St Clement's Church is a

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 ...

affiliated with the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

Leigh-on-Sea Leigh-on-Sea (), commonly referred to simply as Leigh, is a List of towns in England, town and civil parish within the city of Southend-on-Sea, located in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. In 2011 it had a population of 22,509. Geograph ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. It is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

dedicated to Saint Clement of Rome, a 1st-century martyr and patron saint of mariners.Saint Clement Church, Leigh-on-Sea
Retrieved 28 May 2020.

History

The church, with its 80-foot west tower, sits in a prominent position on a hilltop overlooking the town harbour, and was traditionally an important landmark along the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salinit ...

.Historic England listing, "Grade II* listed buildings, St Clement Church, Leigh-on-Sea
Retrieved 28 May 2020. It was rebuilt using

Kentish ragstone Kentish ragstone is a hard grey limestone in Kent, England, drawn from the geological sequence known as the Hythe Beds of the Lower Greensand. For millennia it has been quarried for use both locally and further afield. Geology Ragstone occurs ...

and flint rubble in the late 15th or early 16th on the site of a previous church, possibly dating back to the 13th century. The 14th-century chancel may also have survived the rebuilding, along with a pre-

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a pisci ...

near the altar. A brick porch was added in the

Tudor period In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...

. At various times since then, the church has been altered or extended, mostly notably between 1837 and 1840 under the rector, Rev. Robert Eden. In 1872 the chancel was extended eastwards by the architect C. F. Haywood, and the south aisle was added by Ernest Geldart in 1897 as the population of Leigh-on-Sea continued to grow. The

lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chape ...

, designed in 1913 by Sir Charles Nicholson, was added as a memorial to Rt. Rev. Edward King, a former

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...

and uncle of the rector at the time, Rev. Canon Robert Stuart King. King had succeeded his father as rector, and between them they served the parish for over 90 years. The church contains a number of stained glass windows, including work by

Frederick Preedy Frederick Preedy (2 June 1820 – 28 March 1898) was an architect and glass painter in England. Life Preedy was born in Offenham near Evesham in Worcestershire and died at his son's home in Croydon. During his early life, his family moved f ...

, Franz Mayer & Co. and

James Powell and Sons The firm of James Powell and Sons, also known as Whitefriars Glass, were London-based English glassmakers, leadlighters and stained-glass window manufacturers. As Whitefriars Glass, the company existed from the 18th century, but became well kno ...

. The chancel

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

and lady chapel screen were designed by Geldart and the war memorial by Nicholson. The 15th century font was originally at St Swithin's Church in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. The

tomb chest A church monument is an architectural or sculptural memorial to a deceased person or persons, located within a Christian church. It can take various forms ranging from a simple commemorative plaque or mural tablet affixed to a wall, to a large ...

of Mary Haddock, who named the

Captain Haddock Captain Archibald Haddock (French: ''Capitaine Archibald Haddock'') is a character in the comic book series ''The Adventures of Tintin''. He is Tintin (character), Tintin's best friend, a seafaring captain in the Merchant Navy or Merchant Mar ...

character in

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' ( ) is a series of 24 comic albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century. By 2007, a c ...

series, and the tomb chest of her father William Goodlad, the admiral of the English whaling fleet, were

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 2024 by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

Present day

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Leigh-on-Sea is in the

Archdeaconry of Southend The Archdeacons in the Diocese of Chelmsford are senior ecclesiastical officers in the Church of England in Essex and East London. They currently include: the Archdeacon of West Ham, the Archdeacon of Colchester and the archdeacons of Chelmsford, ...

of the

Diocese of Chelmsford The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. It was created on 23 January 1914 from part of the Diocese of St Albans. It covers Essex and part of East London. Since 1984 it is divided into three ...

. St Clement's Church stands in the

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

of the Church of England and holds several services each week.

Leigh Rectory

Leigh Rectory was commissioned by Rev. Robert Eden after he became rector in 1837. Located on Broadway, it was completed in 1838, replacing an older rectory erected under Rev. John Davey Hodge. As well as the construction of the rectory building and gardens on a 6-acre site, the work involved the creation of Rectory Grove as a public right of way, replacing a cliff-top path called Chess Lane.Leigh-on-Sea.net, Leigh Library
Retrieved 28 May 2020. The building now serves as the town library but is only one-quarter of its original size, the rest having been demolished after it was acquired by Southend Corporation.

Rectors

The earliest name on the list of rectors at St Clement's Church dates from 1248 Other early rectors include Rev. John Sym (c. 1581–1638), a Scottish-born

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

who was the author of ''Lifes Preservative Against Self-Killing'' (1637). The following have served as rector of Leigh-on-Sea since the Restoration:Leigh-on-Sea.com, St Clement Church
Retrieved 28 May 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Clement, Leigh-on-Sea Grade II* listed buildings in Essex Church of England church buildings in Essex Buildings and structures in Southend-on-Sea