History & Heritage
The history and heritage of Eastbourne: landmarks, famous people, wartime stories, and the town’s past.
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Summerdown Camp: Eastbourne’s WWI Convalescent Camp
The story of Summerdown Camp, Eastbourne’s First World War convalescent camp. Opened in 1915 as the first and largest of its kind in Britain, it treated around 150,000 wounded soldiers — the blue-uniformed “Blue Boys” who became a familiar sight in the town. Pioneering care, camp life, famous visitors, and what remains today.
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The History of Eastbourne’s Seafront: Why It Has No Shops
The history of Eastbourne’s elegant seafront — and why, unlike any other British resort, it has no shops facing the sea. How the 7th Duke of Devonshire and architect Henry Currey built a Victorian town “for gentlemen by gentlemen” from the 1850s, and the parades, gardens and landmarks that still line the promenade today.
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Cecil Beaton: The Eastbourne Schooldays of a Style Icon
Sir Cecil Beaton — royal photographer, Oscar-winning designer and chronicler of 20th-century glamour — had his artistic talent first recognised as a schoolboy at St Cyprian’s in Eastbourne. From the Bright Young Things and the Blitz to three Academy Awards for Gigi and My Fair Lady, the story of a St Cyprian’s old boy who…
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St Mary’s Church: One of Eastbourne’s Oldest Buildings
St Mary’s Church in Eastbourne’s Old Town is one of the town’s oldest buildings — an ancient parish church begun in the 12th century, around which the original village of Bourne grew. Its medieval architecture, carved fish graffiti, historic monuments and treasures, and how to visit this Grade I listed “Civic Church”.
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Nelson Carter VC: Eastbourne’s Victoria Cross Hero
The story of Nelson Carter VC, Eastbourne’s Victoria Cross hero. A cinema doorman from the Old Town, he became a Company Sergeant Major in the Royal Sussex Regiment and won the VC for extraordinary bravery at the Battle of the Boar’s Head on 30 June 1916 — “the day Sussex died” — where he was…
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Was Animal Farm Inspired by Willingdon, Eastbourne?
Was Animal Farm inspired by Willingdon, the village near Eastbourne? George Orwell’s Manor Farm sits “near Willingdon”, old Major’s show name is “Willingdon Beauty”, and Mr Jones drinks at the Red Lion at Willingdon. Orwell was schooled in Eastbourne — so did the name travel with him? The evidence, and the honest verdict.
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The Eastbourne Titanic Cellist: John Wesley Woodward
The story of John Wesley Woodward, the Eastbourne cellist who died on the Titanic in 1912. He played with the town’s Municipal Orchestra, the Grand Hotel and the Duke of Devonshire’s Orchestra before joining the ship’s band that famously played on as she sank. The memorial by the Bandstand that honours him today.
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Charles Dickens in Eastbourne: The Old Town Connection
Charles Dickens — the greatest novelist of the Victorian age — made several visits to Eastbourne’s Old Town in the 1830s, staying with his friend the artist Augustus Egg at a house in Borough Lane. The story behind the blue plaque, the ancient house called Pilgrims, and Dickens’s genuine link to the town.
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Smuggling on the Eastbourne Coast: The Free Traders
The story of smuggling on the Eastbourne coast — the 18th-century “free traders” who ran brandy, gin and tea ashore at Pevensey Bay, Birling Gap and Cuckmere Haven. The gangs, the hidden inns, the Langney Bridge killing, the legends, and how the Coastal Blockade finally ended the trade.
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Eastbourne’s Blue Plaques: A Complete Guide
A complete guide to Eastbourne’s blue plaques — the scheme that marks the homes of famous residents, from explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton (the town’s first) and Nobel chemist Frederick Soddy to Lewis Carroll, Eric Ravilious, Mabel Lucie Attwell, Charles Dickens and Tommy Cooper. Who they honour, where to find them, and how to follow the…