Memorial Concerning Groynes
In November a long memorial was received from the owners and occupiers of Pelham place, setting forth the events arising from the construction of a groyne at Beach cottages, causing an immense sweeping away of beach, exposing the drainage and threatening the destruction of the parade wall, if not, indeed the houses. The opinion of Mr. Barnes had been obtained, and he recommended the lowering (sic) the groyne, stating that such an operation had proved successful at the Hooe and Cooding levels. He believed the placing (sic) a groyne near the fort would increase the evil. A committee was then appointed to view and report, the latter recommending two large, but not very high groynes - one at the west end of the Battery, where it was understood a groyne did once exist, and another between that and the one complained of at Thwaites and Winter's shipyard. Also that the last named should be lowered one foot for a distance of 80 feet, and then lengthened and tapered down to nothing. The committee thought if Thwaites and Winter's groyne were taken up, it would be necessary to do away with the one at Ransom and Ridleys, and so continue taking up groynes all the way to St. Leonards, where it was proposed to build one of unusual size near the Archway. They were further of opinion that the parades would not be safe without groynes to the east of the Priory water, as the taking down of the White Rock, and the alterations all along from St. Leonards had rendered every breakwater necessary. It was therefore ordered that the memorialists themselves construct a groyne opposite to Diplock's old Library and that the Commissioners of the Hastings Improvement Act erect one at the west end of the Battery.
Also ordered that the charges made by the Town Crier should be 2/- for 50 cries to the Priory Bridge, 6d. for ten cries to the Gas Fields, and 1/ for 20 cries westward of the Bridge.
If it be thought that the order to the memorialists to put down a groyne at their own expense was a harsh one, it should be borne in mind that the protection they asked for was that of their own portion of the parade built by themselves for the convenience of their own houses at Pelham place. Thus by adding additional means of protection themselves they would only be doing what Thwaites and Winter had done to protect their ship-yard, and what Ransom and Ridley had also done at the Chalk road as a like protection.
