Misplaced Pages

#113886

66-500: Langney is a distinct part of Eastbourne , East Sussex and is on the eastern side of the popular seaside resort . The original village and priory have now been amalgamated with the main town of Eastbourne, and Langney was identified as a single self-contained polling ward within the borough of Eastbourne until 2002. The etymology of Langney is from the Anglo-Saxon root for Long (lang) and Island (ey). Other local place names contain

132-451: A general practitioner serving the town's wealthier patients, was arrested for the murder of an elderly widow . Rumours had been circulating since 1935 regarding the frequency of his being named in patients' wills (132 times between 1946 and 1956 ) and the gifts he was given (including two Rolls-Royces ). Figures of up to 400 murders were reported in British and foreign newspapers, but, after

198-513: A pier , theatre , contemporary art gallery and a Napoleonic era fort and military museum . Although Eastbourne is a relatively new town, there is evidence of human occupation in the area from the Stone Age . The town grew as a fashionable tourist resort largely thanks to prominent landowner William Cavendish , later to become the Duke of Devonshire . Cavendish appointed architect Henry Currey to design

264-594: A controversial trial at the Old Bailey , which gripped the nation for 17 days in March 1957, Adams was found not guilty . He was struck off for four years but resumed his practice in Eastbourne in 1961. According to Scotland Yard 's archives, he is thought to have killed up to 163 patients in the Eastbourne area. After the war, development continued, including the growth of Old Town up the hillside (Green Street Farm Estate) and

330-512: A dissertation by Richard Russell extolled the medicinal benefits of the seaside. His views were of considerable benefit to the south coast and, in due course, Eastbourne became known as "the Empress of Watering Places". Eastbourne's earliest claim as a seaside resort came about following a summer holiday visit by four of King George III 's children in 1780 (Princes Edward and Octavius and Princesses Elizabeth and Sophia ). In 1793, following

396-500: A field near the town. It is believed that the minting of these coins may have led to Æthelberht's beheading by Offa of Mercia , as it had been struck as a sign of independence. Describing the coin, expert Christopher Webb, said, "This new discovery is an important and unexpected addition to the numismatic history of eighth century England." Following the Norman conquest , the Hundred of what

462-469: A fire broke out in the basement of the Claremont Hotel . The nearby Pier Hotel was also evacuated. Eastbourne Local History Society was founded in 1970. It is a charitable, not-for-profit organisation in whose objective is the pursuit and encouragement of an active interest in the study of the history of Eastbourne and its immediate environs and the dissemination of the outcome of such studies. As

528-543: A population of less than 4,000 in 1851 to nearly 35,000 by 1891. In 1883, it was incorporated as a municipal borough ; a purpose-built town hall was opened in 1886. This period of growth and elegant development continued for several decades. During the First World War , Summerdown Camp, a convalescent facility, opened in 1915 near the South Downs to treat soldiers who were injured during trench warfare or seriously ill. It

594-527: A storm of protest led by the newly formed Eastbourne and District Preservation Committee, which later became Eastbourne Civic Society, and was renamed the Eastbourne Society in 1999. Local conservationists also failed to prevent the construction of the glass-plated TGWU conference and holiday centre (the building now operating as The View Hotel), but were successful in purchasing Polegate Windmill , thus saving it from demolition and redevelopment. Most of

660-534: A street plan for the town, but not before sending him to Europe to draw inspiration. The resulting mix of architecture is typically Victorian and remains a key feature of Eastbourne. As a seaside resort, Eastbourne derives a large and increasing income from tourism, with revenue from traditional seaside attractions augmented by conferences, public events and cultural sightseeing. The other main industries in Eastbourne include trade and retail, healthcare, education, construction, manufacturing, professional scientific and

726-514: A survey of coastal defences in the southeast, approval was given for the positioning of infantry and artillery to defend the bay between Beachy Head and Hastings from attack by the French. Fourteen Martello Towers were constructed along the western shore of Pevensey Bay , continuing as far as Tower 73, the Wish Tower at Eastbourne. Several of these towers survive: the Wish Tower is an important feature of

