~Tales from the Beachy Head Story~Posted by: Annalie A Land of Extremes The Beachy Head Downland landscape is one of extremes, of terror and danger at the knife edge of the ocean, on a sunny day this is a pleasant place for a gentle stroll over undulating hills, on a windy day, this is aContinue reading “Parson Darby and the Legend of a Landscape”
Category Archives: Stories
Revealing a refugee’s story
Kasey This post was originally written in 2016 At Heritage Eastbourne we all have a passion for discovering and sharing stories about Eastbourne’s past. It’s really exciting to come across objects that illumine human experiences at different times in history. One in particular moved us greatly last week. We spend some of our time going through boxesContinue reading “Revealing a refugee’s story”
From Sussex to Passchendaele and back again
Kelly van Doorn “A plate of porridge, 2 cups of tea, bacon, bread, butter… cup of cocoa, steak and chips… Roast beef, roast potatoes, cabbage, carrots, cup of tea… 2 [more] cups of tea, bread, butter, pancakes or jam tart… cold beef… cup of cocoa”. This is what Private Frederick Unsted of the Royal SussexContinue reading “From Sussex to Passchendaele and back again”
Arthur Henry Crook
Eastbourne’s Key Workers Lizzie Williams Arthur Henry Crook was a doctor who lived in Eastbourne in the early to mid-1900s and worked at the Princess Alice Hospital for over 30 years. Arthur was born in 1884 in Southampton, and studied Natural Sciences at Christ College, Cambridge. He was awarded a scholarship to study medicine atContinue reading “Arthur Henry Crook”
Tunnel Vision
Jo Seaman I have grown up with stories of secret tunnels. Suburban myths of passages linking Victorian cellars on an old bomb site (known, rather enigmatically as The Spare Land) in my childhood of the 1970’s and the ubiquitous smugglers’ lairs and underground escape routes of rural Kent and Sussex in my life since. TheyContinue reading “Tunnel Vision”
Grace Milne-Miller
Lizzie Williams A few months ago, while researching the Eastbourne branch of the British Legion, I came across the name Sister Grace Milne Miller. I immediately thought that she was a Nun and wondered why she would be in Eastbourne. After a little research, I discovered that she was a medical Sister and that her storyContinue reading “Grace Milne-Miller”
The Rescuers in Eastbourne
Lizzie Williams With the anniversary of VE Day this week, we wanted to look at the stories of people from Eastbourne during the Second World War. As we found out in our last blog post, Eastbourne suffered almost 100 air raids during the War. You can still see the marks of these bombing raids aroundContinue reading “The Rescuers in Eastbourne”
Peace! But Eastbourne Remembers
Katherine Buckland With the 75th anniversary of VE Day at the end of this week, we wanted to look back to what daily life was like for people in Eastbourne during the Second World War. On Friday 31st August 1939, two days before the declaration of war, Eastbourne received thousands of evacuated children from LondonContinue reading “Peace! But Eastbourne Remembers”
Motoring Around Town
Katherine Buckland We have been finding out about some of the first motors in Eastbourne so if you need your motoring fix in lieu of the Magnificent Motors event this weekend, read on! One of the first owners of a motorcar in Eastbourne was George Stockman of Lyndhurst, Upperton. He had bought his car fromContinue reading “Motoring Around Town”
A Past Perspective
Jo Seaman, Heritage Manager Just before the Covid-19 outbreak finally put paid to our ‘normal’ working life, I was able to carry out a small excavation in Motcombe Gardens, the supposed epicentre of modern Eastbourne (and by modern I mean post 1066AD!). This concentrated on the area around a lump of freestanding masonry in theContinue reading “A Past Perspective”
Heritage Eastbourne 