Goring on Sea lies just west of Worthing on the south coast and is the site of a secret treasure. For many centuries after the Reformation there were no Roman Catholic churches anywhere near this small town. However, as Goring’s population grew, a small stone barn adjacent to a farm became a place of worship for a congregation. Unheated and damp a more substantial church replaced it in the 1970s, and it has become the church hall. Typical of the time the outside of the Church of the English Martyrs is architecturally spare of decoration, but this changes as soon as you enter.

In 1987 a congregant, Gary Bevans, made a pilgrimage to Rome where he saw the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo’s ceiling. A decorator and artist, he realised that the ceiling of his home church was exactly 2/3s the size of the Sistine Chapel. After receiving the required permissions and reskinning the existing ceiling he spent five years, single handedly, reproducing an exact copy. Using acrylic paint, he matched the original colours as accurately as possible. The result is a tribute to the Lord he worships and a wonder to behold. It is thought to be the only accurate reproduction in the world.

Windows at each end of the Nave are also of interest. Peter the Fisherman’s window is brightly coloured and is an abstract depiction of a fishing boat, nets, the sea and fish with the South Downs in the background. It was made by a local artist with glass from a decommissioned convent church in nearby Littlehampton. The second window is of etched glass and depicts 10 English martyrs including St. Alban, Thomas Becket, Margaret Clitheroe of York, John Fisher and Thomas More.

Although the site is visited by many each year it’s relative obscurity may be due to its creator, Gary Bevans, who has declined publicity of any kind including radio and TV interviews. His ceiling is dedicated to God, and he wants no acknowledgement of any kind.