St Luke's Church is a United Reformed church in the Silverhill suburb of Hastings, a town and borough in East Sussex, England. The congregation was originally independent (not linked to any Christian denomination) before taking up Presbyterianism, and worshipped in a private house from its founding in 1853 until a permanent church was provided in 1857; this was one of the oldest Presbyterian places of worship in southeast England. The growth of the community has resulted in several extensions since then, and severe damage caused by the Great Storm of 1987 was quickly repaired—except for the loss of the building's distinctive spire. The church, along with most other Presbyterian congregations, joined the United Reformed Church when that denomination was formed in 1972. It is one of four United Reformed Churches in the borough of Hastings.
History
The manor of Stone was one of several medieval land divisions in the area now covered by Hastings. Its land covered a large, thinly populated area northwest of the ancient fishing port of Hastings. Ecclesiastically, it was a prebend linked to the collegiate church of St Mary-in-the-Castle in the grounds of Hastings Castle.
Much of the land in the manor was part of a single farm. Originally named Cildetona (farm of the heirs or children), the name became modernised to Childerton and later Chillington Farm, before being recorded as High Ridge Farm in 1714 (around the time it was bought by the Town Clerk of Hastings), Salver Hill Farm in 1785 and Silver Hill Farm before 1815. Around this time, Hastings and the high-class neighbouring planned development of St Leonards-on-Sea had begun to develop rapidly as fashionable seaside resorts, helped by better transport connections and royal patronage. New turnpikes were built northwards to Sedlescombe in 1837 and Battle the following year to reduce the road distance from Hastings and St Leonards-on-Sea to London; the roads met at Silver Hill Farm, and the area began to develop as a suburb, with a windmill, hotel (the Tivoli) and tearooms. By 1839, a combined pottery and brickworks building and cottages for its workers also existed.
Despite this development, by 1853 Silver Hill Farm was still a working farm. Francis Smith owned it and a local shopkeeper, George Street, was its tenant. Street employed a tutor, William Boyd, for his son. Boyd was a member of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and had recently studied theology. Realising there were no churches (either Anglican or Nonconformist) nearby—the closest were the ancient Church in the Wood at Hollington and the new St Leonard's Church, the centrepiece of James Burton's St Leonards-on-Sea development—he decided to found one of his own. The resident of Providence Villa, a new house near the Tivoli Hotel, allowed Boyd to use one of his rooms for preaching. Boyd's mission was so successful that by 1855, the congregation was too large for the house and the meetings had to move to a public building (believed to be the hotel itself) nearby.
The meetings were "independent" (not linked to any denomination), and the congregation attended them instead of going to the Anglican churches at Hollington or St Leonards-on-Sea. In 1856, the vicars of both churches visited the meeting and spoke individually to members of the congregation, making clear their opposition:
Despite this opposition, Boyd decided to build a permanent chapel. By this time, his studies were nearly complete and he was about to be ordained into the Presbyterian Church, but the chapel was still intended to be primarily independent and non-denominational. A committee of eight trustees was drawn from the members of various local Anglican and Nonconformist churches who were supportive of the cause, and fundraising began. The landowner Francis Smith—who by this time was in financial difficulty and was about to sell Silver Hill Farm for housing and other development—sold some land for £50 (equivalent to £ in ), and the first chapel was designed by local architect Henry Carpenter and built for £370 (equivalent to £ in ) in a few months in 1857. (He later designed Christ Church in the Blacklands suburb of Hastings for the Anglican community there.) Boyd held the first service at Silver Hill Independent Chapel on 12 July 1857. A Sunday school was inaugurated the following week with 30 children.