SussexHASTINGSStClement(julianpguffoggCC-BY-SA2.0)1 JulianPGuffogg

St Clement

Our late 14th century church is where DG Rossetti married Lizzie Siddall and where Inspector Foyle attends church in Foyle's War!

Hastings, Sussex

Opening times

Saturdays 11am to 2pm and usually on Wednesdays from 10am to 12.30pm.

Address

Swann Terrace
Hastings
Sussex
TN34 3HT

St Clement's has many beautiful and interesting features.

As you enter via the porch there is a small modem stained glass window, the work of Margery May in 1962. On the right as you enter is a framed picture and sonnet in memory of Dante Gabriel Rosseti, poet and artist who married Elizabeth Siddall here in 1860. The beautiful Sanctuary Lamp is engraved with their names and was donated by the townspeople.

In the nave you will see two magnificent candlelit chandeliers which are used at special services including Christmas. One was presented by the Hastings Barons of the Cinque Ports who supported the canopy over George II at his coronation in 1761. The other chandelier was given by the townspeople. The great east window together with the Lady Chapel Window are the work of Philip Cole who was the former principal of the Hastings School of Art.

The original windows were blown out by a bomb blast in 1945 when a German bomb demolished the Old Swann Inn in the High Street. This incident is part inspiration for an episode of the television detective series Foyle’s War and the fictional Inspector Foyle’s house is in Croft Road at the west end of St Clement’s.

  • Captivating architecture

  • Enchanting atmosphere

  • Famous connections

  • Magnificent memorials

  • National heritage here

  • Social heritage stories

  • Spectacular stained glass

  • Accessible toilets in church

  • Bus stop within 100m

  • Level access to the main areas

  • Non-accessible toilets in church

  • Parking within 250m

  • Ramp or level access available on request

  • Church of England

  • Cornerstone Grant, £30,000, 2021

  • To help fund work to keep the church at the heart of the local community.

  • Wolfson Fabric Repair Grant, £5,000, 2021

  • To help fund repairs and keep it at the heart of the local community.

Contact information

Other nearby churches

All Saints

Hastings, Sussex

The church was founded in 1020AD, ravaged by the French and rebuilt between 1417 and 1430.

His Place Community Church

Hastings, Sussex

A hidden gem of a Victorian Congregational church in the heart of the Trinity Triangle area of central Hastings.