Eastbourne

Flint mines and Stone Age artefacts have been found in the surrounding countryside of the Eastbourne Downs.

A Bronze Age site of national importance was discovered in Hydneye lake at Shinewater in 1995.[7]

Celtic people are believed to have settled on the Eastbourne Downland in 500 BC.[8]

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 is also a Roman villa near the entrance to the Pier and the present Queens Hotel.[9]

In 2014, skeletal remains of a woman who lived around 425 AD were discovered in the vicinity of Beachy Head on the Eastbourne Downland Estate. The remains were found 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.[10] Her ancestors came from below the Saharan region, at a time when the Roman Empire extended only as far as North Africa.[11] 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 the Burne, or Bourne, is the small pond in Motcombe Gardens. The bubbling source is guarded by a statue of Neptune.[12] 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 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.[13] Describing the coin, expert Christopher Webb, said, "This new discovery is an important and unexpected addition to the numismatic history of eighth century England."[14]

Following the Norman conquest, the Hundred of what 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.[15]

The Book referred to the area as 'Borne'. 'East' was added to 'Borne' in the 13th century, renaming the town.[12]

St Mary's Church, Old Town, Eastbourne

A charter for a weekly market was granted to Bartholomew de Badlesmere in 1315–16; this increased his status as Lord of the Manor and benefited local industry.[16] During the Middle Ages the town was visited by King Henry I and in 1324 by Edward II.[9] Evidence of Eastbourne's medieval past can seen in the 12th-century Church of St Mary,[17] and the manor house called Bourne Place.

In the mid-16th century Bourne Place was home to the Burton family,[18] who acquired much of the land on which the present town stands. This manor house 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.[19]

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.[20][21]

In 1752, 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".[22]

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).[23]

In 1793, following 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 the town's seafront and was the subject of a painting by James Sant RA,[24] 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.[25]

A connection with India comes in the shape of the 18th-century Lushington monument, also at St Mary's, which commemorates a survivor of the Black Hole of Calcutta atrocity which led to the British conquest of Bengal.

Bourne Stream running through Motcombe Gardens

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) 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.[25]

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 the land in Eastbourne and East Dean) and William Cavendish, Earl of Burlington.[20]

The Gilbert family's holdings date to the late 17th and early 18th centuries when barrister Nicholas Gilbert married an Eversfield and Gildredge heiress.[26] (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.)[27]

Richard Trevithick, the inventor of the steam locomotive, is reported to have spent some time here.[28]

An early plan, for 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 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.[22] This period of growth and elegant development continued for several decades. A royal visit by George V and Queen Mary in March 1935 is commemorated by a plaque on chalet number 2 at Holywell.[29]

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 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.[30]

In 1926, the Eastbourne Corporation Act enabled the creation of the Eastbourne Downland Estate.

Wish Tower Martello Tower in Eastbourne

The Second World War saw a change in fortunes.[31] 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.[32] Part of Operation Sea Lion, the German invasion plan, envisaged landings at Eastbourne.[33] Many people sought safety away from the coast and shut up their houses.[31] Restrictions on visitors forced the closure of most hotels, and private boarding schools moved away.[31] Many of these empty buildings were later taken over by the services.[31] The Royal Navy set up an underwater weapons school,[34] and the Royal Air Force operated radar stations at Beachy Head[22] and on the marshes near Pevensey.[35] Thousands of Canadian soldiers were billeted in and around Eastbourne from July 1941 to the run-up to D-Day.[31] 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.[36] The town suffered badly during the war, with many Victorian and Edwardian buildings damaged or destroyed by air raids. Indeed, by the end of the conflict it was designated by the Home Office to have been 'the most raided town in the South East region'.[37] The situation was especially bad between May 1942 and June 1943 with hit–and–run raids from fighter–bombers based in northern France.[38] Ultimately, 187 civilian people died in the borough through enemy action.[39]

In the summer of 1956, the town came to national and worldwide attention,[40] when John Bodkin Adams, a general practitioner serving the town's wealthier patients, was arrested for the murder of an elderly widow. Rumours had been circulating since 1935[40] regarding the frequency of his being named in patients' wills (132 times between 1946 and 1956[40]) and the gifts he was given (including two Rolls Royces). Figures of up to 400 murders were reported in British and foreign newspapers,[41] but after a controversial trial at the Old Bailey which gripped the nation[41] for 17 days in March 1957, Adams was found not guilty. He was struck off[42] 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.[40]

