Robertson Street United Reformed Church

The church was founded by Daniel Smith in 1856 who carried out much evangelical work around the town. A Gothic Revival-style building on the site was the congregation's original chapel. The Rev. C. New, one of the most important figures in Hastings' Congregationalist community at the time, was instrumental in getting a new church funded and built after the congregation had out-grown the original building and extensive repairs were required in any case. The construction contract was put out to tender; bids ranged from £6,526 to £8,240, and the chosen contractor was John Howell with a bid of £7,090. The new building was dedicated on 7 October 1885 in a service that was presided over by the Rev. C. New with a large number of both Congregationalist and local dignitaries present. and 1881 respectively in the villages of Sedlescombe and Robertsbridge, north of Hastings. The chapel at Robertsbridge maintained links with the Robertson Street church for much of the 20th century. == Decline and Recovery ==

In 1943, total number of church-members had fallen to 238. Gould was succeeded in 1955 by Rev. Charles A Haig. In the years that followed, the church became a centre of evangelism, with particular credit being given to the quality of its youth and children's work, under the guidance of Kay Mozely. In 1978, the Rev. Brian Bowyer came to the church and was able to see the church through difficult days when major faults were discovered in the roof. For a long while, the sanctuary was closed, with the congregation worshipping in the church hall below. A mammoth fundraising effort saw the roof repaired in time for a wedding within the church family to take place in the sanctuary as planned. A ministry team was then developed for the area and different ministries developed. However, the local churches reflected the national trend of declining numbers, and new patterns of providing ministry for the area were constantly being sought. == Further decline and closure ==

The membership of Robertson Street fell from 42 in January 2010 to 28 at the time of closure in December 2012, mainly as a result of deaths. From January 2012, the congregation began exploring its future, ahead of the Local Mission & Ministry Review (LMMR) process due to take place later in the year. Given that the prospects of receiving a minister were slim (due to demands on URC ministry at this time), that there were major problems with the building which would be expensive to make good, and that there were three other URCs in the town as well as churches of other denominations – all of whom would welcome new faces – the congregation began to question whether the best move might well be to disperse as a fellowship and enrich the lives of other churches through the injection of new members. It was also registered for the solemnisation of marriages on 18 April 1887. Until its closure, Robertson Street United Reformed Church was in that denomination's Southern Synod, one of 13 Synods in Great Britain. As of 2010 the Synod was responsible for 168 United Reformed churches in southeast England, including Robertson Street and three others in the Borough of Hastings: Clive Vale, St Luke's and St Mark's. Re-opening - His Place Since December 2013, the building has been owned by His Place Church under the Reverend Chris Sears. His Place is a Pentecostal fellowship founded in 1984 as a house church; it moved to a former mission hall in Duke Road in 1997, but had outgrown the space. £35,000 was spent on roof repairs and fund-raising continues to permit repair of many parts of the building. Current usages alongside the church include a cafe, a theatre, a 'safe space', mental health support groups and many other community groups. Repairs required The windows and stonework, together with ironwork require repairs costing in excess of £750,000 with additional repairs needed to the Robertson Street entrance. Much of the interior finish has been damaged due to damp ingress (both from the roof which has now been repaired, and leaking/insufficient number of gutters and downpipes). Fund-raising is continuing, both by means of 'sponsorship' of individual building elements and on-going events within the building. == Opus Theatre ==

In addition to the usage as a place of worship the venue is also utilised as a theatre - the Opus Theatre under the direction of Polo Piatti. With the horseshoe shaped auditorium providing excellent acoustics. In addition, the venue is utilised for lectures and other events == Architecture of the building ==

The church was listed at Grade II by English Heritage on 20 January 2010; The building is constructed of coursed ragstone with ashlar and probably terracotta dressings. The doors are made of Oak on both the Cambridge Road and Robertson Street aspects. The Robertson Street entrance has steps carved out of York Stone. In total there was seating for 1100 people.) could be utilised by the Young Mens Christian Association in addition to providing classrooms and meeting rooms. At the time of dedication, the church was the only non-conformist place of worship lit by electricity. ==See also==