Two Hastings fishermen, Joseph Swaine and Mark White, were drowned when their boat Henry was run down at night three miles off Fairlight by another vessel, probably a large brig sailing out of Rye Harbour.
Two Hastings fishermen, Messrs Tassell and Hook, were washed overboard and drowned in rough seas off Shoreham.
Farm Fire
From the Hastings News of 10/01/1851
Fire at Great Ridge Farm, Ore; buildings, crops and machinery destroyed.
Floods
From the Hastings News of 24/12/1852
There had been floods in the Old Town and the Priory, and a windmill on the West Hill had been hit by lightning, causing slight damage.
Fall of cliff at East Groyne.
Frozen Sea
From the Hastings News of 23/02/1855
The sea was frozen at Hastings, out to 300-400 feet from the shore. Congers were floating on the water. The temperature was 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
A small collier, en route from Newcastle to Falmouth, is wrecked in a gale on the rocks at Rock-a-Nore. Many people try to rescue the four crewmen, but the sea is too rough and the gale too strong. After an ...
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Fishing Disaster
From the Hastings Mail of 02/06/1860
Ten Hastings fishermen were lost at sea in a heavy gale. Seven drown at Shoreham, when the big lugger Endeavour was driven ashore. Another two died off Newhaven and one at Brighton. This was one of the worst-ever Hastings disasters. ...
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Schooner Wrecked
From the Hastings News of 20/09/1861
The schooner Midge, 130 tons, was wrecked off the Saxon Hotel by a sudden storm.
Lugger Lost
From the Hastings News of 14/03/1862
The Hastings lugger Crystal Palace was lost on 8 March at Plymouth with all hands. The News of 15 March reported that a collection for the widows of the Crystal Palace raised £15 5s. Fishing at Plymouth had met with ...
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Widows Fund
From the Hastings News of 28/03/1862
A widows fund for the Crystal Palace fishermen had been started by the Church. By the beginning of May it had raised £500.
There was a bad fire at 128-133 Marina and the local fire brigade was seriously tested. The damage was estimated at £4,000. A month later, on 12 March, there was a fire at the Russian Baths, West Hill, St Leonards: ...
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The Tivoli windmill belonging to Mr Draper, situated on the turnpike road from Silverhill to St Leonards Green [Sedlescombe Road South], was destroyed by fire.
A rough gale caused the wreck of the Lambourn, a collier brig. Messrs Kent, the principal owners, will be heavy losers. She was built more than 30 years ago at a shipwrights, near the Russian Gun, now closed.
The old corn mill at Bachelors Bump was burnt down. Over-heating was supposed to be the cause of the fire, aided by a strong wind. There was rapid destruction of the building. It was occupied by Messrs A Amoore and ...
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Shipwreck Rescue
From the Hastings News of 21/02/1868
For getting shipwrecked men ashore from the Liverpool vessel Startled Fawn, in collision 12 miles off Hastings on December 20, ‘Tuppy’ Stonham and his crew on Little Polly were given a £7 reward.
Brewery Burnt Down
From the Hastings News of 18/09/1868
The Eagle Brewery in Courthouse Street, owned by Mills and Sons, was burned down on 15 September. It was next to Burfields Phoenix Brewery. Three engines of the Voluntary Fire Brigade were helped by fishermen and Coastguards.
Fishermen Drown
From the Hastings News of 05/02/1869
In two days of storms, the fishing boat Dove lost a man overboard at the East Groyne. Power Love lost her entire crew of four off South Foreland: George (Tonser) Adams, George Sutton, John Boreham and a pensioner, Woods. There ...
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The famous landmark the Fairlight windmill, on the top of Fairlight Down, burned down early in the morning of Wednesday 21 April. The large mill was completely destroyed, along with a large quantity of grain, flour and meal, and three ...
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Yacht Disaster
From the Hastings News of 10/06/1870
“Terrible gloom” was cast over the town by the drowning of eight people when the pleasure yacht Royal Albert capsized half a mile off the Fishmarket on Whit Monday, 6 June. The ketch set sail from the beach about 4pm, ...
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Sailing Mayor
From the Hastings News of 15/07/1870
William Scrivens, mayor, accompanied clerks of Beeching’s Bank on their annual aquatic outing in the pleasure yacht Albertine to help offset local prejudice against boating after the June 6 disaster.
Sewage Deaths
From the Hastings News of 12/08/1870
Three men were suffocated in the large underground sewage tank at Rock-a-Nore. One of them was the company chemist. The tank was cleared every tide.
Severe Storms
From the Hastings News of 12/11/1875
St Andrews [Alexandra Park] was flooded after heavy rain on 10 November. The Cricket Ground was four feet deep in water. The circus at the Cricket Ground had trouble moving its horses. The News said on 19 November that an ...
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Church Burnt Down
From the Hastings News of 29/11/1878
The church of St John the Evangelist in Maze Hill was destroyed by fire on Sunday 24 November. It was proposed to build a new church on the site.
The Royal Concert Hall in Warrior Gardens opened on 13 October. First called the Warrior Square Opera House and Concert Room, it was for many years the leading centre of entertainment and social function in St Leonards. Many famous artistes ...
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Hurricane-force winds drove a sailing vessel onto the rocks near the Haddocks Coastguard Station, Fairlight Cove, at 5.30 on the morning of Sunday 18 December. The barque was wrecked and seven men were killed. The German barque Sacitta was outward ...
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Schooner Wrecked
From the Hastings News of 16/08/1890
The Swansea schooner Annie was wrecked at Hastings on 15 August.
The Hastings fishing fleet suffered one of its worst-ever disasters in a severe blizzard on Monday 9 March. Two boats, the Linnet and the Henrietta, were wrecked on the beach, and many others were damaged. Three lives were lost.
During a dramatic storm on 11 November, the large three-masted German barque JC Pfluger, bound from San Francisco to Bremen in Germany, was driven ashore at Bopeep. Her 24 crew were rescued by Coastguards using breeches buoy equipment. The schooner ...
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Big Cliff Fall
From the Hastings News of 25/01/1895
There was a large fall of earth and stone on Tuesday 22 January from the East Hill cliff onto the east end of the Refuse Destructor yard at Rock-a-Nore. This was the part used as a stone yard. Sheds, another ...
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Hotel Suicide
From the Hastings News of 12/04/1895
Frederick Bugg, a lithographic artist of Camberwell, shot himself in the Globe Hotel on Saturday 6 April, causing a sensation in the town centre. The Globe was 5 Queens Road, on the south corner of the entrance to Queens Avenue ...
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Steamer Disaster
From the Hastings News of 07/04/1899
A German steamer was run down and sank eight miles south of Hastings The 2,710 ton Pontos, 300 feet long, with a cargo of cattle plus several passengers, sank on Friday 31 March. Twenty passengers and crew were brought ashore ...
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Damaging Gale
From the Hastings Mail of 12/09/1903
A disastrous gale took place on Thursday 10 September. Fifty bathing machines were lost, houses and a chapel were flooded and steamboats were in a terrible plight. The greatest sufferers were Messrs Hutchinson Bros, proprietors of the bathing machines near ...
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A disastrous fire hit Mastin Brothers, the large drapers and general furnish shop at 7-10 Breeds Place, on Friday 9th. Nearly £12,000 of damages was caused. The drapery establishment was partially ruined. There was a narrow escape for girls and ...
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