St John the Evangelist's Church, Burgess Hill

St John the Evangelist’s is the Church of England’s parish church for Burgess Hill in West Sussex. Built in the 1860s of local brick in a Gothic Revival style, it stands on land donated after an earlier plan on the edge of town was abandoned. The church was consecrated in 1863 and became the town’s first Anglican place of worship. It is now a Grade II* listed building and has administered several other churches in the town over the years. The churchyard contains the grave of Annie Mackintosh, whose son the Antarctic explorer Aeneas Mackintosh is also remembered there. The church’s design by Thomas Talbot Bury mixes 13th-century Decorated Gothic with Geometrical elements. Red brick dominates, but yellow and black courses create striking patterns, and stone dressings highlight doorways and windows. Inside, the nave has an arched oak roof on octagonal columns, while the chancel roof is more elaborate. Trefoil windows appear throughout, with quatrefoils in the clerestory that the critic Ian Nairn described as unusual. The pulpit, lectern and font are oak-carved memorials to local families and benefactors. The tower holds eight bells cast by John Taylor & Co and a four-faced clock added in 1887 for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. A south aisle was added in 1875 and a vestry in 1889, while a screen in the north transept was installed late in the 20th century. The original pews remain, and stained glass by Franz Mayer & Co and a marble altar complete the interior. Outside, the church sits at the heart of Burgess Hill, close to the railway station that helped the town grow.