SECTION 10

#1732855604114

792-472: A survivor of the Black Hole of Calcutta atrocity which led to the British conquest of Bengal . Richard Trevithick , the inventor of the steam locomotive, is reported to have spent some time here. Eastbourne remained an area of small rural settlements until the 19th century. Four villages or hamlets occupied the site of the modern town: Bourne (or, to distinguish it from others of the same name, East Bourne)

858-472: A town named Burlington, was abandoned, but on 14 May 1849 the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway arrived to scenes of great jubilation. With the arrival of the railway, the town's growth accelerated. Cavendish, now the 7th Duke of Devonshire , recruited Henry Currey in 1859 to lay out a plan for what was essentially an entire new town – a resort built "for gentlemen by gentlemen". The town grew rapidly from

924-580: Is Seaford to Beachy Head . This site, of biological and geological interest, covers the coastline between Eastbourne and Seaford, plus the Seven Sisters country park and the Cuckmere valley. Several nature trails lead across the Downs to areas such as the nearby villages of East Dean and Birling Gap , and landmarks like the Seven Sisters, Belle Tout Lighthouse and Beachy Head. Eastbourne's greater area comprises

990-536: Is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex , on the south coast of England, 19 miles (31 km) east of Brighton and 54 miles (87 km) south of London. It is also a local government district with borough status . Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head , the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the larger Eastbourne Downland Estate . The seafront consists largely of Victorian hotels,

1056-583: Is also a Roman villa near the entrance to the Pier and the present Queens Hotel. In 1953, skeletal remains of a woman who lived around 245   AD were discovered in the vicinity of Beachy Head on the Eastbourne Downland Estate . The remains were found in 2014 to be of a 30-year-old woman who grew up in East Sussex , but had genetic heritage from sub-Saharan Africa, giving her black skin and an African skeletal structure. Her ancestors came from below

1122-452: Is commemorated by a plaque on chalet number 2 at Holywell. The Second World War saw a change in fortunes. Initially, children were evacuated to Eastbourne on the assumption that they would be safe from German bombs, but soon they had to be evacuated again because after the fall of France in June 1940 it was anticipated that the town would lie in an invasion zone. Part of Operation Sea Lion ,

1188-504: Is currently owned by the Duke of Devonshire and was extensively remodelled in the early Georgian era when it was renamed Compton Place . It is one of the two Grade I listed buildings in the town. Eastbourne has Cornish connections , most notably visible in the Cornish high cross in the churchyard of St Mary's Church which was brought from an unspecified location in Cornwall. In 1752,

1254-476: Is now Eastbourne, was held by Robert, Count of Mortain , William the Conqueror's half brother. The Domesday Book lists 28 ploughlands, a church, a watermill, fisheries and salt pans. The Book referred to the area as 'Borne'. 'East' was added to 'Borne' in the 13th century, renaming the town. A charter for a weekly market was granted to Bartholomew de Badlesmere in 1315–16; this increased his status as Lord of

1320-430: Is now Holywell Road via the lane between the present Helen Gardens and Bede's School , which leads to the chalk pinnacle formerly known locally as 'Gibraltar' or the 'Sugar Loaf'. The ground around the pinnacle was the site of lime kilns also worked by the fishermen. The fishing hamlet at Holywell was taken over by the local water board in 1896 to exploit the springs in the cliffs. The water board's successors still own

1386-502: Is now known as Old Town, and this surrounded the bourne (stream) which rises in the present Motcombe Park; Meads, where the Downs meet the coast; South Bourne (near the town hall); and the fishing settlement known simply as Sea Houses, which was situated to the east of the present pier. By the mid-19th century most of the area had fallen into the hands of two landowners: John Davies Gilbert (the Davies-Gilbert family still own much of

SECTION 20

#1732855604114

1452-559: The Eastbourne Downs . Unlike the old building, no provision was made to incorporate a local museum, though substantially more space was created for a café, shop and larger exhibitions. In 2014, Eastbourne Borough Council transferred operation of the Gallery to a newly-created independent charitable trust. David Dimbleby was appointed the Chair of Trustees. The Council retained ownership of

1518-562: The English Channel and the original Eastbourne "Promenade" has been extended eastwards to Langney Point. North of old Langney Village is naturally known as "North Langney" which, once again, consists mainly of newer housing, but there are a few older properties which have seen a considerable change to the local landscape from farmland to suburbia. Langney also has a popular shopping centre (built in 1973)—including small branches of Tesco and Boots —and has nine schools within its boundaries,

