A Hastings Council meeting discussed a proposed new pier opposite Warrior Square, but this never came to fruition.
A Hastings Council meeting discussed a plan for a pier, forming a harbour, at a cost of no more than £100,000.
Pier and Harbour
From the Hastings News of 22/11/1861
A further meeting on the proposed pier and harbour was held on 20 November. The News of 29 November said that it was against the harbour development.
Hastings Council held a heated discussion on the harbour project. The mayor called a public meeting on January 17, where the majority of people were for the harbour. There were still serious disagreements between the promoters and the Council on ...
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A memorial (petition) against the Harbour scheme with 300 signatures was presented to the Board of Trade.
Harbour Report
From the Hastings News of 28/02/1862
A report on the harbour scheme from the Board of Admiralty was published.
Harbour Bill
From the Hastings News of 25/07/1862
The Harbour Bill was passed in Parliament. It was given royal assent on 21 July 1863.
A Council meeting discussed the plans for the new railway or tramway for the proposed harbour and pier. They discussed it again on 6 March, with talk of building a bridge at St Andrews Terrace and other bridges necessary over ...
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Harbour Plans
From the Hastings News of 27/05/1864
Details were published of the harbour scheme that was soon to be started.
What Harbour?
From the Hastings News of 12/05/1865
Doubts were being expressed over the harbour and pier scheme which had failed to materialise in 3 years.
Harbour and Pier
From the Hastings News of 11/08/1865
The Harbour Bill was criticised again after its virtual demise, but the Pleasure Pier was more promising.
St Leonards Pier
From the Hastings News of 01/12/1865
The harbour promoters had deposited a plan at the Custom House for the Alexandra Pier which they hope to be built in the centre of Warrior Square. Another pier scheme was planned for White Rock.
Harbour and Pier?
From the Hastings News of 26/01/1866
A council meeting on 19 January decided against the harbour and pier projects. But special council meetings on 12 and 16 February discussed a letter received from the promoters of the projects, and then approved the plans.
Possible Pier
From the Hastings News of 14/12/1866
The proposal of a pier at White Rock was discussed at a public meeting on 7 December. More enthusiasm was shown for the pier project at another public meeting, on 14 December.
Hastings Pier Bill
From the Hastings News of 21/06/1867
The Hastings Pier Bill had passed through the Committee Stage of the House of Commons as an unopposed bill.
The first pile of Hastings Pier was driven at 3.00 am. It was to open on August Bank Holiday 1872.
Pier Piles
From the Hastings News of 25/03/1870
The first cargo of iron works for the pier had arrived at Whitstable harbour. For more than a week the heavy screw piles had been hauled to the Parade at White Rock and stacked ready for use.
Pier Progress
From the Hastings News of 15/07/1870
About a hundred of the new screw piles of the pier now being built had now been driven in.
Submarine Forest
From the Hastings News of 21/07/1871
A large iron pile for the new pier-head hit a hard object and broke the large screw. It was a large oak trunk, three feet widest, 24 feet long, weight about 2 tons. "The pier-head is evidently in the very ...
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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.
St Leonards Pier
From the Hastings News of 26/07/1872
The St Leonards Commissioners refused the St Leonards Pier Company's application to enclose part of the promenade for a pier.
The pier opened on 5 August, the bank holiday, by Earl Granville, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, with Thomas Ross, mayor, Mr Kay-Shuttleworth MP and Thomas Brassey MP. There was heavy rain. The Coastguard formed a guard of honour ...
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St Leonards Pier
From the Hastings News of 18/10/1872
The St Leonards Commissioners had strict neutrality over the proposal for a St Leonards pier.
Pier’s Busiest Day
From the Hastings News of 10/08/1883
Hastings Pier had its busiest day so far in its 11-year history on Bank Holiday Monday, 6 August, when over 9,400 people passed through the turnstiles.
Cllr John Howell, the town's leading builder and president of the local Liberal Party, was acquitted of perjury at Hastings Police Court. A private investigator, Mr Kendal, from London had alleged that Howell committed perjury when Howell had hired ...
