Visiting St. Saviour's Church, Eastbourne, England: dating from 1868, with a memorable, broach spired, Nordic look

One of the crowning features of St Saviour's Church, Eastbourne is its memorable broach spire. A broach spire is defined as a pyramid or conical structure which tapers into an octagonal spire: a popular characteristic of many church buildings in Scandinavia and northern Germany.

Other features include prominent neo-Gothic arching and buttresses, The structure is executed in a combination of red brick and ashlar.

The building's architect was George E Street (1), a distinguished practitioner in his field.

The spire of St Saviour's Church reaches a height of 54 metres. When passing the building, I always thought it commanded a certain presence, particularly because of its Nordic-seeming broach spire, which dominates the surrounding area.

The building's foundation stone was laid in 1865. The structure was completed in 1868.

St Saviour's Church is Anglican; it is located in South Street, Eastbourne, in England's East Sussex. A particularly good looming view of the building may be obtained as one proceeds along South Street towards St Saviour's Church.

Thus, St Saviour's is a sedate, Victorian structure (2), from an era when solidity and sedateness were almost watchwords, and from when a sense of confidence seems to exude from its architectural creations.

January 12, 2013

Note

(1) Other works by Architect Street include the Royal Courts of Justice, London and St Philip and St James Church, Oxford. He was professionally interested in the Gothic Revival style, borne out also by Gothic features at St. Saviour's.

(2) Eastbourne, being very much a retirement town, would fairly be described as a somewhat sedate place; and it has a high concentration of churches.

Also worth seeing

In Eastbourne itself, there are many church buildings of note; these include the Italianate All Souls Church, the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Old Town, dating from the 12th century; other attractions include: the Beachy Head cliffs; Eastbourne Pier; the Redoubt fortress; the Martello Wish Tower; the 19th century Town Hall; and many others.

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How to get there: United Airlines flies from New York - Newark to London Heathrow Airport, where car rental is available. (Distance from London Heathrow to Eastbourne : 146 kilometres.) For access by road, take M25/M23/A23/A27. There are rail links to Eastbourne from London Victoria railroad station. Some facilities may be withdrawn without notice. Please check with the airline or your travel agent for up to date information.

MJFenn is an independent travel writer based in Ontario, Canada.