Henry Edward Lewis was an entertainer who continuously toured the British Isles from 1850 until his death in 1857, lecturing and practising before paying audiences ‘mesmerism’ or ‘magnetism’ (both terms used for what we would call hypnotism) on local subjects. He also lectured on the subject of phrenology, the then popular art of deriving information […]
Category Archives: Blog
[Guest post by Helena Wojtczak, a local historian and researcher dedicated to uncovering the hidden histories of women, http://www.hastingspress.co.uk] In a terraced house in St Leonards, a letter was once found that changed art history. But the women who lived in that house were busy changing much more than that. The MacMunn sisters were a […]
Recently I noticed houses in Union and Alfred Street with niches in their walls, as if for statues of saints, and wondered about them. They are at nos. 8 and 17 Alfred Street and 5 Union Street. By chance I came across an article in a 1936 newspaper which made clear why they are there. […]
This is an unusual type of post. It will obviously be of interest to those on Marina, but may also provide ideas for those researching buildings on other streets. I give below a list of every house number on Marina, St Leonards on Sea. I searched the National Archives’ Discovery catalogue (which includes numerous local […]
17 June 1847, Brighton Gazette: Mr C.J. Strode gave £10, in addition to bats, balls, and wickets, to the St Leonards club last week, to assist them in carrying out the match at Hawkhurst on Monday last. 24 June 1847, Brighton Gazette: ST LEONARDS. The time has arrived again for the only amusement that visitors […]
From the 1880s onwards, planning applications were typically, though not consistently, reported in the local papers a day or two after either being allowed or rejected. Here we have some St Leonards applications from the Hastings and St Leonards Times, 6 December 1890, as an example: …bakers’ oven at No. 30 Western-road, St Leonards, for […]
It may be thought that little documentation can be found on relatively modern roads, but I found a great deal on a pre World War II road. As it happens, it is also a good example of what is common today but used to be rare: a single builder purchasing and developing a large piece […]
A lengthy pamphlet could be published on the many activities of Stephen Putland, and this account will only cover his occupation of 7 London Road, and his children. At present this corner address is occupied by a wellness studio next to Saxon Street, with Grand Parade further south, on the seafront. No. 9 is an […]
18 August 1846, Sussex Advertiser: Samuel Brown, of St Leonards, was committed for three months, in default of payment, under an order of affiliation made by the bench towards the maintenance of an illegitimate child. Defendant, who is apprenticed to a bricklayer, said he was not in receipt of any wages, and consequently was unable […]
Warrior Gardens is situated a couple of streets to the north of Warrior Square, and is numbered from no. 1 downhill to no. 23, which is close to Western Road. The houses are joined together as a terrace but the architectural styles vary to some extent. They are typically several floors high. Formerly there were […]