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New Life Jacket
From the Hastings News of 12/09/1884
A demonstration of new life saving apparatus was given by Mr Boucher, who jumped off the pier wearing a new life jacket.
Pier Landing Stage
From the Hastings News of 28/08/1885
A new landing stage at the pier, costing £1,140, had commenced.
St Leonards Pier
From the Hastings Observer of 30/10/1886
A company had been formed to build a pier at St Leonards. It would be 900 feet long and cost nearly £20,000. The News of 29 April 1887 reported that a meeting had been held to discuss it, on 27 ...
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Steamships Sink
From the Hastings Observer of 27/11/1886
Winding up of the Hastings & St Leonards Passenger Steamship Company Ltd.
Pier Steamer
From the Hastings News of 12/08/1887
The pleasure steamer the Nelson was plying from Hastings Pier every weekday.
St Leonards Pier
From the Hastings News of 02/03/1888
The ceremony of screwing the first pile into the beach for the new St Leonards Pier, opposite the Royal Victoria Hotel, was carried out by the Mayoress on Thursday 1 March.
Pier Landing Stage
From the Hastings News of 02/05/1890
A big new landing stage on Hastings Pier was opened for steamboat traffic on Thursday 1 May. The original landing stage was along the east side of the promenade beside the Pavilion. The work of the last ten months ...
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The mayoress, Mrs Stubbs, wife of the Cllr Stubbs, screwed in the last bolt of the 22,500 in the ironwork substructure of St Leonards Pier on Thursday 9 October. Several hundred people watched the ceremony, including the pier company chairman ...
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Lady Brassey formally opened the new St Leonards Pier on Wednesday 28 October. [It stood 50 yards west of the Royal Victoria Hotel, and was demolished in the early 1950s. Today, there is no sign of it.]
Swimmer Fails
From the Hastings News of 18/08/1893
Mr Harry Diplock, the instructor at the Devonshire Baths, Eastbourne, made an unsuccessful attempt to swim from Hastings Pier to Eastbourne Pier on Saturday 12 August.
The captain of the Hastings steamer Bonnie Princess, William Hurdman, was charged on 10 September with overloading on 17 August. He sailed from Hastings Pier to Dungeness with 901 passengers, 247 more than allowed. He was fined £10 plus a ...
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Both Piers Damaged
From the Hastings News of 09/10/1896
There was gale damage to St Leonards Pier on 6 October. The remaining portion of the timber landing stage was smashed to pieces and washed away, causing timber to be driven into Hastings Pier, damaging its ironwork structure.
A new steamboat company was registered on 19 January: the Brighton, Shanklin, Eastbourne and Hastings Belle Passenger Steamboat Company Ltd.
Pier Landing Stage
From the Hastings News of 26/03/1897
The construction of the landing stage on St Leonards Pier was in progress.
Pier Improvement
From the Hastings News of 03/02/1899
The Hastings Pier pavilion closed at the end of January for re-roofing and enlargement. It was expected to re-open in mid-May. The pavilion had been open continuously since the pier opened in 1872.
There was distress in the fishing quarters, as gales had prevented boats from leaving the beach for the previous six weeks. High tide floods had damaged sea frontage on Sunday 12 February. Homes at Denmark Place, Caroline Place, Beach Terrace, ...
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Pier Fire
From the Hastings News of 22/09/1899
There was a fire on Hastings Pier on Monday 18 September, with the decking close to the side seats alight. The probable cause was a careless smoker.
Park Theft
From the Hastings News of 19/01/1900
The Chips and Sparks column said: “The iron plate is missing from the remains of the old oak tree taken from the submerged forest near the site of the Hastings Pier Pavilion 30 years ago, and which has been exhibited ...
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Pier Fire
From the Hastings News of 20/07/1900
There was an outbreak of fire on Hastings Pier during a concert on Sunday 15 July. The fire was put out promptly, though flames were seen from White Rock Parade.
