The alterations were minimal, though, and the building retains many of its original fittings and its "archaeologically correct Gothic" exterior which reflected architectural norms of the early Victorian era.

The famous Battle of 1066 took place nearby; a castle was founded; the town operated its own mint; it was the leader of the Cinque Ports; and seven churches existed within its boundaries.

[6] He bought a large section of this manor, including 1,151 yards (1,052 m) of seafront land, for £7,800 in February 1828, and developed a carefully planned new town, St Leonards-on-Sea, on it.

[6] Residential, commercial and hotel development was rapid, especially after it was incorporated as a town by an Act of Parliament in 1832 (previously it had been run as a private enterprise by Burton),[8] and the resort soon rivalled neighbouring Hastings in popularity.

[10] After Burton's death in 1837, the town continued to grow in all directions, helped by the opening of St Leonards Warrior Square railway station in 1851.

[6] St Leonard's was named in reference to one of Hastings' ancient parish churches which apparently vanished by the early 15th century.

[1][15][16] Other work carried out in this year included the addition of an organ chamber (in the form of an apse) and a vestry, and a new east window in the chancel.

[1][15] As a "large and imposing" building on a prominent, high corner site (a feature typical of the churches of St Leonards-on-Sea and Hastings),[17] it makes a "handsome composition" within the townscape.

[1] The tower rises from the westernmost bay of the south aisle[18] and has paired lancet windows on each face of its top (bell) stage.

[16][18] Writing in 1965, Ian Nairn and Nikolaus Pevsner stated that the interior was "not specially interesting",[19] but several original features remain.

[1] Stained glass of the 19th century—some of which was destroyed in bomb attacks in 1943—included examples by Marrable himself, Heaton, Butler and Bayne, William Miller, Clayton and Bell, Edward Burne-Jones[16] and the Morris & Co. window in the south aisle.

[1] A three-seat sedilia and adjacent piscina, both with ogee-shaped heads, remain in the south wall, and there is a reredos with a carving of the Last Supper.