competed for were a Town-plate of fifty sovereign[1]s and a Ladies-plate of the same amount. The sports were similarly repeated on the same course in 1824 and 1825, but in 1826 — quite an important year in the annals of Hastings — a new and superior course was formed in the Filsham valley It was in the shape of the figure 8, and could be seen throughout the whole distance both from the grand stand and from the hill at Bopeep where the Misses Brisco have had a road made over an extensive area from St. Leonards Green This racecourse had the reputation of being the-prettiest in the south of England. It was calculated that at least six thousand persons were present at the races in 1826, which then and afterwards extended to two days. Messrs. Frederick North and Musgrave Brisco were the stewards, to be followed next year by Messrs. Edward Milward and Lucas Shadwell. The race-dinner, as usual, was held at the Swan, under the presidency and vice-presidency of the stewards. But, leaping forward, as it were, over a digression of twenty years, I find the customary Ladies’ Plate hads vanished from the scene, the prizes run for on the first day being the Town Plate of £50, a Sweepstakes of £2 each, with an added £30, and a hurdle-race for an unstated amount. The second day’s stakes were the Stewards’ Plate of £50, a Sweepstakes, as on the previous day, and a plate of £20 for losing horses. As I happened to be one of the bandsmen at those races, I remember that the newly introduced polka had lost nothing of its popularity, and that the interest. in that species of dance music was kept up by the introduction of new varieties by different composers, of which the Drum Polka by Mons. Julien was one. With my then musical aspirations, I contributed to the general stock, — as might seem to be egotistically intimated in an earlier chapter, — and this contribution and other compositions, all in original MSS., are just now in the keeping of a local popular musician, not of “the olden time.” It may be mentioned that on the introduction of the polka as a dance forty years ago, it was described as the invention of a Bohemian nobleman, although as a matter of fact its rhythmical measure was that of the peasants’ dance in the suburban districts of Cracow, called the “Krakoviak” by the Poles, and “Cracovienne“ by the French.
While on the subject of music, it may be stated that it formed a prominent feature at a soirée of the Mechanics’ Institution held in the Swan Assembly room on the 27th of October, the said soirée being in every way successful, and attended by 300 persons.
Another musical novelty of the year was the formal opening of the new organ at the chapel of St. Mary-in-the-Castle by the late Mr, George Lindridge. It was a powerful instrument, built by Mr. Allen, and its cost was defrayed by subscription, to which the esteemed incumbent, the Rev. T. Vores, contributed liberally. Music was also an accompaniment of the Horticultural Show held in the St. Leonards Assembly Rooms on the 16th of September, on which occasion the exhibits were judged to be under an average merit, both for quantity and quality. If this was in any measure due to the very hot weather which prevailed during the summer months, it could not apply to cucumbers and melons, for those productions grew to great perfection even in the open air, And this leads me to describe in outline the meteorological conditions as in the next paragraph.
The year commenced with extremely mild weather, which caused the trees and hedges to bud into leaf in the midst of winter, and to 8o continue until the 19th of March, when real wintry weather set in and lasted about three weeks. The temperature of April was six degrees below the average, although the 12th (Good Friday) came with an abnormally strong and warm wind, followed by a wet Easter and a very hot May, June and July. The thermometer rose on several days to over 90 degrees. Snow fell in October, and the weather continued cold, with much rain and snow during the succeeding winter
A great interest was manifested by the townspeople in the religious rivalry of 1846 in which the claims of Romanism were not superlatively successful. In the month of December Mr. Anstey obtained from the Vice-Chancellor’s Court a writ of habeas corpus at the suit of Mrs. Sarah North commanding Mrs. Gloucester Wilson and her daughter to produce four children, ranging from four to ten years of age, of the late Capt. Dudley North, alleged to be detained by those ladies. The affidavit of Mrs. North was to the effect that her late husband about two months before his death, with herself and two children, frequented a Roman Catholic chapel at Plymouth; that since then she had been received into the Roman Catholic Church; that she had lived the last 15 months within 200 yards of her late husband’s mother, at whose residence the children had taken their meals and spent many hours daily; that Mrs. Wilson, on being told that the children’s mother had embraced the Catholic faith, replied that she could not permit her son’s children to be brought up in that religion; that she (the mother) consented to the children remaining at their grandmother's that night, but on sending for them next day, her messenger found they had gone In the month of December Mr. Anstey