Christ Church St Leonards on Sea

The Victorian brick tower of Christ Church rises rather abruptly from the residential streets of St Leonards, a reminder that this seaside town was once a proper development project with ambitions. Built in the 1860s when St Leonards was being carved out as a fashionable resort, the church sits comfortably among the terraced villas and tree-lined avenues that still define the area's character.

It's a working parish church, so you can wander in during opening hours and get a sense of how the Victorians did ecclesiastical architecture on the Sussex coast - solid, confident, no-nonsense. The interior is straightforward rather than ornate, which somehow makes it feel more genuine than the over-restored efforts you find elsewhere. Worth half an hour if you're staying locally and interested in how places like this anchored their communities.

If you're camped at Combe Haven Holiday Park just down the road or any of the other sites scattered around Crowhurst and Coghurst, the church is an easy walk for a Sunday morning or a quiet afternoon between beach trips. St Leonards itself merits a proper explore - the seafront has held up better than many Sussex resorts, and the Hastings border is barely a mile away if you fancy combining visits.

Check locally for service times before you go, as this isn't a heritage attraction with set opening hours. It's simply a church that's been doing its job for over 150 years.