Anti-aircraft battery stationed on the West St Leonards sea front during World War II.

West St Leonards: undiscovered country

To the west of the Old Town is the town centre, to the west of that is St Leonards. Further on is West St Leonards, which many visitors and even borough residents don’t really know. A new and free exhibition puts that right: ‘GO WEST:  A History of West St Leonards’ at the Electro Studios, 5 Seaside Road, TN38 0AL, shows people what they’re missing. Bernard McGinley was impressed.

The Borough of Hastings is notoriously imbalanced. Action and attention seem skewed to the eastern end, the Old Town, an apparently permanent state of affairs. In places such as Bulverhythe, Harley Shute and Grosvenor Gardens, feeling marginalised is common. (The curt dismissal by the Town Deal Board of the carefully prepared Science-on-Sea project fairly recently was a graphic instance of the problem.)

The West St Leonards Forum is now hosting an exhibition (to 16 April) that explores modern West St Leonards and its rich past, and finds much to celebrate. Judges, the local gift-makers, have been involved in making this exhibition happen. Filsham, Pebsham and Hollington Hall also feature.

The Bulverhythe Hotel, demolished 2018

A long history

In West St Leonards, the past is all around. The Conqueror, Guillaume le Bâtard, came ashore at Bulverhythe according to some accounts. The mediæval ruins of St Mary’s Chapel can still be seen behind the Bull at Bulverhythe. The Port of Bulverhythe was mentioned in 1624 for its notoriety in smuggling. Filsham Farmhouse has been standing since 1682.  The Amsterdam foundered in 1749. There were Martello Towers to repel Bonaparte.  In 1817 the poet John Keats was here, and (much earlier) vegetarian iguanodons, and a prehistoric forest. Eventually Bo-Peep Junction and West Marina Station gave a railway focus to the area. There was horse-racing and golfing. Later there was Pebsham Aerodrome.

In 1921 a German submarine was washed ashore. (The exhibition is good on military and wartime details, some unexpected.) From the 1930s Sidney Little’s Bathing Pool predominated locally. The future of the site remains a matter of uneasy concern.

Community

‘Go West’ also celebrates the churches, the schools, the big hospitals, the shops, hotels and pubs of the area. Local people and groups contributed their recollections of life there long ago, and of work and leisure more recently. A Judge’s postcard on display celebrates a lifeboat horse-drawn from Hastings for launching in 1908. (With heavy seas, that saved time.) Another picture is of elephants walking from Marina station to the circus field at Glyne Gap.

The Seaside Road Fire Station is recalled. Stamco became the Stamco site. Modern glories such as Combe Valley Countryside Park and the Filsham Reedbed Nature Reserve are featured.

Judges in Bexhill Road, 1925

‘Go West’

The WSL Forum (and Judges of Bexhill Road) are to be congratulated on their initiative in reminding the rest of us what a fine and underrated part of town this is. The various maps from different periods say a great deal. Anyone interested in local history and possible futures should visit and learn.

The exhibition runs from Friday 7 April to Saturday 16 April, from 10:30am to 4:00pm, at Electro Studios, 5 Seaside Road. The Electro Studios venue is itself a history lesson and formerly housed light industrial workshops.

The West St Leonards Forum has an emphasis on community action. ‘Go West’ is their first event. A further intention is to have video or audio recordings from local residents, and build a ‘living history’.

The Forum is also in the throes of creating a Neighbourhood Development Plan for West St Leonards ward and parts of the adjoining wards of Maze Hill and Central St Leonards. Its civic pride puts the Council to shame.

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