obtained from the Vice-Chancellor’s Court a writ of habeas corpus at the suit of Mrs. Sarah North commanding Mrs. Gloucester Wilson and her daughter to produce four children, ranging from four to ten years of age, of the late Capt. Dudley North, alleged to be detained by those ladies. The affidavit of Mrs. North was to the effect that her late husband about two months before his death, with herself and two children, frequented a Roman Catholic chapel at Plymouth; that since then she had been received into the Roman. Catholic Church; that she had lived the last 15 months within 200 yards of her late husband’s mother, at whose residence the children had taken their meals and spent many hours daily; that Mrs. Wilson, on being told that the children’s mother had embraced the Catholic faith, replied that she could not permit her son’s children to be brought up in that religion; that she (the mother) consented to the children remaining at their grandmother's that night, but on sending for them next day, her messenger found they had gone
It may be mentioned that the influence of Lady Waldegrave, a younger sister of Mrs. Wilson, was brought to bear in the above case; and it is a little curious that her marriage with Earl Waldegrave had only taken place about 8 or 9 days before this legal suit commenced. The great assistance afforded by that lady to the schemes for building and endowing churches is well known to the older inhabitants, and it needs no words of mine to prove how thoroughly Protestant were her principles in all that she espoused. It seems, however, chargeable to the irony of events — not to tread on more debateable ground - that at the present time a new Roman Catholic church stands on a site nearly opposite to Garden Cottage, the property of Lady Waldegrave in 1846, in which Mrs. North, the new proselyte to Romanism, resided, and that a larger mansion, then the residence of her ladyship, was at the time this was written tenanted by Mr. Coventry Patmore, a gentleman who hags been the greatest contributor to the funds of the said church. Sure am I that such a church on such a site would never have been built in the lifetime of Lady Waldegrave and Mrs, Wilson. I ought to have stated that the consummation of the long-talked-of marriage of Mrs. Milward and the Earl of Waldegrave was effected at All Soul’s church, Langham place, London, on the 8th of December; that the Bishop of Chichester conducted the religious rites; and that the nuptials were celebrated in a very quiet manner.
At the Council meeting of Monday, September 19th, it was resolved to construct a new groyne at the east end of the town, the same to be 276 feet in length, and the cost to be £260, I shall have occasion to show, if I am spared long enough and with the requisite time amidst my other pressing engagements to publish my intended history of the foreshore, that the increasing inroads of the sea at the Fishmarket was as much due to the erection of this and subsequently constructed groynes at the east end as it was to the groynes at the west end. And, daring as it may be on the part of one who has constantly watched for over fifty sixty years the moves on the marine chess-board by “Old Davy“ on the one side, and the Town Authority on the other, I shall endeavour to overthrow the criticism of those who never seem to tire of blaming the Council for their “ignorance,” their “procrastination ” and their “blundering in commencing the later groyning operations at the wrong end.“ It is not yet twelve months since I was personally ridiculed for venturing to assert that there would be an abundance of shingle at the east end, irrespective of anything that Sir John Coode might advise; and now, for several months past, the unprecedented accumulation of the protective material in that district has given us the opportunity of “turning he tide“ against our many assailants. But, as above intimated, I hope to have much more to say on this topic in a more special form, and will therefore for the present close my remarks on this head.
In the transactions of the Commissioners at their meeting on the 7th of September, it will be seen that they had an eye to improvements. One of these sought-for improvements was the removal of the “ Old Warm Baths“ from the Marine Parade the “New Warm Baths,” in the Fishmarket, having been already got rid of. The proprietors of the former had been applied to for terms of purchase, but, as reported by the Surveyor, they declined to sell, and as Mr Walter Inskipp had been asked to get out plans for the baths on another site, the Commissioners voted him a sum of two guineas, Thus it is seen that even architects worked cheaply in those days. It was further reported that the new pump and water-wheel at the Priory worked admirably. This was an arrangement for watering the roads. Another sought-for convenience was shown in the application to Mrs. Milward for permission to place steps to the stiles on her land at the West hill. That lady promised to give the application her consideration, and having done so, returned a favourable reply. The steps were then put up as a matter of course at the expense of the Commissioners; and this fact may be of some interest to those who at the present time advocate the open use of the West hill to the public.
