St George's Church, Worthing

St George’s Church stands in East Worthing, a district in the south-east of Worthing, a seaside town in West Sussex. Built in 1867–68 in Decorated Gothic style, it was designed by George Truefitt to serve the growing residential area. The church was extended twice within sixteen years, adding porches, a vestry and a transept. A planned tower was never completed beyond a short stump. Architect H. Overnell later designed the church hall in 1935, and a vicarage was established nearby in the early 1900s. English Heritage has recognised its architectural and historical importance with a Grade C listing. The church’s origins reflect Worthing’s rapid 19th-century growth, encouraged by royal interest and Brighton’s fashionable reputation. East Worthing was once marshy land with few buildings, but by the 1860s it needed a place of worship. The foundation stone was laid by Bishop Ashurst Turner Gilbert, and the church opened in 1868. Longley, a local historian, recorded the builder as Mr Longhurst. The church founded a school in 1874, which grew until its closure in 1940. Inside, the church has a wide chancel and aisled nave with apses at the north end. The interior is simple and open, with small lancet windows and a small belfry topped by a stone spirelet. The roof is covered with red tiles, and the building uses Bargate stone rubble with ashlar courses. Two mission chapels founded by the church still stand: one in Newland Road, now a studio, and another on Ham Road, now a garage. The parish today covers the south-eastern part of Worthing, bordered by the railway, Adur district, the sea and the town’s High Street.