All Souls Church was built in 1881 by The great-niece of the Duke of Wellington Lady Victoria Wellesley and was given to the people of Eastbourne. She was anxious that this shold be a church for all. She hoped the name would best express our Lord's invitation in Matthew 11:28, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest". It was for this and nothing else that she gave so generously. It was also typical of her that she allowed only one reference to herself in the church.

Having decided to build a church, Lady Wellesley asked William Duke of Devonshire for his help. He owned much of the land upon which Eastbourne is built. He responded generously by granting and conveying the land in 1876 and 1879. Lady Wellesley chose Par and Strong of London to be the architects and James Peerless of Eastbourne to be the builders. In spite of great difficulty in putting down the foundations - they had to sunk to a depth of 20 feet - the foundation stone was laid on the 14th of June 1881 and the whole church was ready for consecration in just over a year - on the 6th July 1882.

All Souls was copied from an actual church in the Lombardy district of Italy during the latter part of the 6th century. The style of architecture is called Lombardo-Byzantine in its simple basilca form. Other original examples of this can be seen in Verona, Ravona and crema. In this country another copy can be found in the parish church at Wilton, near Salisbry.

The most striking feature outside the church is the free standing Campanile or bell tower.