St Leonards, (East Sussex)

St Leonards on Sea was initially established as a new town of elegant houses for the well off in the 19th century. Although the town has sprawled into neighbouring Hastings (to the east) and Bexhill (to the west), the orginal central design can still be traced.

The architect for the orginal scheme was James Burton, whose son Decimus is perhaps better known. James is buried in the churchyard above St Leonards Church, his grave marked by a pyramid. Decimus Burton continued his father's work, becoming a Commissioner in 1833. The railway reached the town in 1845, but Warrior Square station wasn't opened until 1852.

The pier was begun in 1888 and was opened on 28th October 1891 by Lord & Lady Brassey and was sited opposite the Royal Victoria Hotel. The pier was modernised during the 1920s, but suffered the indignity of being cut in half during the Second World Was as a protection against invasion. The remnants were removed in 1951.

Perhaps the most well known of the landmarks at St Leonards is the large building, Marine Court, shaped like an ocean liner. It was completed in 1937 and at the time was the tallest block of flats in the United Kingdom, containing 153 flats and three restaurants.

Famous residents of St Leonards include Robert Tressel, author of 'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists', Henry Rider Haggard, author of 'King Solomon's Mines', Anthony Crosland, politician, and Elsie Bowerman, suffragette and Titanic survivor.

Other St Leonards parishes:

St Leonards, Christ Church, St Leonards, St John the Evangelist, St Leonards, St Matthew, Silverhill, St Leonards, St Peter & St Paul.

Ancient parish:

St Leonards was created from the parish of Hastings.

Places of worship:

Church details, together with baptism, marriage, monumental inscription & burial records can be accessed by clicking on the church name.

Congregational Church, Bulverhythe

St Ethelburga

St Leonard

St Mary, Bulverhythe

Census returns:

The OPC Database has no census returns for people residing in this parish yet.

People born in this parish but residing elsewhere:

7 individuals in the OPC Database for the 1861 census.

1 individual in the OPC Database for the 1891 census.

Maps:

Grid reference: 579500, 109500 ~ View on: Google Maps, Open Street Map, Streetmap, National Library of Scotland Map or Oldmaps.

Poll Registers:

The OPC database contains 22 poll register entries for people entitled to vote in this parish.

1641 Protestation Returns:

There are no protestation returns for this parish in the OPC database.

Gazettes:

The OPC database contains 610 entries for people associated with this parish mentioned in Gazettes.

Photographs:

There are 125 images depicting this parish in the OPC database.

Postal directories:

The OPC database contains no postal directory entries for this parish.

1840 Pigot Directory for St Leonards (Hastings)

Publications:

There is 1 book about this parish in the Sussex OPC Bibliography.

There are no articles about this parish in the OPC Sussex Archeaological Collections Index.

There are 39 people from this parish in the OPC Sussex Archeaological Society Members Index.

Wills:

The OPC database contains 1 will of someone who lived in this parish.

The OPC database contains no wills that mention this parish.

Interest in this parish:

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