Eastbourne from Lord G. Cavendish's Seat in the Park, John Nixon, 1787

After the war, development continued, including the growth of Old Town up the hillside (Green Street Farm Estate) and 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 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.[29][43] Most of 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 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 was opened, abutting the listed Congress Theatre built in 1963.[44]

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, a fire broke out in the basement of the Claremont Hotel. The nearby Pier Hotel was also evacuated.[45]

Eastbourne Local History Society was founded in 1970. It is a charitable, not-for-profit organisation in the United Kingdom 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.[46][47]

As 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.[48] Over the years, the Society has published various books and booklets about the history of Eastbourne, twelve of which are currently in print.

Grove Road, part of the Little Chelsea area of Eastbourne

Eastbourne's greater area comprises the town of Polegate, and the civil parishes of Willingdon and Jevington, Stone Cross, Pevensey, Westham and Pevensey Bay village. All are part of the Wealden District. Within Eastbourne's limits are:

• Langney: Langney Rise, Shinewater, Kingsmere, Langney Village, the Marina, Langney Point
• Hampden Park: Hampden Park Village, Willingdon Trees, Winkney Farm, Ratton
• Inner areas: Rodmill, Ocklynge, Seaside, Bridgemere, Roselands, Downside
• Town centre: Town centre, Little Chelsea, Meads, Holywell, Old Town, Upperton
• Sovereign Harbour: North Harbour, South Harbour

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,[51] as this 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 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'.[52] The ground around the pinnacle was the site of lime kilns also worked by the fishermen.[53] The fishing hamlet at Holywell was taken over by the local water board in 1896[54] to exploit the springs in the cliffs. The water board's successors still own 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.[55]

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 the record for the highest recorded amount of sunshine in a month, 383.9 hours in July 1911.[56] Temperature extremes recorded at Eastbourne since 1960 range from 31.6 °C (88.9 °F) during July 1976,[57] down to −9.7 °C (14.5 °F) In January 1987.[58] 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 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).[59]

Eastbourne Borough Council is responsible for much local governance, with representation provided by 27 councillors from 9 wards,[62] with elections to the council being held every four years.[63]

The 2015 election resulted in a council made up of 18 Liberal Democrat and 9 Conservative councillors.[64]

The council operates out of 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.[65]

East Sussex County Council has responsibility for local education, libraries, social services, civil registration, trading standards and transport. Out of the 49 seats, 9 are returned by Eastbourne voters.[66]

The 2009 East Sussex County Council election resulted in 29 Conservatives, 13 Liberal Democrats, 4 Labour and 3 Independent, of which Eastbourne provided 6 Liberal Democrats and 3 Conservatives.[67]

The Parliament Constituency of Eastbourne has always covered a greater area than the borough's nine wards, but due to population growth in the town, it has lost territory over time. At present the constituency includes all of the borough as well as the suburb of Willingdon.

Eastbourne is a marginal seat currently represented by the Conservatives but with recent representation by the Liberal Democrats.[68][69]

Before Brexit in 2020, the town was part of the South East England constituency in the European Parliament.

In 2016, UK innovation charity NESTA named Eastbourne as a "creative cluster", with 969 creative firms representing 9.1% of total businesses in the town and providing employment for 2,703 people.[83]

Eastbourne beach and parade with Beachy Head in the background (August 2005)

Eastbourne Pier in June 2018

The seafront at Eastbourne consists almost entirely of Victorian hotels. Along with its pier and bandstand, this serves to preserve the front in a somewhat timeless manner.[84] The Duke of Devonshire retains the rights to the seafront buildings and does not allow them to be developed into shops.[54]

A stretch of 4 miles (6.4 km) of shingle beach stretches from Sovereign Harbour in the east to Beachy Head in the west. In a 1998 survey, 56% of visitors said that the beach and seafront was one of Eastbourne's best features, although 10% listed the pebbled beach as a dislike.[85]

Other recreation facilities include two swimming pools, three fitness centres and other smaller sports clubs including scuba diving.

