational churches at Croft Road, Hastings (1877) and Mount Pleasant Road, Hastings (1878–79; both demolished) were Free Renaissance Revival and Early English Gothic Revival respectively; his St Leonard's Baptist Church of 1883 at
St Leonards-on-Sea St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origina ...
was a "rich Italianate"; and the Robertsbridge church displayed an eclectic mix of styles. It has elements of the Classical, Renaissance Revival and Italianate styles with some
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
features. As an architect, Thomas Elworthy is "often maligned", and critical reaction to the building has varied: Nikolaus Pevsner called it "truly horrible" and "most dissolute", whereas a more recent analysis by English Heritage saw it as a "rich and fruity example of a Nonconformist church". Sussex church historian Robert Elleray described the church as "very
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...
" and "an unexpected Renaissance intrusion into the predominantly 18th-century High Street", and thought Pevsner had made "a harsh judgement". The church is principally of red brick with extensive use of terracotta dressings. The façade, on an elevated section of the High Street known as High Pavement, rises to two storeys and has three
bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...
with a four-window range. A stone
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
separates the lower and upper storeys, and another runs below the parapet upon which a central brick pediment stands. This was originally surrounded by a
balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
with stone urns. The bays are divided by brick pilasters. The windows are all casements and are set below semicircular
fanlight A fanlight is a form of lunette window, often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, and is sometimes hinged to a transom. Th ...
s in ornately moulded round-headed surrounds. The outer bays have single windows, but those above the entrance are paired. The doorway has moulded pilasters and a cornice topped with stone urns, and the door is panelled.


See also

*
Bethel Strict Baptist Chapel, Robertsbridge Bethel Strict Baptist Chapel (also described as Bethel Calvinist Chapel) is a former place of worship for Strict Baptists in Robertsbridge, a village in the district of Rother in the English county of East Sussex. Partly hidden behind ancient bu ...
*
List of places of worship in Rother The Districts of England, district of Rother District, Rother, one of six Non-metropolitan district, local government districts in the English county of East Sussex, has more than 130 current and former places of worship. 83 active churches an ...


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{Sussex Nonconformism 1881 establishments in England Grade II listed churches in East Sussex Congregational churches in East Sussex United Reformed churches in East Sussex Robertsbridge