The early history of Gensing Gardens

This is an account of the early history of what is now Gensing Gardens. It was called at various times the Western Pleasure Ground, Gensing Pleasure Ground, Gensing Wood Public Pleasure Ground, and perhaps other variations. This park, a combination of open land and shrubberies with some trees, slopes quite steeply from Charles Road on […]

Elvey Thomas of the St Leonards Pier and the White Hart, 54 Norman Road, St Leonards on Sea

In the 1891 census at Deptford, Kent, Elvey Thomas was a 14-year-old clerk, born New Cross, his father a railway official. The Hastings and St Leonards Advertiser, 21 April 1898, announced that he had been appointed manager of the St Leonards Pier. He was only 21 ! As on this occasion, he was consistently described […]

Wednesday, 12th August 2026 WALK ‘St Leonard’s PUBS – Then & Now. Booking, below!

2026 WALK ‘St Leonard’s PUBS – Then & Now START: 4pm sharp on Wednesdays, 8th July & 12 August, 2026 from outside St Leonards Warrior Square rail station on its Kings Road side. Please book via the form or reply email Taking sustenance from its 2025 popularity, our roving researcher Stephen will visit the FORMER […]

Wednesday, 8th July 2026 WALK ‘St Leonard’s PUBS – Then & Now’ – Booking, below!

2026 WALK ‘St Leonard’s PUBS – Then & Now START: 4pm sharp on Wednesdays, 8th July & 12 August, 2026 from outside St Leonards Warrior Square rail station on its Kings Road side. Please book via the form or reply email Taking sustenance from its 2025 popularity, our roving researcher Stephen will visit the FORMER […]

The history of Ford Bank, 30 Albany Road, St Leonards on Sea

I have just come back from a very pleasant garden party at Ford Bank, together with many others from the Society. Many thanks to our generous hosts ! Enough to say it is an interesting example of, in effect, a forerunner of the English arts and crafts style. Below is a photo of the south, […]