The man who gave the world Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland loved Eastbourne so much that he returned to the same seaside lodgings summer after summer for some twenty years. Lewis Carroll — in real life the Oxford mathematician Charles Dodgson — found in the town the perfect blend of peace to write and Victorian seaside pleasure. Here’s the story of his Eastbourne summers.
The man behind Alice
Lewis Carroll was the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford, for nearly three decades. In 1865 he published Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, followed in 1871 by Through the Looking-Glass — books that have never been out of print and remain among the best-loved stories in the English language, giving us the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and the nonsense poem Jabberwocky. Behind the whimsy was a rigorous, restless mind that never stopped working — even on holiday.
Twenty summers by the sea
In 1877, aged 45, Dodgson took summer lodgings at 7 Lushington Road in Eastbourne, in the home of a couple named Dyer, close to the railway station. He liked it so much that he came back the following summer, and the next, and the next — returning to the same house each July through October for around twenty years, right up until the last years of his life. Eastbourne became his settled summer retreat, a fixed point in his year away from Oxford. A blue plaque records that he holidayed in the town 19 times, marking the house of that very first visit.
Work and play in Eastbourne
For Dodgson, Eastbourne was never simply idle holiday. The quiet of Lushington Road gave him the peace to write and think, and he got a great deal done here. It was at Eastbourne that he completed his ambitious late fairy-story Sylvie and Bruno, and he devoted much thought to mathematics and logic. Remarkably, it was partly during these Eastbourne summers that he developed his theories on voting and proportional representation — ideas so far ahead of their time that aspects of them still influence electoral systems today.
He balanced the work with the pleasures of a fashionable resort. A devoted theatre-goer, he attended plays and concerts at Devonshire Park and took the train up to London for the latest productions. And he was a tremendous walker, thinking nothing of a fifteen- or twenty-mile hike over the South Downs — time to turn over puzzles, compose verses and let his imagination roam. The beach, the promenade and the pier completed the picture of a perfect Victorian seaside summer.
Did you know? The creator of the topsy-turvy logic of Wonderland was, in his day job, a serious logician and mathematician — and his Eastbourne holidays were as much about wrestling with voting systems and puzzles as relaxing by the sea.
The blue plaque today
A blue plaque now marks 7 Lushington Road, celebrating the town’s long association with one of the giants of English literature. Like Eastbourne’s other literary landmarks, it’s a private home rather than a visitor attraction, so it’s one to appreciate from the street — but it’s a lovely thought that the creator of Alice spent so many contented summers here.
Carroll is in remarkable company: Eastbourne’s literary connections also include George Orwell, who was schooled in the town, and a host of other famous names drawn to this stretch of the Sussex coast.
Lewis Carroll in Eastbourne: FAQs
Did Lewis Carroll live in Eastbourne?
He didn’t live there permanently, but he spent his summer holidays in Eastbourne for around twenty years, from 1877 until near his death in 1898, lodging at 7 Lushington Road. It was his regular summer retreat away from Oxford.
Where did Lewis Carroll stay in Eastbourne?
At 7 Lushington Road, near the railway station, in the home of a family called Dyer. A blue plaque marks the house today. It is a private residence, so please view it respectfully from the street.
What did Lewis Carroll do in Eastbourne?
He used the peace of his lodgings to write and think — completing his late book Sylvie and Bruno and developing his theories on voting and proportional representation — while enjoying the theatre, long walks on the Downs, and the seaside.
What is Lewis Carroll’s real name?
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. “Lewis Carroll” was the pen name he used for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and his other literary works; under his own name he was a respected Oxford mathematician.
Discover more literary Eastbourne: George Orwell, St Cyprian’s School, and the town’s wider history and heritage.