Start of a three-month stay by Louis Phillipe, ex-King of France, at the [Royal] Victoria Hotel. He was in exile after escaping from the 1848 French revolution in a fishing boat. In addition, the Queen of Belgium arrived on June ...
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The Duke and Duchess of Saxe Coburg and Gotha were staying at the [Royal] Victoria Hotel.
The first foundation stone is laid for the first permanent building to go up on the 'Priory ground', the former America Ground that had been cleared of all buildings in 1836 when the Crown took possession of it. Wealthy London ...
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MPs Elected
From the Hastings News of 16/07/1852
Patrick Robertson and Musgrave Brisco were elected as MPs for Hastings.
Christmas Dinner
From the Hastings News of 24/12/1852
Musgrave Brisco MP had given his tenants their annual dinner at his Coghurst Hall.
The new school of All Saints was to open at Easter for 300 girls; Countess Waldegrave was the principal donor.
Halton House Fete
From the Hastings Chronicle of 16/08/1853
A fete was held at Halton House, Robertsons Hill (off Old London Road), by owner Patrick Robertson MP, with music, dancing and fireworks.
A fete was held in the grounds of Hastings Lodge, Old London Road, by the owner, Frederick North.
The Town Council heard that Countess Waldegrave was willing to give up the Priory Meadows to the town; a committee was set up to look into it.
Death of Musgrave Brisco, aged 63, the MP who had resigned his seat on April 25 due to ill-health. On 10 May 1854 Frederick North was elected as MP and Baron for the Cinque Port of Hastings to replace Brisco.
Dinner at the Swan Hotel for Captain McClure RN, who explored the Arctic seas and North West Passage. The mayor and other dignitaries were present.
Death of Mrs North, wife of Frederick North MP, at Hastings Lodge, Old London Road.
The King of Belgium and suite passed through Hastings railway station.
Queen Victoria
From the Hastings News of 10/08/1855
Queen Victoria had passed through Hastings in a train. She stopped at the station for five minutes, and was met by the mayor etc.
Death of William Ransom snr, printer and proprietor of the Hastings and St Leonards News. His brother John took over production. William jnr was the editor, as he had been since the start in 1848. Based 42 George Street.
Lecture by Italian Patriot, Felice Orsini, at the Swan Hotel Assembly Rooms.
General election: Hastings MPs Patrick Robertson and Frederick North were returned.
Author Charles Kingsley preached a sermon in the Fishermen’s Church.
Notable Suicide
From the Hastings News of 21/08/1857
Death by suicide of local establishment figure John G Shorter, after long and painful illness. He was town clerk, clerk to the borough magistrates etc.
Castle Finds
From the Hastings News of 09/04/1858
In an excavation for coins on the West Hill near the Castle under the superintendence of Frederick North MP, some coins and old bones were found.
Prince Albert passed through Hastings en route to Prussia. He was met by a crowd at Hastings Station.
The King of the Belgians visited the [Royal] Victoria Hotel in St Leonards to see the ex-Queen of the French.
Prince Visits
From the Hastings News of 24/12/1858
The Prince of Wales visited Hastings on the way to Portsmouth.
Death of Earl Waldegrave, aged 71. He was buried at Fairlight Church.
A stained glass window in All Saints Church, designed to commemorate Earl Waldegrave, was unveiled. On 30 March 1861, Miss Sayer laid the first stone of the Waldegrave drinking fountain, next to the Holy Trinity Church.
Thomas Brassey jnr had a party on 12 July to celebrate the finish of redecoration of the Beauport Park mansion after the death of Sir Charles Lamb. Redecoration took nine months.
The prominent local businessman Boykett Breeds committed suicide on 26 July.
Russian Royals
From the Hastings News of 27/09/1861
The Russian Royal family, the Grand Duke and Duchess Constantine, visited town for a day.
The famous author Charles Dickens gave readings from Christmas Carol and Pickwick Papers at the Music Hall, Hastings.
At a public meeting on 12 February about the memorial fund to the late Prince Consort (Prince Albert) it was decided that a public memorial should be decided locally instead of sending the money to a London committee. The News ...
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An obelisk in the town centre had been removed for the erection of the Prince Albert Memorial. A meeting of subscribers was held on April 9.
Royal Visitors
From the Hastings News of 08/08/1862
Queen Christine of Spain was staying at 88/9 Marina. The Great Duke and Duchess Michael of Russia were at Warrior House, August 2 - September 12.
