Built for Congregational worshippers in 1881 following their secession from a long-established Wesleyan Methodist chapel, it was the third Nonconformist place of worship in the village, whose nearest parish church was in the neighbouring settlement of Salehurst.

Local architect Thomas Elworthy's distinctive design—a "rich" and highly decorated blend of several styles—has divided opinion amongst architectural historians.

The village of Salehurst, mentioned in the Domesday survey of 1086, had an extensive parish spanning the River Rother, East Sussex.

There was no settlement at Robertsbridge, 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Salehurst village,[1] until after 1210, when a Cistercian abbey founded in 1176 moved there from its site further up the valley.

)[5] Independents apparently dominated the early Nonconformist scene locally, and Wesleyan Methodism became prominent in the late 18th century.

One of the early lay preachers during this period of rapid growth, and a leading member of the local Methodist Society, was Edward Piper.

This move was led by Edward Piper, who started holding meetings for Congregational-style worship in a house on Robertsbridge High Street.

[8][9] Five years later, Piper commissioned the St Leonards-on-Sea-based architect[10] Thomas Elworthy to design a new chapel on the site of this house.

[15] Thomas Elworthy, the local architect commissioned to design the church at Robertsbridge, was closely associated with the Hastings area and Nonconformist ecclesiastical architecture.

[13][14] As an architect, Thomas Elworthy is "often maligned",[10] and critical reaction to the building has varied: Nikolaus Pevsner called it "truly horrible" and "most dissolute",[13] whereas a more recent analysis by English Heritage saw it as a "rich and fruity example of a Nonconformist church".