St Mary's Church, Hampden Park, Eastbourne

St Mary's Church
St Mary the Virgin Church
The church from the south
50°47′49″N 0°16′18″E / 50.7969°N 0.2717°E / 50.7969; 0.2717Coordinates: 50°47′49″N 0°16′18″E / 50.7969°N 0.2717°E / 50.7969; 0.2717
Location	Decoy Drive, Hampden Park, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN22 9PP
Country	United Kingdom
Denomination	Anglican
Churchmanship	Modern Catholic
Website	St Mary's in the Park
History
Founded	1908
Dedication	Mary
Events	1940: original church bombed
Architecture
Status	Parish church
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	25 September 1998
Architect(s)	William Hay Murray (original church); Edward Maufe (present church)
Style	Perpendicular Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1952
Completed	1954
Administration
Parish	Hampden Park: St Mary
Deanery	Eastbourne
Archdeaconry	Lewes and Hastings
Diocese	Chichester
Province	Canterbury
Clergy
Priest(s)	Rev. John Hay

St Mary's Church (dedicated in full to St Mary the Virgin) is the Anglican parish church of the Hampden Park suburb of Eastbourne, a town and borough in the English county of East Sussex. Originally linked to the church at nearby Willingdon, it later became a separate parish church. The first building was destroyed by a bomb during World War II, and Edward Maufe was commissioned to design a replacement church; the hilltop building, finished in 1954, has been called "one of his most charming designs". English Heritage has listed it at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.

Until the early 19th century, the area covered by the present town of Eastbourne was thinly populated: there were four small settlements separated by farmland. The oldest, originally known as Bourne and now as the Old Town, was the site of the old parish church. Residential development was focused on the seafront until the start of the 20th century, when suburbs began to develop inland around the main roads and railway line. These were initially served by the ancient parish church of Willingdon, a village which was later surrounded by 20th-century housing.

Housing developed near Hampden Park railway station (initially named Willingdon) after it opened in 1888. In June 1906, the vicar of Willingdon considered opening a chapel of ease to serve the area. He received support from Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon and his wife Marie: he gave land for the church and she arranged a fundraising concert which added £200 (£19,400 in 2017) to the building fund. The Marchioness laid the first stone of the chapel of ease on 2 May 1908, and it opened in November of that year. Architect William Hay Murray designed a Vernacular-style red-brick, stone and tile building with windows extending above the line of the eaves. Born in London, Murray had established an architectural practice in Hastings by 1874 and had apparently moved to Eastbourne by 1894. He designed or altered several Anglican churches in both towns.