St Mary of the Angels, Worthing

Church of St Mary of the Angels, Worthing
The church from the northeast
50°48′48″N 0°22′38″W / 50.8132°N 0.3773°W / 50.8132; -0.3773
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Parish church
Dedication	Saint Mary
Consecrated	1864
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Grade II
Designated	21 May 1976
Architect(s)	Henry Clutton Frederick Walters
Architectural type	Church
Style	French Gothic Revival
Completed	1864
Specifications
Spire height	76 feet (23 m)
Administration
Province	Southwark
Diocese	Arundel & Brighton
Deanery	Worthing
Clergy
Priest(s)	Fr Terry Martin

The Church of St Mary of the Angels, Worthing, is in Worthing, West Sussex, England. It is a Grade II listed building and the earliest of the four Roman Catholic churches in Worthing. It is an active Roman Catholic parish church in the diocese of Arundel & Brighton and the Worthing deanery.

The Church of St Mary of the Angels was opened by Thomas Grant, Roman Catholic bishop of Southwark, the first local Roman Catholic bishop since the Reformation.^{[citation needed]}

The church was built on land bought by Thomas Gaisford, owner of Offington Hall in Broadwater. Previously Gaisford had allowed the new chapel he had built at Offington Hall to be used by the public from 1859. Gaisford had previously married the Catholic Lady Emily St Lawrence, daughter of Thomas St Lawrence, 3rd Earl of Howth and Lady Emily de Burgh. The church was the first place of Catholic worship in Worthing.^{[citation needed]}

The church was built with the Our Lady of Sion convent adjacent to the church. The convent is run by the Sisters of Sion, who also founded the nearby independent school Our Lady of Sion School. The church lies at the corner of Richmond Road and Crescent Road, close to the triumphal arch of Park Crescent.^[1]

Originally designed by Henry Clutton in the style of French Gothic revival with an exterior built of red brick with Portland stone, the church was extended by Frederick Walters in 1897-1907 to include a baptistery and an extension to the porch and sacristy. The church contains a 76-foot-tall (23 m) bell tower with a miniature spire.^[1]

• Church website
• Worthing Borough Council Listed Building Register