By the mid-twentieth century the old church on Pitsea Mount was no longer ideally placed for the population it served. Pitsea had expanded away from its historic hilltop centre, and a modern church was planned in Rectory Road.
The land had once formed part of Shophouse Farm. Former Pitsea rector the Rev. E. W. Grevatt had purchased land there in 1928. The name St Gabriel also had an earlier local association because a small St Gabriel's chapel had previously existed in Rectory Road.
The foundation stone for the new church was laid on 21 September 1963 by Rev. Grevatt in the presence of the Archdeacon of Southend. Construction was undertaken by A. D. Jackson and Son.
St Gabriel's opened on 5 September 1964 as the replacement for St Michael's. The service of consecration was carried out by the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Rev John Tiarks. The first wedding followed later that month.
Designed by Southend architect Donald M. Corder, the church is markedly different from traditional parish churches. Its distinctive twelve-sided form is said to represent the twelve apostles, while the three points of its steel spire were intended to represent the Trinity.
Although the building was new, some fittings came from elsewhere. Pinewood pews seating around 350 people were obtained from a disused Congregational church in Harlesden, and a bell cast at Whitechapel in 1866 was also acquired.
St Gabriel's represents the movement of Anglican worship from Pitsea's ancient hilltop site into the centre of the modern community. Its opening did not erase St Michael's history; instead it began a new chapter in the same wider parish story.
1928: Rev. E. W. Grevatt purchases the Rectory Road land.
21 September 1963: foundation stone laid.
5 September 1964: St Gabriel's opens and is consecrated.
26 September 1964: first wedding takes place.