Seaford, East Sussex

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Map sources for Seaford, East Sussex at grid reference TV482990

Seaford is a coastal town in the county of East Sussex, England, on the south coast, east of Newhaven, Brighton and west of Eastbourne. It has a population of about 22,000.

In the Middle Ages, Seaford was one of the main ports serving Southern England. But the town's fortunes declined due to coastal sedimentation silting up its harbour and persistent raids by French pirates. Between 1350 and 1550, the French burned down the town several times. In the 1500s the people of Seaford were known as the 'cormorants' or 'shags' because of their enthusiasm for looting ships wrecked in the bay. They were also believed to help ships run aground by placing fake harbour lights on the cliffs.

However, Seaford's fortunes revived in the nineteenth century with the arrival of the railway.^[1] It became and remains a small seaside resort town.

1 Geography
2 Politics and administration
3 Famous residents
4 Education
5 Military
6 Local Places
7 External links
8 References

[edit] Geography

The town is mainly situated on a former bay of the sea which has been filled in by sediment. It is surrounded by chalk downland, which includes the famous Seven Sisters sea cliffs and the Cuckmere valley to its east.

The town formerly had excellent beaches which were supplied with sand by longshore drift moving along the coast from west to east. However, dredging of the entrance to Newhaven harbour in the twentieth century cut off this supply of fresh sand and by the 1980s the beaches had all but vanished. The shoreline became steep, narrow and comprised of pebbles. This made Seaford attractive to watersports enthusiasts since water visibility was clear and there was a rapid drop-off into deep water. But it discouraged more general seaside visitors. So, in 1987 a massive operation was carried out in which nearly 1 million tonnes of material was taken from sandbanks out to sea and deposited on the shore. The sand has been 'topped-up' several times since then. This has given the town a broad beach comprised of sand and shingle.

The town's publicity website^[2] includes the following statement :

"For many, the main attraction in Seaford is the beach. This has an obvious attraction in the summer, when the sea reaches temperatures up to 20 degrees Celsius."

That is true, but many visitors do not realise that the beach is largely artificial.

Seaford beach, with the South Downs in the background

[edit] Politics and administration

From 1894 to 1974 Seaford was an urban district run by an authority known as Seaford Urban District Council. In the local government reorganisation of 1974 it became an unparished area which was part of Lewes District Council. This loss of independence was unpopular with Seaford residents and in 1999 the town became a civil parish within Lewes run by an authority known as Seaford Town Council.^[3] Municipal services within the Seaford are now provided by three tiers of local government - the County Council, the District Council and the Town Council. Seaford Town Council is the only town council in the Lewes District which has a "Quality" mark of approval, a certificate system devised by the Government which praises the best run local councils in the country.

The Town Council has 20 members (4 elected by each of 5 wards). The Seaford Community Partnership is a body incorporating representatives drawn from all three of the local authorities having jurisdiction within Seaford and from local civic groups. The Partnership seeks to advise on long term development strategy for the town.

The parliamentary constituency of Seaford was a notorious rotten borough until its disenfranchisement in the Reform Act 1832 when representation was incorporated into the Lewes constituency. Seaford returned three members of parliament who went on to become Prime Minister. Henry Pelham (represented the town from 1717 to 1722), William Pitt the Elder from 1747 to 1754 and George Canning in 1827.

The Seven Sisters chalk cliffs to the east of Seaford

Seaford currently falls within the Lewes Parliamentary constituency. In the 2005 general election, Mr Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) was returned as MP for Lewes.^[4] Baker was first elected as MP in 1997 and in 2005 he was re-elected with a majority of over 8,000. Prior to entering Parliament, Baker was a political activist who had been a member of a number of local authorities including Lewes District Council.

Seaford has been twinned with the town of Bonningstedt, Germany, since 1986. Seaford has one of the longest serving Town Criers in England and Wales - Peter White - who was appointed to this honorary position in 1977 by Lewes District Council.

Seaford boasts the westernmost of the South Coast Martello Towers, now a local history museum.

St Leonard's Parish Church dates from the 11th century.

Seaford railway station which serves the town is the terminus of the line from Lewes via Newhaven.

Seaford Lifeguards patrol the Coast line of Seaford in the summer months to keep locals and visitors to Seaford safe while in and around the sea and beach.

Seaford rugby football club play in the county rugby union league, and play at the town's Salts Recreation Ground.

[edit] Famous residents

Sir Anthony Blunt former keeper of the Queen's paintings who was revealed to be a Soviet spy, went to school in Seaford, as did comedian Dickie Henderson.

Val McCalla who was recently voted as one of the top 100 black Briton's of all time and founder of The Voice (newspaper) lived in Seaford until his premature death in 2002.

The astronaut Piers Sellers attended Tyttenhager Lodge Preparatory school, Seaford

Twin sisters Connie and Cassie Powney, who play Mel and Sophie Burton in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks, grew up in Seaford, as did Paul Garred, drummer of the band The Kooks.

[edit] Education

Between the late 19th century and the 1950s Seaford was renowned as a "School Town" The many Preparatory schools and other independent schools were the main employers in the town.

Offering many "primary" schools (Cradle Hill, Annecy, Seaford County primary), from the nursery to the "sixth year" of education, the town of Seaford has only one state-run comprehensive secondary school : Seaford Head Community College. There is a public school (Newlands Manor School) and a specialist school, for pupils with specific learning difficulties.

[edit] Military

The Romans are known to have had a camp in Seaford. In 1806 - 1808 a Martello Tower was built at the eastern end of Seaford Bay. It is the most westerly of the Towers, numbered Tower 74. During the First and Second World Wars there were large Military Camps in the town.

Seaford has seven Victoria Cross holders associated with the town:
William George Walker - Lived and died in Seaford
Cuthbert Bromley - Lived in Seaford
William Frederick McFadzean - Trained at the North Camp, Seaford
Geoffrey Charles Tasker Keyes - Attended Kingsmead School, Seaford
David Auldjo Jamieson - Attended Ladycross School, Seaford
Claud Raymond - Lived in Seaford
H. Jones - Attended St Peters School, Seaford