Prince of Wales
From the Hastings News of 20/02/1864
The Prince and Princess of Wales were staying at the Royal Victoria Hotel.
Tom Thumb
From the Hastings News of 06/01/1865
Visit to Hastings by General Tom Thumb, on 2 January.
Mr Thomas Brassey's new house, Normanhurst, on a very large estate north of Catsfield, was nearly complete.
Halton House
From the Hastings News of 12/07/1867
Halton House, off Old London Road, was up for sale. It had been built for the prominent local MP Patrick Robertson, who had built Robertson Street. [The house stood where Hardwicke Road is today.]
Death of Countess Elizabeth Waldegrave.
Planning Meeting
From the Hastings News of 11/09/1868
A Council meeting gave planning permission for a new Post Office, Excise Office and Tax Office; plus stables and a coach house in Dorset Place for Wastel Brisco; and six houses with shops in Tower Road.
Prince of Prussia
From the Hastings News of 23/10/1868
HRH the Crown Prince of Prussia and family were at the Royal Victoria Hotel.
The All Saints Church restoration fund opened. It aimed to replace box pews with open pewing, uncover the roof timbers, insert heat, take down both galleries and open up the western arch. The Countess of Waldegrave and the rector GA ...
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MPs Win Libel Case
From the Hastings News of 23/04/1869
The two Hastings MPs, Frederick North and Thomas Brassey, both Liberals, were found not guilty of corrupt practices to win their seats in the November 1868 general election. Some members of the Tory Party had petitioned the Crown after the ...
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The highly respected and popular Liberal MP Frederick North died on Friday 29 October, aged 69. On November 3 he was buried in Halton churchyard, in a brick vault near the Halton Villa entrance. The News said that the unproved ...
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Liberal Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth won the parliamentary by-election following Frederick North’s death. He defeated the former Conservative MP Patrick Robertson 1,218 votes to 1,084. This was the last time the old open-voting system was used in Hastings.
North’s Seat: A seat for 12 people, made by GE Jones of York Gardens, was erected by Miss North in memory of her father Frederick North MP who died 29 October 1869. It was on the site of the Fairlight ...
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Hastings Lodge in Old London Road, the home of the late Frederick North MP, was bought by Stubbs for £4,100, and land around it by the British Land Co for £5,000. This land will be part of the new Clive ...
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His Imperial Highness, son of the recently fallen Napoleon III, arrived at the Marina Hotel, St Leonards. He was welcomed by the mayor. A special train brought 23 horses and two carriages on the 12th. The Empress Eugene arrived on ...
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Death of the famous railway engineer Thomas Brassey, of 56 Lowndes Square, London, aged 65. He was father of Thomas Brassey, the senior Hastings MP. The son of a Cheshire yeoman, he married Miss Harrison of Birkenhead. At first he ...
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Ughtred James Kay-Shuttleworth MP elder son of Sir James, was married in St Leonards to Blanche Marion, youngest daughter of Sir Woodbine Parish, KCH.
Mr WD Lucas-Shadwell, held a social jubilee at The Hall, Fairlight, for Samuel Garham, age 89, who for 50 years was gatekeeper to his family. It was a small party of his relations and Hall staff, with singing, amusements and ...
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Death of Mayor
From the Hastings News of 15/09/1871
Well-known local solicitor and business man William Scrivens died 9 September, whilst mayor. Born 10 July 1805, he died after severe illness in his High Street home. His brother George was with him. He was three times Mayor; a major ...
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Parliament
From the Hastings News of 17/11/1871
Liberal MPs Brassey and Kay-Shuttleworth adressed a crowded Music Hall, Robertson Street, to give an annual account of themselves.
Channel Tunnel
From the Hastings News of 16/02/1872
Thomas Brassey and others formed a company to survey to see if it was practical to build a tunnel between Dover and Calais. Capital £30,000.
The nearly-finished Hastings Pier was used for the first time by a vessel, when Thomas Brassey's large yacht Eothen [?], 325 tons, steam-screw, 78 hp, 9-10 knots, tied up at the end. The pier was open to public inspection.
Thomas Brassey MP, who had recently come into a large fortune following the death of his father, Thomas, the railway builder, had taken 20 Park Lane in London, and had decorated and furnished it.
Death on 18th at The Mansion of Sarah Countess of Waldegrave, widow of Vice Admiral William, 8th Earl of Waldegrave, in her 87th year. She was the youngest daughter of Rev William Whitear, Prebenadry of Chichester, Rector of All ...
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The town's leading building contractor, John Howell, a Liberal councillor, was elected as alderman when one of the existing aldermen died, creating a vacancy.