Pier Problems
From the Hastings News of 16/05/1901
The annual meeting of the Hastings Pier Company took place on 13 May was a heated affair. The company was not doing well and many shareholders were unhappy, voting against the chairman's report. They felt the increased spending on band ...
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Steamer Stuck
From the Hastings Mail of 09/08/1902
The Brighton Queen passenger steamer was stuck on the Castle Rocks opposite the West Hill on 4 August, Bank Holiday Monday. Passengers were stranded with tickets to Newhaven, Eastbourne and Brighton.
Pier Master Dies
From the Hastings Mail of 13/09/1902
Hastings Pier Master Clement Lenton died at Norman Chambers, Saxon Road, on 10 September. Mr R Turner was appointed as his successor on 2 October.
Lifeboat Problems
From the Hastings Mail of 31/01/1903
The Lifeboat Hastings Committee failed to induce the Parent Committee to provide a launching slipway at the Piers. There was also now a question of whether a lifeboat was needed at Hastings.
Mail news said: The Royal Victoria Hotel re-opened on 8 March “after undergoing almost complete reconstruction”. It was originally opened in 1835 by the Duchess of Kent and her daughter Princess Victoria. It was built in 1828 by James Burton, ...
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A new steamboat company had been formed, and had bought the Alexandra. A few townsmen were involved, plus Mr Heckles, one of the managers of the SE Railway. The Mail of 30 April said that the Hastings and St Leonards ...
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The Mail said that Mr Reed was a generous-hearted man, of many public services and a supporter of the RSPCA. He was “one of the pioneers of the St Leonards Pier. He was a prominent Freemason and was always held ...
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Arrival of the steamboat Alexandra on Friday 13 May, after a trip from London in the fog. Passengers witnessed a vessel being run down off Walmer.
The AGM of the Hastings Pier Company was held in the Pier Pavilion. The directors were John Reeves, ST Weston JP, Dr GG Gray JP and WE Brown, with secretary LT Weston. There was much criticism from shareholders. Reeves said ...
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Details of the proposed Winter Garden pier opposite Warrior Square were published. It would project 460 feet into the sea, and have a pavilion on it.
The first statutory meeting of the new Steamboat Company took place at Young, Son and Coles office in Bank Buildings. Coles was the chairman. He gave an “encouraging report” but appealed to residents to give more patronage. There had been ...
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Arthur Blackman
From the Hastings Mail of 16/07/1904
Arthur Blackman was profiled as the coal merchant, living at 7 Lower Park Road, “the chief company with which he is connected is the H&SL Steamboat Co”. He stood as an Independent candidate in the St Mary Magdalen ward bye-election ...
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Steamer Sold
From the Hastings Mail of 03/09/1904
The old Alexandra steamer was to be put up for auction by Mr F St John at the Castle Hotel on September 13. The boat had served the interests of the new local Steamboat Company during the past season: “The ...
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The Winter Orchestra for St Leonards made its inaugural performance at St Leonards Pier’s new Kursaal (the former Pavilion, turned into a fashionable lounge). But the concerts in the Kursaal were not a financial success, and they were ended on ...
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Steamboat Rivalry
From the Hastings Mail of 04/02/1905
The St Leonards Pier Co held a meeting on January 28 in their Pavilion to discuss forming a company to run a steamship in the coming season. Mr FG Langham presided, plus RD Heckels, T Maltby, F James, W Lee, ...
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It now seemed there could be two steamboats, in rivalry, “a kind of marine civil war”. There could be a heavy financial loss for everyone concerned at the end of the season”.
Investors fought shy of buying shares in several Hastings companies at an auction at 12 Claremont. There were no bids for Albany Hotel Co, Hastings Pier Co, Plummer Rodis, Southern Counties Vacuum Cleaner Co, Skinner & Co, the Grand Hotel ...
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The St Leonards Steamboat Company was preparing to run at Easter. The steamboat Cynthia had been purchased. She was 30 years younger than the Alexandra, and slightly shorter. She could carry enough coal for a week, so would not have ...