1584-527: The Local Government Act 1972 , with East Sussex County Council once more providing county-level services to the town. Towner Gallery Towner Eastbourne (formerly Towner Art Gallery) is an art gallery located in Eastbourne , East Sussex , on the south coast of England. In 2019, German artist Lothar Götz was chosen from a call out to design a mural for the building's exterior. Götz transformed

1650-592: The 1950s and 1960s. In 1962, the Rector of Berwick Church gave over 35 studies and sketches for the Berwick Church murals. As a result of the first curator's ‘Pictures of Sussex’ policy the Towner Collection gradually increased. Pictures were acquired of subjects relating to Sussex. This scheme was later extended to allow inclusion of pictures executed by Sussex artists regardless of subject matter. A key element of

1716-403: The 2023 Turner Prize . The Towner Gallery was established as a project in 1920 following the death that year of Alderman John Chisholm Towner, who left 22 paintings, £6,000 and instructions for the establishment of an art gallery. This bequest was made for the benefit of the people of Eastbourne; the undertaking was entrusted to a local group of supporters and the local council. For 72 years,

1782-604: The Bishop Bell Church Of England School (Now called St Catherine's), the Causeway School ( Now known as The Turing School ) , Langney Primary School, Tollgate Community Junior School, West Rise Community Infant School, West Rise Junior School, Shinewater Primary School, the Haven Voluntary Aided C E Methodist Primary School and Hazel Court Special School. Langney is mostly made up of housing estate,

1848-581: The Burne, or Bourne, is the small pond in Motcombe Gardens. The bubbling source is guarded by a statue of Neptune . Motcombe Gardens are overlooked by St. Mary's Church, a Norman church which allegedly lies on the site of a Saxon 'moot', or meeting place. This gives Motcombe its name. In 2014, local metal-detectorist Darrin Simpson found a coin minted during the reign of Æthelberht II of East Anglia (died 794), in

1914-519: The European Alps, during the middle Tertiary period. The chalk can be clearly seen along the eroded coastline to the west of the town, in the area known as Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters , where continuous erosion keeps the cliff edge vertical and white. The chalk contains many fossils such as ammonites and nautilus . The town area is built on geologically recent alluvial drift, the result of

1980-1227: The Gallery significantly remodelled its ground floor and cinema to "improve the visitor experience, build visitor engagement and increase Towner’s financial sustainability." Design was led by architects Manalo & White. The Towner Collection is one of the most significant public art collections in the South East of England. It boasts in excess of 5,000 works of art by historic, modern and contemporary artists including: Lawrence Alma-Tadema , John Gascoigne Lake, Vanessa Bell , David Bomberg , Alan Davie , Tacita Dean , Olafur Eliasson , Anya Gallaccio , Thomas Jones, Peter Liversidge , Harold Mockford , Henry Moore , Cedric Morris , William Nicholson, Julian Opie , Ian Potts , Victor Pasmore , Pablo Picasso , Eric Ravilious , Eric Slater , Wolfgang Tillmans , Alfred Wallis , Christopher Wood , Joseph Wright of Derby and Carol Wyatt . The initial collection consisted mainly of Victorian narrative painting, especially pictures of animals and children. The current collection now includes oil paintings, watercolours, works on paper, etchings, prints, sculpture, wood cuts, ceramic objects, installations and video art. Since

2046-665: The Gallery was located within a Manor House on the High Street in the Old Town area. The Manor House, located within its own Manor Gardens, dated to the 18th century, but was taken over in the 1920s for public use as a public gallery and local museum, following Towner's bequest. A noted historic building in Eastbourne, the Manor House is dwarfed in age by its neighbours; being opposite the Lamb Inn, dating back to 1180AD and St Mary's Church, from

Langney - Misplaced Pages Continue

2112-433: The Gallery's building and its collection of artworks. Despite no longer directly operating the Gallery, Eastbourne Borough Council remained a major annual funder, alongside Arts Council England . In 2017, cuts in the local authority's funding of 50% were proposed. This threatens the gallery with closure to some or all of its services and the greater use of admission charges for access to public art. From 2021 to 2022