A children's adventure park is sited at the eastern end of the seafront. There are various other establishments scattered around the town such as crazy golf, go–karting and Laser Quest. The pier is an obvious place to visit and is sometimes used to hold events, such as the international birdman competition held annually, although this was cancelled in 2005 due to a lack of competitors.[86] An annual raft competition used to take place where competitors, usually local businesses, circumnavigate the pier in a raft made by themselves, while being attacked by a water-cannon.

A major event in the tourist programme of Eastbourne Borough Council is Eastbourne Airbourne, a large air show, held annually in August.

Reports claim a £365m revenue from visitors in 2010, with an estimated 7,160 jobs supported by tourism.[87]

The town is home to the UK's largest book wholesalers, who have a 350,000 sq ft warehouse facility there. Gardners Books are one of the town's largest employers, with a majority of staff involved in packing and shipping books.[88]

A majority of Eastbourne's total employment is offered by small private businesses, though Eastbourne District General Hospital is a significant public sector employer.

In 2010, it was assessed that Eastbourne had a public sector employment rate of 25.4% of overall jobs. This was noted as below average, compared with the UK as a whole.[89]

Eastbourne Electric Light Co. started up on 4 September 1882 illuminating The Parades with 22 Brush arc lamps.[90] Several large shops were lit with incandescent lamps powered from generators located at the Bedfordwell waterworks. An alternating current system was introduced in 1883, from a generating plant at The Old Brewery in Junction Road. By 1888 there were 1,700 lamps on the system; a new generating plant was added in 1899 including 30 kW, 75 kW, 100 kW, 50 kW, 150 kW and 200 kW generators. There were five circuits distributing electricity around the town through rubber insulated cables. After a few years the rubber deteriorated and faults were frequent. The Eastbourne Corporation purchased the undertaking on 1 January 1900 and the original Electricity Works was closed down in July 1902.[90]

Eastbourne County Borough Corporation began construction of Eastbourne power station in the first decade of the twentieth century. It supplied electricity, firstly for street lighting then other uses. The station had a single brick chimney and three wooden cooling towers.[91] Upon nationalisation of the electricity industry in 1948 ownership of the station passed to the British Electricity Authority and then to the Central Electricity Generating Board. In 1954 the station generated 2,652 MWh of electricity and burned 3,500 tons of coal.[92] In 1966 the power station had a generating capacity of 9.0 MW and delivered 3,165 MWh of electricity.[93] The CEGB later closed the station and it was subsequently demolished.

The Towner Art Gallery is Eastbourne's principal arts gallery and arts education hub. After being located for many years in Eastbourne Manor House, within Gildredge Park, it relocated next to the Congress Theatre in 2009. The gallery holds one of the most important collections of public art in southern England.

Eastbourne has three council-owned theatres: the Grade II* listed[94] Congress Theatre, the Grade II listed Devonshire Park Theatre and the Grade II listed Winter Garden. The Grade II listed Royal Hippodrome Theatre used to be council-owned, but is now run by an independent charitable trust.

Devonshire Park Theatre, completed in 1884.

The Devonshire Park Theatre is a fine example of a Victorian theatre with ornate interior decorations, and plays host to touring dramas and comedies and an annual local pantomime. The Royal Hippodrome has the longest running summer show in Britain.[95] The London Philharmonic Orchestra makes regular appearances and has an annual season at the Congress Theatre.

Other theatre venues in the town include the volunteer-run Underground Theatre, in the basement of the town's Central Library,[96] and the Lamb Theatre, based at the Lamb Inn in Old Town, which was launched in August 2009 but reinstated an older tradition at the pub.[97]

Eastbourne had two cinemas: the Curzon Cinema and Cineworld. The Curzon Cinema was a small, family-run, independent cinema in Langney Road, in the town centre, which closed in January 2020.[98] Cineworld is a large Multiplex cinema with eight screens, in the Beacon shopping centre.