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The Hastings, St Leonards & Eastbourne Steamboat Co Ltd had been registered as owners of the steamboat Cynthia. Subscribers: RD Heckels, F James, H Groome, WP Glazebrook, J Martin, LD Rees, TF Maltby. The first board meeting was on March ...
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The steamboat Cynthia was to start shortly. She had been purchased from the sheriff at Herne Bay for £2,300 by the Hastings, St Leonards and Eastbourne Steamboat Company. “The boat was previously owned by Mr Jones, the Holborn town clerk, ...
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The AGM of the Hastings Pier Company was held on the Pier on 8 May. The annual report for 1904/5, published a week before, showed a profit of £1,944 (£1,595 last year) on a turnover of £9,814. It claimed it ...
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Steamers Arriving
From the Hastings Mail of 20/05/1905
The steamship Halcyon was due to arrive from Tilbury today, starting its excursions tomorrow, Sunday. The Mail on page 1 had adverts for services by four steamers. Two were to be based here: the Halcyon, South of England Steamboat Co, ...
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The St Leonards Kursaal Committee decided not to run the Kursaal and its general entertainments on St Leonards Pier this coming winter because of the lack of public support. But support rallied, and by the end of October they had ...
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The Hastings, St Leonards and Eastbourne Steamboat Co had an ordinary general meeting on St Leonards Pier on October 28. The Cynthia had been successful, so a 5% dividend could be paid. Chairman Sir Ralph Littler denied claims that the ...
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The Kursall opened on St Leonards Pier for it’s second season, despite fears it would not.
Liquidation of the Steamboat Company after the Alexandra and Britannia ceased running a year before.
Hastings Corporation was threatened with an action at law by the St Leonards Pier Company in reference to defences of that structure. Extracts from Sir Ralph Littler’s letter as chairman of the St Leonards Pier Company: “Last Autumn your men ...
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Borough engineer Mr PH Palmer distributed amongst members of the Town Council a significant report on the allegation by the St Leonards Pier Company that the removal of some 90 loads of beach had materially affected the foundations of the ...
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Another Steamboat
From the Hastings Mail of 28/07/1906
Another steamboat, the Bonnie Doon, was to be put on the Hastings station by Messrs P and A Campbell Ltd. It was to arrive at Hastings on Wednesday, 1 August, and would run its first trip at 3pm that afternoon ...
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Mr GH Roberts, Labour MP for Norwich, gave an address on 27 August in support of Mr Jones in Hollington ward. It was presided over by Mr G Page, chairman of the Trades and Labour Council, supported by J Thompson ...
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Hastings Pier Pavilion was burgled, leaving a scene of devastation. The night watchman heard nothing.
There was another pier robbery: This time the St Leonards Pavilion was broken into, with £50 stolen.
The steamer Bonnie Doon broke down off Bexhill and was taken in tow by the Lorna Doon for Newhaven harbour.
The transformed Palace Pier [the St Leonards Pier, opposite the Royal Victoria Hotel] was to be reopened in May, after the American Syndicate had taken possession of the Pier on 1 April. The Mail of 10 April reported that the ...
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The AGM of the Hastings Pier Company on 21 April heard there was decreased profit and no dividend. A future plan was for a pavilion at the shore end. The directors were criticised.
The American Palace Pier (the St Leonards Pier) opened on Sunday 23rd after much work, with two sacred concerts. Kiosks had been erected, and the pavilion daintily painted in white, light green and gold. A new floor was under construction ...
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Hastings Council agreed on 4 June that the owners of the pier, American Rinckeries, could replace an iron arch and railings at the entrance to the pier. This involved removing the existing railings belonging to the Council.
New Pier Pavilion
From the Hastings Mail of 24/07/1909
The new pavilion was almost complete on the new American Palace [St Leonards] Pier, under the management of Mr Blackwell. It was covered in with a sloping roof of woodwork and glass which was built up on a foundation of ...
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At Silverhill, a house belonging to Mr C Ticehurst, in Burry Road, was struck by lightning. Groups of interested spectators congregated opposite the Sussex Hotel, Marina, to watch an immense salvage cylinder, lashed together with a series of wooden planks ...
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