2178-539: The German invasion plan, envisaged landings at Eastbourne. Many people sought safety away from the coast and shut up their houses. Restrictions on visitors forced the closure of most hotels, and private boarding schools moved away. Many of these empty buildings were later taken over by the services. The Royal Navy set up an underwater weapons school, and the Royal Air Force operated radar stations at Beachy Head and on

2244-566: The Manor and benefited local industry. During the Middle Ages the town was visited by King Henry I and in 1324 by Edward II . Evidence of Eastbourne's medieval past can be seen in the 12th-century Church of St Mary, and the manor house called Bourne Place. In the mid-16th century Bourne Place was home to the Burton family, who acquired much of the land on which the present town stands. This manor house

2310-518: The Saharan region, at a time when the Roman Empire extended only as far as North Africa. These remains have now been DNA tested and found to originate from Cyprus , not sub-Saharan Africa. An Anglo-Saxon charter, around 963 AD, describes a landing stage and stream at Burne. The original name came from the 'Burne' or stream which ran through today's Old Town area of Eastbourne. All that can be seen of

2376-553: The UK record for the highest recorded amount of sunshine in a month, 383.9 hours in July 1911. Temperature extremes recorded at Eastbourne since 1960 range from 31.6 °C (88.9 °F) during July 1976, down to −9.7 °C (14.5 °F) In January 1987. Eastbourne's coastal location also means it tends to be milder than most areas, particularly during night. A whole six months of the year have never fallen below 0 °C (32 °F), and in July

2442-469: The area known as the Crumbles, a shingle bank on the coast to the east of the town centre. This area, now known as Sovereign Harbour , containing a marina, shops and several thousand houses, along with luxury flats, was formerly home to many rare plants. There has been continued growth in other parts of the town, and the central marshland has become farmland and nature reserves. In 2009, the new Towner Gallery

2508-421: The borough, which is an unparished area . Eastbourne was an ancient parish . It was governed by its vestry , in the same way as most rural areas, until 1859 when the parish was made a local government district , governed by a local board. Eastbourne become a municipal borough in 1883, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Eastbourne", but informally known as

2574-463: The collection is the work of Eric Ravilious , who studied and taught at Eastbourne School of Art. In 1982, the family of the artist deposited on loan an important body of his work. The Towner holds the broadest collection of paintings, illustrations and commercial designs in the world, by this important modern British artist of the early 20th century. Throughout 2023 Towner Eastbourne is partnering with iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts) for

2640-492: The corporation or town council. One of the new council's first projects was to build Eastbourne Town Hall , which was designed by W. Tadman Foulkes, and built between 1884 and 1886 under supervision of Henry Currey , the Duke of Devonshire's architect. In 1911 Eastbourne was elevated to be a county borough , making it independent from East Sussex County Council . Eastbourne became a non-metropolitan district on 1 April 1974 under

2706-537: The end of the conflict it was designated by the Home Office to have been 'the most raided town in the South East region'. The situation was especially bad between May 1942 and June 1943 with hit–and–run raids from fighter–bombers based in northern France. Ultimately, 187 civilian people died in the borough through enemy action. In the summer of 1956, the town came to national and worldwide attention when John Bodkin Adams ,

Langney - Misplaced Pages Continue

2772-474: The expansion took place on the northern and eastern margins of the town, gradually swallowing surrounding villages. However, the richer western part was constrained by the Downs and has remained largely unchanged. In 1981, a large section of the town centre was replaced by the indoor shops of the Arndale Centre . In the 1990s, both growth and controversy accelerated rapidly as a new plan was launched to develop

2838-518: The exterior walls of the gallery with his large-scale, colourful geometric artwork, Dance Diagonal . Towner is celebrating its centenary year in 2023, and will be hosting the Turner Prize . The gallery hosts one of the most significant public art collections in the South of England and draws over 100,000 visitors a year. It was described by ITV News as "the region's biggest art gallery", in 2017. It

2904-479: The gallery was established it has received donations of work by significant artists including: Walter Sickert , Pablo Picasso , Henry Moore , Victor Pasmore , Alfred Wallis , Frances Hodgkins , Phelan Gibb and David Bomberg . By 1962 the Observer said it was "the most go-ahead municipal gallery of its size in the country". This was mainly because of the purchase of a group of works by modern abstract artists of