Eighteen-forty-six was, perhaps, less a year of fatalities than the average as respects St. Leonards, the sudden deaths, according to my record, being nil, but in the sister township of Hastings the cases calling for coroner's inquests were somewhat numerous, and all within the fast four months.
On the 15th of September an enquiry into the cause of death was held on the body of Benjamin Butcher, a man 66 years of age, who on the previous evening was killed by falling from a scaffold at the Gas Works. This man had, for a long time, resided in Bourne Passage, more familiarly known as the ”Lower Lane.” His week-day occupation was that of a bricklayer or bricklayer’s labourer, whilst his Sunday employment was nominally that of a ”dogwhipper,” but practically to look after sleepy or otherwise inattentive boys and girls ensconsed in the old-fashioned high-backed pews of St. Clement's church. Although I have an unfailing recollection of the man who came to his and in the unfortunate manner described, I do not know that he was a native of the town; indeed, I have a notion that he was a son of the Benjamin Butcher, of Bexhill, who at the age of 89 preceded him by eighteen months to the grave; also that he was a brother of George Butcher, who died in the Battle workhouse twenty-one years later at the age of 82.
It has been often observed that mishaps rarely come singly, and at this time the remark received corroboration in the fact that on the same evening that Mr. Butcher fell from the scaffolding, a lady named Isabella Webb fell from the Marine parade in front of Diplock's Library, while listening to the band. She said at the time she was not much hurt, although on examination by Mr. Savery it was found that she had fractured one leg. Her recovery was regarded as all but certain until the sixth day, when she complained of pain in her left side and immediately expired.
Another inquest was held on the same evening on the body of a London clerk named Longbotham. The deceased was 44 years of age, and, according to medical evidence, died of apoplexy while bathing.
Nineteen days later (October 10th) the body of Mr. Ellis, a retired silversmith, was washed ashore at Ecclesbourne, it having drifted all the way from Guernsey, where the unfortunate gentleman was drowned a fortnight previously.
On the 4th of December an inquest was held at the Hare-and-Hounds Inn, Ore, on Mrs. Sarah Phillips, who had been found dead in bed. She was 81 years of age, and, according to the finding of the jury, had died in an apoplectic fit.
On the same day, an inquest was held at the ”Two Sawyers ” on the body of Thomas Crossingham, who had been found hanging from a tree in Pannell’s wood, the poor man having been missed for a week.
#Among the minor events of 1846, not hitherto noticed, was the carrying off, by some unknown thief, two overcoats and a waistcoat from the shop of Mr. Harman, a tailor. The robbery was effected while the family were at breakfast. Mr. Osborne, a printer and stationer, of the same street,was also robbed of several silver pencil-cases and tooth-picks. Whether the thief or thieves took themselves off by one of the coaches just now described, or by an aerial flight, this deponent sayeth not, it being one of the mysteries beyond his ken. But the adjective aerial is so near to the noun Ariel as to remind me that in the year under consideration a life-boat, bearing the latter appelation(sic) was laid up in ordinary on the vacated land known as the Dissolved Priory, alias Dissolved America, there being no crew to man it. even if its services had been eversomuch required. The position of the boat, I remember, was keel uppermost, on what is now the site of Trinity Church.
When treating of the sports and pastimes of 1846 it would have been apropos to have included the novel game of Curling — novel at least in the South of England — which was played on the ice in Beauport Park, the estate of Sir Charles Lamb and Lady Montgomery. It took place during the Christmas holidays, and was witnessed by a large number of visitors from Hastings, Battle and other places. The following lines, describing the event, appeared in the Sussex Express :—
”The day is clear, the frost is rather keen,
For prospect, such a valley’s seldom seen;
And by the pond where pheasants often drink,
We hasten on to mark the icy rink,
The curling on, twice twenty yards in length,
The game requires both skill and manly strength;
To cross the score, advancing to the ring,
The stone to sweep, the broom we deftly swing,
The players anxious all to cover ”Tee,”
Such noble game the folk here seldom see;
All ranks of people to our curling come,
From morn till eve, nor one of them is glum.”
- ↑ An explanation of old currency and coinage may be found at the following website Pre-decimal currency, accessdate: 16 June 2022