In 2013, the owners of the Curzon Cinema declared themselves "shocked" at the threats to their venue from a newly announced eight-screen multiplex, to be built in a renovated Arndale Centre nearby (the centre has been renamed as The Beacon).[99]

Despite its image as a dull 'retirement town', exciting cultural events are held in Eastbourne every year, and festivals are increasingly becoming popular. Some of the most important events are Airbourne, Eastbourne's International Airshow, one of the biggest airshow in the United Kingdom. The show attracts every year huge crowds of fans from all over the world and in 2022 celebrated 28 years of airshow excellence. And the Eastbourne Music & Arts Festival, a competitive festival held annually at the Winter Gardens. It was originally founded in 1961 and since 2021 has changed its name into Eastbourne Performing Arts Festival.

Other more recent festivals and fairs include: Eastbourne Feastival, a family, food, music and culture festival which has been held annually since 2016. Crossing The Screen International Film Festival, the longest running film festival of Eastbourne, founded in 2016. Eastbourne Steampunk Festival. Organised by Eastbourne’s Bonfire Society since 2016 and celebrating retro-futuristic technology and aesthetics. Eastbourne Vintage Festival, created in 2021 and held in Gildredge Park, one of the town’s most beautiful parks. Springwater Festival, created in 2021 and hosting a range of events to celebrate all aspects of water along Eastbourne seafront.

Eastbourne Bandstand lies on the seafront, between the Wish Tower and the pier. It stages 1812 Firework Concerts, Rock N Roll nights, Big Band concerts, Promenade concerts and tribute bands.

There was once a second similar bandstand (also built in 1935) in the 'music gardens' near the Redoubt Fortress. The bandstand was removed to make way for the Pavilion Tearooms but the colonnades built around it are still there (behind the tea rooms). Before 1935 each of these sites had a smaller "birdcage" bandstand; the one in the music gardens having been moved from a rather precarious position opposite the Albion Hotel. The kiosk in the music gardens was originally one of the toll kiosks at the entrance to the pier.[15]

Grove Road is the location of two independent record shops and a venue called Printer's Playhouse (which hosts performances of live music and new plays).

The local community radio station Seahaven FM[100] on 95.6 is now the most local radio station to cover Eastbourne. Former local radio station Sovereign FM is now More Radio Eastbourne, broadcasting to Eastbourne from studios in Worthing.[101] Regional radio stations, Heart Sussex, (previously Southern FM) has, since mid 2019, been networked from London and no longer has a Sussex base, which was previously in Portslade and BBC Sussex which broadcasts from Brighton.

BBC South East Today and ITV Meridian are the two regional news channels.

Eastbourne has a local weekly tabloid newspaper, which is published every Friday, called The Eastbourne Herald (know locally as The Herald). Eastbourne is also served by Eastbourne Scoop,[102] a weekly online-only media publication.

The seafront and the iconic cliff at Beachy Head has been used for many scenes in feature films, and the local council set up a film liaison unit to encourage and facilitate the shooting of film sequences in and around the town.[103] The 2006 Academy Award-nominated film Notes on a Scandal includes scenes filmed at Beachy Head, Cavendish Hotel and 117 Royal Parade. Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters were used as backdrops for scenes from the Quidditch World Cup in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.[104][105] Scenes from Half a Sixpence (1967) were filmed on the pier and near to the bandstand. The seafront area was also used for the film Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging directed by Gurinder Chadha. The Langham Hotel was a filming location for Made in Dagenham, which also featured the seafront and pier.[106] A sequence of a rainy day at the seaside for the Doel family has as its backdrop the Wish Tower, the bandstand, the Cavendish Hotel and the pier in the 1987 British/American drama film 84 Charing Cross Road directed by David Jones.[107]

Television too has used Eastbourne as a backdrop. The series Little Britain had the character Emily Howard strolling along the promenade. Other brief appearances were made in the television series Agatha Christie's Marple, The Two Ronnies, French and Saunders and Foyle's War. A sequence of sketches that appear in each episode of Bang, Bang, It's Reeves and Mortimer, was shot in the old Jo Pip's / Cunninghams theatre venue on Seaside Road, which has since been developed into flats. The 1993 BBC drama series Westbeach was filmed on location in Eastbourne and surrounding areas. In 2021 Netflix series The Crown filmed an episode in the town and surrounding areas.[108]

The elderly female residents of Eastbourne were the inspiration for the song "Eastbourne Ladies" by English singer Kevin Coyne, which appeared on his 1973 album Marjory Razorblade.[109][110]

The Eastbourne Downland provides a spectacular backdrop to the town. The 4,000 acres of farmland and downland are owned by the town of Eastbourne, following the 1926 Eastbourne Corporation Act, which aimed to protect their unspoilt beauty "in perpetuity".