2970-472: The housing estates of Hampden Park , Willingdon Trees and Langney . During the latter half of the 20th century, there were controversies over the demolition of Pococks, a 15th-century manor house on what is now the Rodmill Housing Estate, and the granting of planning permission for a 19-storey block at the western end of the seafront. The latter project (South Cliff Tower) was realised in 1965 despite

3036-554: The land in Eastbourne and East Dean ) and William Cavendish , Earl of Burlington. The Gilbert family's holdings date to the late 17th and early 18th centuries when barrister Nicholas Gilbert married an Eversfield and Gildredge heiress. (The Gildredges owned much of Eastbourne by 1554. The Gilberts eventually made the Gildredge Manor House their own. Today the Gildredge name lives on in the eponymous park.) An early plan, for

3102-732: The main housing estates in Langney are Langney Estate, Kingsmere & Kings Park Estate, Painters Estate, the Birds Estate and Shinewater Estate. Langney Sports Club provides a centre for archery, snooker and darts as well as two bars. Adjacent to Langney Sports Club is the home ground of Eastbourne Borough , the largest football team in the town of Eastbourne . They play in the National League South. [REDACTED] Media related to Langney at Wikimedia Commons Eastbourne Eastbourne ( / ˈ iː s t b ɔːr n / )

3168-536: The major landowner, the Cavendish family has had strong connections with Eastbourne since the 18th century. The current president of the society is William Cavendish, Earl of Burlington . Containing over 1,500 articles about the history of Eastbourne, the Society's indexed journal, The Eastbourne Local Historian , is the major historical resource for the town and has been published quarterly since its inception in 1970. Over

3234-511: The marshes near Pevensey . Thousands of Canadian soldiers were billeted in and around Eastbourne from July 1941 to the run-up to D-Day . Units of the very secretive and highly effective No. 3 (Jewish) Troop of the No. 10 Commando , composed of native German speaking Austrian and German Jewish refugees, trained in Eastbourne. The town suffered badly during the war, with many Victorian and Edwardian buildings damaged or destroyed by air raids. Indeed, by

3300-475: The new gallery included the Heritage Lottery Fund and Eastbourne Borough Council . Designed by Rick Mather Architects and built mainly from concrete , at a cost of £8.6m, the new gallery building was planned to be more easily accessible to the public and to store the 4,000 works of the growing collection in a safe and climate-controlled manner. Visually, it was designed to reflect the chalk cliffs of

3366-534: The remaining northern part of Langney became the new Langney ward. As of 2017 the Langney ward was held by the Liberal Democrats and represented by Cllrs Harun Miah, Alan Shuttleworth and Troy Tester at Eastbourne Borough Council and Cllr Alan Shuttleworth at East Sussex County Council. Langney has grown in recent years (especially since 1970) and is contiguous to Langney Point, which mainly comprises newer properties built on shingle. These properties extend down to

SECTION 50

#1732855604114

3432-466: The same period. Despite having been owned by the town as a public facility for most of the 20th century, the Manor House and gardens were sold in 2005/6 by the local authority, Eastbourne Borough Council . In 2009, after a gap of several years during which Eastbourne had no local art gallery or museum, Towner reopened in a purpose-built gallery building adjacent to the Congress Theatre . Funders of

3498-461: The silting up of a bay. This changes to Weald clay around the Langney estate. A part of the South Downs, Willingdon Down is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest . This is of archaeological interest due to a Neolithic camp and burial grounds. The area is also a nationally uncommon tract of chalk grassland rich in species. Another SSSI which partially falls within the Eastbourne district

3564-485: The site, and there is a pumping station but little evidence of the hamlet itself, as by now even most of the foundations of the cottages have gone over the cliff. As with the rest of the British Isles and South Coast, Eastbourne experiences a maritime climate with warm summers and mild winters. The local climate is notable for its high sunshine levels, at least relative to much of the rest of England – Eastbourne holds

3630-492: The suffix 'ey' with this historic meaning because the sea level was rather higher in the pre-Conquest period and areas of higher land stood out as 'islands' or rather 'eys'. Pevensey shares the same etymology. Langney proper - the 'Long Island' - thus refers to the higher part i.e. where the shopping centre now is. Langney contains the Grade II Listed Langney Priory . The oldest part of this building dates to

