By chance I came across, in the Hastings and St Leonards Times, 22 May 1880, two interesting reports of begging in St Leonards by men who had come a considerable distance. The details given about the prisoners are touching. HASTINGS BOROUGH BENCH. SATURDAY. Before Mr H.C. CAULFEILD and Mr Alderman WILLIAMS. BEGGING ALMS William Cooper, […]
Author Archives: Stephen van Dulken
There is a set of detailed maps of much of St Leonards and Hastings, surveyed 1873 and published 1875, on the (free) National Library of Scotland website. This post discusses the map for the West Hill Road (west half) , some of which is shown below, and there is also a map that includes the […]
The 1921 census is the most recent available in the UK for researching individual households. Normally censuses are released at 100-year intervals. As the 1931 census was destroyed by bombing, and the 1941 census was never conducted, we will have a long wait for the 1951 census. We have census data for households since 1841 […]
On Thursday the UK has a general election. We cannot take the right to vote for granted, as it was only in 1928 that women gained full equality with men. Women had won the right to vote in 1918 but were more limited in their rights than men. They had to be aged 30 or […]
The title of this posting is that of an illustration in the Illustrated London News, 30 January 1869, page 113. It accompanies an article titled ‘St Leonard’s British and Infant Schools.’ Below is the image. I was aware of the former building’s site opposite Christ Church, but not of its appearance or other details. The […]
2 June 1834, Sussex Advertiser On Thursday morning, the Bishop [of Chichester] consecrated St Leonard’s Church, before several of the clergy, and a respectable assemblage of individuals, according to the usual forms and ceremonies of consecrations [The day before he had carried out confirmations at St Clement’s in Hastings]. 16 June 1834, Sussex Advertiser SEA […]
The following account is from the Brighton Gazette, 19 February 1863. On Sunday morning a fire occurred in this town, and although, fortunately, unattended with no loss of life or personal injury, it resulted in considerable destruction of property, and but for the energy displayed in extinguishing it, would doubtless have been of a far […]
Volunteers at the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery are transcribing details of typed reports about damage suffered in raids in World War II onto a spreadsheet. The reports consist of lists by street of houses damaged in each raid. I am one of those volunteers. The information is intriguing, partly because of the details of […]
Yesterday the Society held a very pleasant garden party at Baston Lodge, Upper Maze Hill, in gloriously sunny weather. On behalf of all the attending members many thanks to our generous hosts, who even compiled a list of events in the history of the house. Here is a photo of the house as seen from […]
I recently took members of the Society on a walk round some pubs of St Leonards, both those still existing and some which have been closed. I enjoyed it and I think the members did too. Here is me holding forth with the Railway and the Royal in the background. As a followup, here is […]