At the end of the 18th century Worthing was just a small agricultural and fishing village by the sea with no church for Christian worship. The closest Parish church was Broadwater. By an Act of Parliament it was decided to build a Chapel-of-Ease and land occupied by the current building was purchased. The north / south road thereafter became known as Chapel Road. Subscriptions amounting to £7,000 were raised for a building fund and everyone involved in the work was required to purchase one or more pews. The Chancel was at the east-end of the building adjoining Chapel Road and there were galleries with additional pew seating around the north, west and south sides. The north and south galleries and pews remain today. The Chapel was consecrated in September 1812. The first Chaplain appointed was the Reverend William Davison (1812 - 1852) who was not only enthusiastic for the Chapel but also saw the need to educate children of the area and started a school for them. This brought into existence Davison School that remains in our town today.
By the 1880's the town was larger and Church attendance greater so work was undertaken on an extension. Money for the £3,680 work was raised by an appeal for the public to contribute, which they did over a five-year period. An extension eastwards was out of the question due to the proximity of Chapel Road, so the building was enlarged to the west and the Chancel moved from east to west-end - an unusual position for an Anglican Church. The Chapel was upgraded to Parish Church status and dedicated to St Paul in October 1893.
For more information see booklet 'St Paul's Church Worthing - A Short History' by H. A. L Jefferson. First published 1969 and last reprint 1983.
St Paul's became the town centre church, growing in importance in the life of the community. It continued to be a popular centre for Christian worship, civic occasions and the care of townspeople until it closed in 1996, due to an unsafe roof. By this time the building had been classified as Grade II* listing of significant importance and was located within the Conservation area of Chapel Road. A Project Team carried out a detailed review of the needs of people in the local area, part of which is designated as Urban Priority and also of the town centre in general. It was soon realised that St Paul's had an impressive past and it would have an important future for our town. Out of this review came the plan to convert the Church into a Community Centre with Christian ethos. It would provide a Chapel for worship (returned to the original east end of the building), a Cafeteria for sale of refreshments including light lunches, rooms for use by Community groups, larger areas for exhibitions, theatre, lectures etc. This would ensure that the wider Community would benefit from using the Centre and the Grade II* listed building would be preserved and appreciated by generations to come. See 'Project Progress' for more details.
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