3696-572: The surrounding countryside of the Eastbourne Downs . A Bronze Age site of national importance was discovered in Hydneye lake at Shinewater in 1995. Celtic people are believed to have settled on the Eastbourne Downland in 500   BC. There are Roman remains buried beneath the town, such as a Roman bath and section of pavement between Eastbourne Pier and the Redoubt Fortress. There

3762-404: The technical sector. Eastbourne's population is growing; between 2001 and 2011, it increased from 89,800 to 99,412. The 2011 census shows that the average age of residents has decreased as the town has attracted students, families and those commuting to London and Brighton. In the 2021 census, the population of Eastbourne was 101,689. Flint mines and Stone Age artefacts have been found in

3828-595: The temperature has never fallen below 8.3 °C (46.9 °F). All temperature figures relate to the period 1960 onwards. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is " Cfb " (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate ). There are two tiers of local government covering Eastbourne, at district and county level: Eastbourne Borough Council , based at the Town Hall on Grove Road, and East Sussex County Council , based in Lewes . There are no civil parishes in

3894-464: The town of Polegate , and the civil parishes and villages of Willingdon and Jevington , Stone Cross , Pevensey , Westham and Pevensey Bay village. All are part of the Wealden District. Within Eastbourne's limits are: There was a community known as Norway, Eastbourne in the triangle now bounded by Wartling Road, Seaside and Lottbridge Drove. The name being a corruption of North Way, as this

3960-470: The town's seafront and was the subject of a painting by James Sant RA, and part of Tower 68 forms the basement of a house on St. Antony's Hill. Between 1805 and 1807, a fortress known as the Eastbourne Redoubt was built as a barracks and storage depot, and armed with 10 cannons. A connection with India comes in the shape of the 18th-century Lushington monument, also at St Mary's, which commemorates

4026-480: The twelfth century. It was built by Cluniac monks from the very much larger Priory of St Pancras at Lewes. This lesser building at Langney was thus a monastic grange of the senior house. Langney Priory which had been scheduled for demolition in the 1950s is at 2019 undergoing redevelopment and can be visited at community open days. Since the boundary changes of 2002 the Langney village became part of St. Anthony's ward, Langney point became part of Sovereign ward and

SECTION 60

#1732855604114

4092-469: The years, the Society has published various books and booklets about the history of Eastbourne, twelve of which are currently in print. The South Downs dominate Eastbourne and the Eastbourne Downland Estate can be seen from most of the town. These were originally chalk deposits laid down under the sea during the Late Cretaceous , and were later lifted by the same tectonic plate movements that formed

4158-462: Was established with a bequest in 1920, from John Chisholm Towner who had served as a local alderman . It was first homed in Manor Gardens, adjacent to Gildredge Park in the Old Town area of Eastbourne. Opening there in 1923, it closed when the building was sold in 2005. In 2009, it re-opened in a purpose-built facility adjacent to the Congress Theatre , near Eastbourne's seafront. The venue will host

4224-402: Was opened, abutting the listed Congress Theatre built in 1963. In 2016–19 extensive remodelling work was undertaken to the prominent Arndale Centre, which takes up most of the town centre, and was originally built by Legal & General Assurance in the 1980s. This was then renamed The Beacon. The remodelling including the addition of a brand new cinema run by Cineworld. On 22 November 2019,

4290-468: Was the largest of this type in the UK during this war, treating 150,000; 80% were able to return to fight. The facility was dismantled in 1920. An exhibition about the history of the camp was held in Eastbourne for several months in 2015. In 1926, the Eastbourne Corporation Act enabled the creation of the Eastbourne Downland Estate . A royal visit by George V and Queen Mary in March 1935

4356-474: Was the route to the north. The area is now a housing estate and the only evidence there was a Norway are a Norway Road and the local church whose sign reads "St Andrew's Church, Norway". The former fishing hamlet of Holywell (local pronunciation 'holly well') was situated by the cliff on a ledge some 400 yards to the southwest of the public garden known as the Holywell Retreat. It was approached from what

#113886