When you walk along the seafront on a hot summer’s day, you take for granted all the thousands of tourists lounging around, but do you know when Hastings first became popular - and why?
Seaside holidays started to become fashionable from the mid 18th Century when sea bathing was recommended for improving health.
When the Chalybeate spring was discovered in Hastings at the turn of the 18th/19th century, Hastings & St Leonards with its pure air and spectacular countryside, came to the forefront of the seaside revolution.
To cope with the influx of visitors and the increase in population it became necessary to expand beyond the Bourne Valley in the Old Town, in which Hastings had been settled for several centuries. This was possible because part of the West Hill dramatically collapsed into the sea along with part of the castle in 1827, and there was a much more gradual change in the coastline. In the 1820s, Pelham Crescent, which was considered to be the most beautiful seaside architecture in Britain at the time, was built along with the fashionable Wellington Square. These changes were not unlike those in other fishing ports which were also being turned into seaside resorts. It took the genius of James Burton, the architect of much of the Bloomsbury and Regents Park districts in London to come up with the idea of constructing a seaside resort.
His town, known as St Leonards-on-Sea began to be built in 1828. Burton’s own house, which is now known as Crown House, was largely pre-fabricated at his Regents Park works, moved down to the coast and was completed first. The seafront architecture used classical lines and contrasted favourable with the other styles Burton used away from the seafront. His
work was further developed after his death by his son, Decimus Burton - who is an even more famous name in British architecture. In its early days, St Leonards attracted royalty and nobility from Britain and abroad.
To find out more about the history of Hastings & St Leonards, you are welcome to attend talks by local historian Edward Preston. They will be held every Monday at 11am until September at the Burtons’ St Leonards society at 36 Marina.
All the lectures cover the general history of the town, but each week will focus on a different aspect, as shown below.
July 2 - Transport
July 9 - Military
July 16 - Writers
July 23 - Artists
July 30 - Musical
August 6 - Churches
August 13 - Villages
August 20 - Open Spaces
August 27 - Commemorative Plaques
September 3 - Fishing/lifeboat/sea
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This page last updated: 12/07/2001