The Eastbourne Downs include Beachy Head cliff, to the west of the town, a famous beauty spot and an infamous suicide spot. Statistics are not officially published to reduce suicidal mimicry,[128] but unofficial statistics show it to be the third most common suicide spot.[129]

The lighthouse at the foot of the cliff came into operation in October 1902. Although originally manned by two keepers, it has been remotely monitored by Trinity House via a landline since June 1983. Prior to its construction, shipping had been warned by the Belle Tout Lighthouse on the cliff top some 1,640 yards (1,500 m) to the west. Belle Tout Lighthouse was operational from 1834 to 1902, and closed because its light was not visible in mist and low cloud. It became a private residence, but was severely damaged in the Second World War by Canadian artillery.[130] In 1956, it was rebuilt as a house and remains a dwelling to this day. In March 1999, the structure was moved 55 feet (17 m) back from the cliff edge to save it from plunging into the sea.[131] The structure may need to be moved again to safeguard it from cliff erosion.

Eastbourne Pier was built between 1866 and 1872 at the junction of Grand and Marine Parades. The pier interrupts what would otherwise have been a ribbon development of buildings – to the west, high-class hotels, with modest family hotels and boarding houses to the east.[132] The Eastbourne Pier Company was registered in April 1865 with a capital of £15,000[133] and on 18 April 1866 work began. It was opened by Lord Edward Cavendish on 13 June 1870, although it was not actually completed until two years later. On New Year's Day 1877 the landward half was swept away in a storm. It was rebuilt at a higher level, creating a drop towards the end of the pier. The pier is effectively built on stilts that rest in cups on the sea-bed allowing the whole structure to move during rough weather. It is roughly 300 metres (1000 ft) long. A domed 400-seater pavilion was constructed at a cost of £250 at the seaward end in 1888. A 1,000-seater theatre, bar, camera obscura and office suite replaced this in 1899/1901. At the same time, two saloons were built midway along the pier.[134] Access to the camera obscura was destroyed by an arson attack in 1970, but was restored in 2003 with a new stairway built.[132]

On 30 July 2014, a fire broke out in the middle building of the pier. BBC News reported that 80 firefighters attended the scene. One third of the pier was badly damaged.[135]

On 19 August 2014, a worker from Cumbria died after falling through the decking of the damaged pier.[136]

Central government paid Eastbourne Borough Council £2m in one-off funding, to compensate for lost income to the town from the temporary loss of the attraction.[137] The Council spent this on a variety of projects and events in the hope of boosting the local economy.

Eastbourne Redoubt on Royal Parade is one of three examples of a type of fortress built to withstand potential invasion from Napoleon's forces in the early 19th century.[138] It houses collections from the Royal Sussex Regiment, the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars and the Sussex Combined Services Collection; including four Victoria Crosses and General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim's Steyr Automobile 1500A Afrika Korps Staff Car.

Lewis Carroll holidayed in Eastbourne 19 times, taking lodgings in Lushington Road, where a blue plaque now marks the location of his first visit in 1877.[171][172]

Poet Francis William Bourdillon lived in the town.[173]

Charles Webb, writer of The Graduate, moved to Eastbourne with his wife in 2006.[174]

The novelist and children's writer Annie Keary died in the town in 1879.[175]

Former students at the closed St Cyprian's School include George Orwell, Alaric Jacob, E. H. W. Meyerstein and Alan Hyman. The biographer and historian Philip Ziegler was also a pupil, as was the music historian Dyneley Hussey and politician, historian and diarist Alan Clark.