Albert Victor and George Frederick, sons of the Prince of Wales, had been staying at the Royal Victoria Hotel since 11th, for seabathing, visits, drives and St Mary Magdalen Church on Sunday. They left on 22nd. On the 25th, the ...
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Launch of the Hastings Times by wealthy Liberal businessman Halley Stewart.
Origin of Library
From the Hastings News of 01/08/1879
Mr Brassey had given his recently-built Claremont Rooms to the Borough after a tiff between Brassey and the Rowing Club, which used the basement. Mr Brassey hoped the building would be used as a free library [which it was eventually].
Miss Sayer Dies
From the Hastings News of 29/10/1880
The respected Miss Mary Sayer died on 21 October, aged 79, at her residence, Parade House [where Marine Parade runs into George Street]. She had been in a feeble state for some time, and had just returned from her country ...
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Library Opens
From the Hastings News of 21/01/1881
A free reference library for all the people of Hastings was opened on the ground floor of the Brassey Institute in Claremont on Saturday 15 January. The library was a gift to the town from Mr Thomas Brassey MP. A ...
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Brassey Knighted
From the Hastings News of 27/05/1881
Mr Thomas Brassey, the Liberal MP, was made a KCB - Knight Commander of the Bath - in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
King Visits
From the Hastings News of 22/07/1881
The king of the Sandwich Islands, King Kaluka, visited the Brasseys and was shown some of the town on 17 May.
The natural history paintings of Miss Marianne North had been put together at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and would go on display from 8 June. Miss North left Hastings in 1869, after the death of her father Frederick ...
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John Banks Dies
From the Hastings News of 09/06/1882
Local worthy John Banks died on 3 June, aged 74. He had written the popular book Reminiscences of Smugglers and Smuggling, first published in 1871.
Staunch Liberal John Pearson, born in Battle in 1803, died in Hastings on 27 February 1883. A News editorial said: "Mr Pearson was a Reformer before the electoral Reformation [of 1832] - an advocate for popular rights when peer, and ...
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Over a thousand people went on excursion to Sir Thomas Brassey's country mansion Normanhurst Court on Bank Holiday Monday, 6 August. They were members of the London Working Men's Club and Institute, with family members. They came to Battle by ...
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Dr Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor of medicine in modern times and a resident of Hastings, chaired a meeting of the National Society for Women's Suffrage on Wednesday 29 August. The meeting took place in the Assembly Rooms above ...
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Oscar Wilde
From the Hastings News of 05/11/1883
The well-known Oscar Wilde lectured at the Gaiety Theatre, Queens Road. His talk was called 'The House Beautiful' and there was a very fair attendance. He "dealt with the practical side of asceticism and gave some useful advice on house ...
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Newspaper Dinner
From the Hastings News of 23/11/1883
"On Saturday night [17 November] the members of the local Press held a dinner at the Seaside Hotel [White Rock Place], and considering the enjoyable character of the occasion and the success which attended this, the first effort in the ...
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Famous novelist Charles Dickens lectured at the public Hall in Robertson Street on 25 February.
Brassey MP
From the Hastings News of 27/11/1885
Sir Thomas Brassey was re-elected as the Liberal MP for Hastings.
Lady Brassey, aged 48, had died on board the large family yacht the Sunbeam, between Australia and Mauritius, on 14 September. She was buried at sea.
Marriage of the Hon Miss Brassey to Charles Egerton, Master of East Sussex Foxhounds, on Tuesday 17 April.
New Lady Brassey
From the Hastings News of 15/06/1888
The new steamer called the Lady Brassey was launched on Wednesday 13 June.
Brassey’s Gift
From the Hastings News of 22/06/1888
The formal handing over of the Brassey Institute, containing the reference library and the School of Art, from Lord Brassey to the town took place on 9 June. But Hastings Council did not adopt the Public Libraries Act to support ...
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Lord Brassey was granted the freedom of the borough of Hastings on 15 October. On 26 September a testimonial from the people of the town was presented to him at his large residence Normanhurst.
Dr Elizabeth Blackwell of Rock House was to be one of the consulting physicians at the newly opened Hospital for Women in Euston Road, London. Also Dr Mary Pailthorpe of Hastings, now in Benares, and Dr Lilian H Jenkins of ...
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"Miss Marianne North, the gifted daughter of the late Frederick North, who was one of the members [MPs] for the borough for several years, died at Alderley, in Gloucestershire, on Saturday [30 August], at the age of 59. Miss North ...
