St Michael and All Angels Church, Lowfield Heath

St Michael and All Angels is a Gothic Revival church in Lowfield Heath, a former village now absorbed into the Gatwick Airport zone in West Sussex. Built in 1867 by William Burges, it is the only surviving pre-airport building after every other structure was demolished for airport expansion. The church stands among warehouses and industrial units, its Grade II* listing marking it as nationally important. It once served a small community that grew around the turnpiked London to Brighton road after 1770. The village thrived for decades until Gatwick’s growth began in the 1950s, leading to its eventual disappearance. The church’s architecture reflects Burges’s French Gothic style, with yellow sandstone walls and a shingled timber spire. Inside, steep pine roofs rest on king posts, and paired columns support the chancel arch. Carved panels around the west rose window depict the Four Ages of Man, while stained glass windows date from the 19th and 20th centuries. A plaque near the entrance commemorates the village’s loss to airport development. The churchyard holds war graves from the two world wars, including a Royal Air Force officer. Now used by the Seventh-day Adventist community, the building remains a quiet witness to the past. Its interior retains Burges’s sculptures and carvings, alongside historic windows and memorials. Surrounded by modern industrial surroundings, it offers a rare glimpse of 19th-century craftsmanship in an otherwise transformed landscape. The contrast between its medieval-inspired design and the nearby airport underscores the church’s unique place in history.