Karl Marx and Frederick Engels often stayed in the area. Engels' ashes were scattered in the sea off Beachy Head at his request.[176]

The philosopher A. J. Ayer was a pupil at Ascham St Vincent's School in Carlisle Road.[177]

Claude Debussy finished composing La mer at the Grand Hotel in 1905.[178]

The pianist Russ Conway was a resident for many years.[179]

Dec Cluskey from the 60s band The Bachelors is resident in Eastbourne. Dec and his brother Con performed together as The Bachelors right up until the 2020s, Con died on 8 April 2022, aged 86.

Several bands have formed in Eastbourne, including: Toploader,[180] Easyworld,[181] the Divided,[182] ROAM and Mobiles.[183]

Musician Robin Romei is a resident of Eastbourne, and has written a song named after the town.[184]

David Bowie performed in Eastbourne several times. He included a mention of Eastbourne in his 1967 single, "The Laughing Gnome": "Well I gave him roasted toadstools and a glass of dandelion wine, Then I put him on a train to Eastbourne, Carried his bag and gave him a fag ..."

Spider Stacy, member of The Pogues, was born in Eastbourne in 1958.

"Darwin's Bulldog" Thomas Henry Huxley spent the last few years of his life in Eastbourne.[185]

Frederick Soddy, radiochemist and economist, was born in Eastbourne and studied at Eastbourne College.[186]

NASA aerospace engineer Bruce Woodgate, who attended Eastbourne Grammar School, was the principal investigator and designer of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, which was installed on the Hubble Space Telescope in 1997.[187][188]

Michael Fish, who forecast the weather for BBC Television from 1974 to 2004, was born in Eastbourne and studied at Eastbourne College.[189]

Polar explorer Lawrence Oates attended South Lynn School in Mill Gap Road.[190]

George Mallory, the noted mountaineer, attended Glengorse Preparatory School in Chesterfield Road between 1896 and 1900.[191]

Count László Almásy, the basis of the lead character of The English Patient, was educated by a private tutor at Berrow, and was a member of the pioneering Eastbourne Flying Club.[192]

In 1993, following a suggestion to Eastbourne Borough Council by Eastbourne Civic Society (now Eastbourne Society), a joint project was set up to erect blue plaques on buildings associated with famous people. The principles for selection are broadly those already established by English Heritage for such plaques in London. The first was erected in November 1994 in Milnthorpe Road at the former home of Sir Ernest Shackleton, the Antarctic explorer.[193]

The artist Eric Ravilious grew up, was educated and taught in Eastbourne.[194]

Artists Cedric Morris and David Kindersley attended St Cyprian's School.

Prunella Scales[195] and Eddie Izzard attended school in Eastbourne.[196]

Annie Castledine spent the end years of her life living in and working from the town.[197]

Former students at St Cyprian's include the politicians Richard Wood, who had lost both legs in war, and David Ormsby-Gore, later ambassador to the USA.

Theresa May, a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was born in the town.[198]

Ed Balls, former MP Morley and Outwood and BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestant, married Yvette Cooper, MP for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford in Eastbourne in January 1998.

Johanna Konta, British number one tennis player and Grand Slam semi-finalist

Joe Marler, Professional England Rugby Union Player

Henry Allingham, briefly the world's oldest man when he died in 2009, aged 113, was a resident.

Percy Sillitoe, director of MI5, lived in the town in the 1950s.[199]

Olav Bjortomt, English international quiz player, four-time world champion (2003, 2015, 2018, 2019) and three time individual European champion (2010, 2014, 2015)

The leading evangelist Canon Stephen Warner was the vicar of Holy Trinity between 1919 and 1947. Novelist Angela Carter was born in Eastbourne in 1940 before moving to South Yorkshire as a child.

Aleister Crowley, occultist and mystic attended Eastbourne College and later edited a chess column for the Eastbourne Gazette.[200]

Douglas Bader, who became a successful Second World War fighter pilot despite having lost both legs in a flying accident, attended Temple Grove Preparatory School in Compton Place Road.[201]

Military figures who had been students at St Cyprian's include: General Sir Lashmer Whistler; Major General Henry Foote VC; the submarine commander Rupert Lonsdale. Other ex-students at St Cyprian's include: the amateur jockey Anthony Mildmay; Seymour de Lotbiniere, one-time Director of Outside Broadcasts at the BBC; Jagaddipendra Narayan, a reigning Maharaja of Cooch Behar while at the school.[202]