Former Central Methodist Church, former hall and school and attached walls

Former Central Methodist Church, Hall, School and Attached Walls

A former Methodist Church, hall, Sunday school and associated boundary walls, dated 1907 and designed by architect Carlos Crisford. The complex occupies a prominent corner site in Eastbourne, with the church facing south-east towards Pevensey Road, the hall facing north-west towards Langney Road, and both buildings having elevations along Susans Road.

Church

The church is built of coursed stone rubble with ashlar dressings and a renewed pantiled roof, designed in the Decorated style. The plan comprises a south-east porch, south-east tower with spire, and a five-bay nave with aisles and galleries.

The south-east front features a large seven-bay arched traceried window with trefoil heads. The canted porch has a large central arch and four trefoil-headed lancets flanked by splayed buttresses. Behind the porch are two cambered doorways inscribed 'ENTER HIS GATES WITH THANKSGIVING AND INTO HIS COURTS WITH PRAISE'. The tower rises in three stages with buttresses topped by crockets. The uppermost bell stage contains double trefoil louvred openings, with a band of carved trefoils above the first floor and to the gables. Decorative first-floor lancets and an ogee-arched doorcase are present, with angle buttresses throughout. A stone spire with triangular lucarnes is surmounted by a metal weathervane. The elevation to Susans Road has five gables with triple traceried arched windows lighting the gallery, flat-headed windows to the aisles, and a square porch to the north-east.

The interior retains complete period features including a wooden gallery supported on clustered cast-iron columns, with similar columns supporting the galleries. An elaborate wooden organ case forms the focal point with choir seating incorporating the pulpit. Original pews remain in situ. The roof is of hammerbeam construction. Stained glass is present to the north-west window.

Hall and Sunday School

The hall and school employ identical building materials to the church. The hall is of Decorated style, whilst the school is of Jacobean style.

The hall's Langney Road elevation presents two storeys with a gable topped by a seven-light traceried window with a large stone urn surmounted by a cross inscribed 'THE WORLD IS MY PARISH'. Three cambered windows light the ground floor, with end buttresses and decorative cast-iron rainwater heads.

The school adjoins the hall and rises two storeys. Its Langney Road elevation displays two windows with triple mullioned and transomed lights with a pedimented centre. The ground floor includes, besides a window, a right-side cambered doorcase with a carved panel dated 1907 inscribed 'CENTRAL WESLEYAN HALL AND SCHOOLS'.

The Susans Road elevation presents two storeys with four windows flanked by full-height octagonal crenellated towers at each end and two chimneys disguised as crenellated turrets. The windows are mullioned and transomed casements with leaded lights featuring side cames of red glass, though some have been replaced with glass and false lead cames. The central pair of windows are set back and form four-light mullioned and transomed casements with a pediment to the central two lights. The projecting ends contain three-light mullioned and transomed casements with pediments to the central light. The corner towers have single lights and diaper patterns above the first floor.

The interior includes a staircase with fine decorative cast-iron balustrading.

Attached Boundary Walls

Low walls of flint with stone coping run along the Langney Road and Pevensey Road elevations. These are accompanied by cast-iron gates and railings, with flint and stone gate piers or buttresses surmounted by gabled caps. Most of the railings have been lost since the Second World War.