This page contains the following information about the America Ground:
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The history of the Robertson Street/town centre area in Hastings is far richer and more extraordinary than many people would ever believe. During the 19th century, the labourers working on Pelham Crescent took over plots of land to the west of the cliff. By 1828 there were over 1,000 people living there in lean-to sheds and shacks. The sanitary conditions were appalling and the residents began to have a reputation for drunkenness and lawlessness. Hastings Corporation and the Earl of Chichester tried to get some control over the situation, but were met with resistance and hostility by the those living there. The occupants living in the area hoisted the American Stars and Stripes flag which was a symbol for victory and declared independence. This is how the area became known as the America Ground.
Time passed, lawyers grew rich and by the 1820s the ramshackle collection of shacks and upturned boat hulks developed into a viable community supporting more than 1,000 souls, including a carpenter, a miller, a mast and blockmaker, a baker, a brewer, a cow keeper, fishermen and a gardener. Lodging houses were a major business along with pig keeping, although there were also warehouses for rope, tallow and coal. Limekilns, stonemasons and a tallow factory, a sawing house and butchers also existed. There was a gin palace, and surprisingly enough, a school!
Unfortunately for the residents of the shingle bank, the quaint little town of Hastings was becoming increasingly popular with the Victorian gentry. This caused the local councillors to ask for government help to remove 'the beggars, gypsies or other undesirables' that inhabited the city of shacks, huts and tents that many regarded as a blight on the western end of the town.
A Crown Commissioner's Inquisition was called to establish ownership of the land. The inquisition granted leases to 100 inhabitants for seven years after which time the property would be acquired by the crown. However, the squatters had the last laugh as most of them refused the lease offer, transported their buildings to St Leonards, and re-erected them there. Twenty-eight buildings in the centre of St Leonards have been shown to have been moved from the America Ground!
The America Ground was vacant from the 1834 exodus until 1849 when real estate developer Patrick Francis Robertson leased the crown lands for 99 years at a rate of £500 per year. The following year, he started work on the road that would bear his name ('Robertson Street') on what had been the America Ground.
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Illustrations of the original America Ground area
Following a profile-raising event on 4 July, there will be a day-long celebration of the America Ground during our Coastal Currents Festival (29 August to 30 September). The event will focus attention on the shops, cafés, bars and businesses of the America Ground area. Colourful art events, live-music, poetry, a street market and family-friendly activities will attract a wide range of local people and high-profile media coverage. There are also plans for artists and creative teams to stage events in some vacant shops. From 2010 onwards, the festival will be held on 4 July itself.
Applications for the funding of the event are now being sought from local artists, retailers, community groups and businesses eager to bring their unique flavour to the festival, make an impact and increase the visibility of their offerings.
Submissions are invited for live/site-specific projects using the America Ground story as a point of departure. A range of mainly outdoor, and some built, locations will be available within the festival area of Robertson Street, Claremont, Trinity Triangle and the surrounding roads, with use of the seafront and beach also encouraged.
Budgets will be approximately £500 to £700. To make a submission, please email your proposal to events@f-ish.co.uk, including a brief timetable, CV, budget and any supporting imagery to us by 31 July 2009.
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This page last updated: 23/07/2009