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The marriage took place on 18 September between Lord Brassey of Sulkeley and the Hon Sybil de Vere Capel, youngest daughter of the late Viscount Maldon, and the grand-daughter of the Earl of Essex, at St Pauls, Knightsbridge.
Gladstone in Town
From the Hastings News of 20/03/1891
The Liberal Party leader and former prime minister William Gladstone attended a Home Rule demonstration in Hastings on 17 March. [He became prime minister again in July 1892, when the Liberal beat the Tories in the general election.]
The well-known personality Harry Furniss gave a talk at the Public Hall in Robertson Street.
MissMuriel Brassey, second daughter of Lord Brassey, married the Viscount Cantelupe, the second and only surviving son of the 7th Earl DelaWarr, Lord of the Manor of Bexhill, on Tuesday 4 August. Mr Henry Brassey had died on 13 May ...
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Lord Warden Dies
From the Hastings News of 09/10/1891
The Right Hon WH Smith, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, died on 6 October.
Brassey Marriage
From the Hastings News of 22/07/1892
The Hon Marie A Brassey, youngest daughter of Lord Brassey KCB, married Mr Freemen Thomas, of Ratton, Sussex, the grandson of the late Viscount Hampden, on 20 July.
The prominent local builder and politician John Howell, of Priory Mount, 7 Holmesdale Gardens, died on Friday 1 December, aged 69. He had always been an active campaigner for the Liberal Party. In the 1859 general election he had been ...
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Brassey Farewell
From the Hastings News of 12/07/1895
There was a farewell banquet and presentation to Lord Brassey in the Queens Hotel on Wednesday 10 July, who was taking over as governor of the state of Victoria in Australia.
Mrs Pelly Dies
From the Hastings News of 17/04/1896
Death on 6 April of Mrs Raymond Pelly at Hollington House, daughter of the great philanthropist Mrs Elizabeth Fry, nee Gurney.
John Feaist, founder of the well-known bakery firm Feaist and Co, died on 20 June at his home, 91 Priory Road, aged 72. He was born at Plumpton, the son of a farm labourer. He started as an apprentice miller, ...
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Czar Visitor
From the Hastings News of 08/01/1897
Prince Alexander Scherbertoff, an official in the Czar's Court, was now occupying Allegria, Quarry Hill, St Leonards, for 3-4 months.
A woman who was to become one of Adolf Hitler's closest friends was born in Hastings. Winifred Williams was the daughter of Welsh theatre critic John Williams and his German wife Emily Karop. Both died before Winifred was two, and ...
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The famous Earl de la Warr was acquitted of alleged contempt of court at the High Court Bankruptcy Division on Wednesday 17 August. This followed an order for committal to prison of the Earl and Messrs Broadley, Bradshaw and Rucker ...
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Death of Toby King
From the Hastings Mail of 09/09/1899
The radical, outspoken Hollington man Alfred 'Toby' King died on Monday 4 September, aged 62, at his home in Marley Lane, Battle. The Mail and Times said he was a "very remarkable character. He was a man who read widely, ...
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Ashburnham Dies
From the Hastings News of 08/12/1899
Sir Anchitel Ashburnham, one of the notable people in the local establishment, died on Saturday 2 December, aged 71. He was buried on 6 December at Guestling Church, following a procession there from his nearby family home, the grand old ...
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Lord Brassey set sail from Melbourne, Australia, for England on his large three-masted yacht Sunbeam.
Death of important local establishment figure Frederick James Parsons, who turned the Hastings Observer into the most influential Hastings-area newspaper from the 1870s onwards. He was born in Rye on 6 October 1844, the eldest son of Isaac Parsons, a ...
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WH Borrow’s Show
From the Hastings News of 13/04/1900
Mr WH Borrow, the well-known Hastings artist, had a show of paintings at the Continental Gallery, New Bond Street, London.
Lord and Lady Brassey were welcomed home after performing a viceregal service in Victoria, Australia. There were street decorations in Robertson Street and the Front Line, a procession, presentation and evening fete. Brassey had been a Hastings MP from 1868-1886.
Kipling in Town
From the Hastings News of 24/08/1900
The famous novelist Rudyard Kipling had been staying in Hastings.
Brisco Dies
From the Hastings News of 24/01/1901
Death of Miss Sarah Brisco on Monday 21 January, at 79 Portland Place, London. She was the second daughter of “the late Wastel Brisco who, years ago, purchased the well-known Bohemia Place, a building erected at the order of Princess ...
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