The next time you walk along the beach, with shingle crunching underfoot and seagulls shrieking overhead, you might like to remember that you are not just walking along any old beach, you are walking along a part of the East Sussex coast which is steeped in history and boasts some of the most unique maritime heritage in the country.
Smugglers, royalty, ship builders and fishermen, Hastings has seen it all over the last thousand years.
If you walk along up to Rock-a-Nore, you’ll be in the heart of it the Stade. The name ‘the Stade’, dates back to before The Battle of Hastings in 1066, and means ‘landing place’. Back in medieval times, Hastings was one of the premier Cinque Ports and provided England with naval craft - before the Royal Navy existed.
In return. Hastings fishermen were given the use of the Stade, and it is now home to the largest beach-based fishing fleet in Europe.
In the early 19th Century, the town was a major smuggling port the smugglers used to land their boats at night full of tea and tobacco and spirits and other goods which carried heavy government taxes on them. The goods were unloaded and hidden in caves in the cliffs - some of them were stored in St Clements Caves, on the West Hill, allegedly!
You’ve probably been and wandered around Rock-a-Nore Road and the fishing beach, bought fresh fish, looked at the unique Net Huts or been into the Fishermen’s Museum, Underwater World and the Shipwreck Heritage Centre.
The area is full of history, and often it is so packed during the summer months that people spill out in to the road. So the question is how do we make best use of the area to benefit the town, and put Hastings firmly on the map as a destination of history and intrigue, rather than candy-floss and amusement arcades? In April 2000, the Council appointed consultants to look at some ideas put forward by the University of Greenwich Business School for a ‘Maritime Stade’. It is a proposal which aims to maximise the tourism potential and heritage of the Stade.
The consultants were impressed with the Stade. They found it an atmospheric and very unusual place, partly due to the different activities taking place there, and partly because of its setting. What everyone agreed was not to turn the Stade into some kind of commercial theme park.
So what should be done? The area needs a ‘light touch’, not a drastic change of use. The consultants agreed that this meant retaining the charm and character of the area, making the most of its history and heritage and promoting its uniqueness. In the long run, this is likely to lead to a positive image of Hastings & St Leonards and attract different types of visitor to the town.
The consultants set out a list of what they thought could be done to make the most of the area:
A variety of options and ideas have come out of these studies. The main three are improvements to the Tourist Information Centre, a new facility such as a restaurant and the removal of the coach park.
At the moment the information centre in the Old Town is a small building which could be improved.
Upgrading, or even rebuilding the tourist information centre (TIC) in the coach park at Rock-a-Nore is an exciting idea. It would be possible to make the TIC the ‘gateway’ to the Stade as well as offering an information service to visitors.
An idea that the consultants came up with, is to develop an upmarket fish restaurant, which would be of a good enough quality to feature in eating out guides and be an attraction in itself.
Who could want more than a restaurant using local produce to provide high quality fish dishes in a beautiful beach setting? The idea for the restaurant has been based on other successful restaurants in coastal towns, including Rick Stein’s restaurant in Padstow and the Royal Native Oyster Stores restaurant in Whitstable. These are good examples of how beneficial renowned eating places can be to a town.
If such a restaurant was set up, the consultants believe it would have a significant regenerative effect on the area. It would also create around 20 - 30 jobs.
An important part in all this would be the relocation of the coach park. At the moment, the coach park takes up a large amount of space. But it is well used - during the summer it is often full to the gills.
It would be possible to turn the area into a drop off point visitors to the town would get dropped off by the coaches in the Stade area, and the coach would park elsewhere and then pick the passengers up at the same place later that day.
The coach park could then be used as public space acting as the gateway to the Stade and the site of the new tourist information centre. If the coach park was relocated, it would be likely to sited next to Summerfields Leisure Centre.
The Council will now be consulting with the Stade Partnership and other local organisations that would be affected by the proposals. It will also be looking at other similar projects around the country to see what could be learned from them. The potential for a fish restaurant will continue to be explored with potential operators.
Councillor Mike Bigg, Cabinet Member responsible for Regeneration and also an Old Town Councillor, is excited by the proposals, he said: This report is well researched and contains a lot of detail. It provides a vision for the future of the Maritime Stade and Old Town that is worth taking further. I think it will be widely supported by those who have the best interest of the Stade at heart.
"In particular I welcome the proposals for a new visitor centre, which will bring benefits to visitors and residents alike."
If the scheme was agreed and received the full backing of all parties, it would be funded partly by the Council and with money from Single Regeneration Budget 6 (SRB 6 provided by the Government) and with Objective 2 and Interreg 3 (both of these are European Funding).
Street lighting along Rock-a-Nore Road is going to be replaced to create a safe environment for visitors and residents during the evening.
At the moment there are just nine street lamps along Rock-a-Nore Road. Eighteen new columns will be erected and the design will be in keeping with heritage styles.
Fourteen traditional Rye style cast iron columns and lanterns will be used along the road, they are the same as the ones found in the rest of the Old Town. At the entrance to Rock-a-Nore Road and around Winkle Island and East Cliff House, where the road is wide, four columns and lanterns will be installed that are the same as the ones in Robertson Street and Warrior Square.
You could soon see the continuation of the programme to repair the town’s Net Huts. Repairs to around half of them have now been completed, but a further three year programme funded by English Heritage, Hastings Council, Old Hastings Preservation Society and the European Union will mean that all the huts will be finished.
The result of all this work will be a package of measures which will benefit the whole area. Already the vision for the Maritime Stade is beginning to become clearer.
It is easy to forget just what our town has to offer. But by making the most of its heritage, it is more than likely that in the future, Hastings & St Leonards will once again be making history with its extraordinary mix of charm, culture and of course its complete uniqueness.
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This page last updated: 06/04/2001