Hastings & St. Leonards [Civic] Society's Open Meeting is on Monday 25 February, 6 pm start, at the White Rock Hotel (seafront meeting room on ground floor). 

http://hastingsandstleonardssociety.org.uk/event/open-meeting/

Main topic: The future of St. Leonard's Church and surrounding area, lead Chris Lewcock.

Free event. All welcome, but please advise hstlsoc@gmail.com in advance if you are attending so that we have idea of numbers.

“St Leonards Church is a key architectural landmark within Burtons’ St Leonards and for the whole Town. Sadly it is now physically unsound and closed for religious use. West of the Church are St Leonards Steps, a main pedestrian route from the West Hill Road area to Marina. Unfortunately the steps are gradually slipping down the cliff and also in danger of closure. East of the Church and below the Burton Family graveyard there is a weedy wasteland and a long-neglected development site. A sorry picture. Secure uses and a future for this Listed Gilbert-Scott Church and its surrounds can and must be found so that this becomes a seafront destination that the Town can be proud of.

Book Sale!!!!

Hastings History House

21 Courthouse Street

21st - 23rd February

The Famous Book Sale

The Brede Steam Giants - an Illustrated Talk

Saturday 9th November, 5PM

at

Hastings History House

21 Courthouse Street

Tickets £4

In the 1960s many of our Victorian and Edwardian engineering masterpieces were demolished.  Fortunately some survived, the Giants of Brede offer a chance to return to the ‘good old days’ and see the past in action!

http://www.hastingspierarchive.org.uk/

Posted on the Cemetery Website

• The Story of the Stone of Sacrifice, The Cross of Remembrance and the Screen Wall

• Cemetery History 1916 from the Hastings & St Leonards Observer (“How we bury our heroes”)

• The Mystery of Plot JB I Burials

• The Names on the Screen Wall

• Brown, Private Hugh H W - Born in St Leonards, enlisted in Canada. WW1 1918

• Proudfoot, James - Canadian, died 1939, last person buried in Heroes’ Corner before the Second World War?

Exhibitions & Talks at Hastings Hiastory House

Old Bathing Site. in West St Leonards.

West Marina Partnership (residents' group) have circulated the following e-petition regarding the former West Marina bathing pool site:

We the undersigned petition the council to to request: (A) that the Council does not proceed with proposals to erect 152 dwellings on its land at Seaside Road; and (B) that the Council actively and fully engages with the local community and other existing and potential recreational users of the site to develop an agreed plan for its future use.

More information on the Petition page  

Petition @:

https://hastings.moderngov.co.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=12

MP’s petition against plans for solar panels in country park

At a meeting on Monday (January 7), councillors will be asked to consider whether to move ahead with the project to build solar farms at three sites in Crowhurst and Fairlight.

 The report

https://hastings.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s30591/Ground%20Mounted%20Solar.pdf

and, the accompanying business case

https://hastings.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s30651/High%20level%20business%20case%2007_01_19.pdf

In particular look at page 12 of the business case to see the location for the solar arrays.

Anyone wanting to sign Ms Rudd’s petition should click here.

Read more at: https://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/environment/hastings-and-rye-mp-s-petition-against-plans-for-solar-panels-in-country-park-1-8756997

New Stories from the Cemetery

• Boucher, Thomas - “a many sided local celebrity” greengrocer, theatrical agent, actor, fireman,swimmer, stuntman………

• Broughton, Joshua & Harriet Mary Ann -retired to Hastings, where their daughter Alice married Henry Blackman, of Upfield & Sons

• Graves Family - moved from Kent to become a ‘local’ family

• Graves, Charles Atkins - landscape artist & drawing master

• Trimming Family - two generations, with connections to Ebenezer Chapel, in two graves. Son John built in Clive Vale and later emigrated to Canada with some of his family.

Carol Service,Fishermen's Museum, 2018

Join us for our free annual Carol Service with Reverend Luke Irvine-Capel.

Carols are accompanied on the keyboard by Robert Connelly.

 Please arrive at 6.30 for a 7pm start. 

Mince Pies, mulled wine (or a soft drink) will be available for a donation.

Seating is limited but you are welcome to bring your own chair. 

 An audience participation event - (Please sing!)

Sock (and underwear) Appeal 2018

 The bin is in the foyer of the History House, 21 Courthouse Street, open Thursday - Sunday, 11am - 4pm

Thank You

World War 1 Remembrance -- Large screen slide show

As well as the poster exhibition there is an interesting and relevant slide show, with local stories and illustrations,

Family History Research–and Friends of Hastings Cemetery– case history

M’Clelland, John and Sophia Swaine - a very busy man, spent most of his life in India. He was a surgeon with wide ranging interests, including metallurgy,  geology and biology.  Sophia was his widower, and although remarried, was buried with him.

Inscription on grave clearly reads McClelland, though this could be an error by the mason. Sophie’s name also is variously given elsewhere as Sophy and Sophia.

  Note: This involved a lot of research amongst records variously giving the name Sir John McClelland (Wikipedia) John McLelland, John McClelland, and his name as given by him on his publications, John M’Clelland.  All later records record it as John McClelland, but whether he changed this himself on his coming to England is uncertain, as I haven’t seen any original census records.  Another problem was Sir Joseph Hooker’s assertion “John McClelland, “a persevering Scotchman,  without  much  ability,  or  power  of  perception”.  Other records, correctly, show him as born in Ireland.  Birth and death dates also vary!  Initially it was thought two people had been conflated, as it seemed unlikely one man could have achieved so much.

This idea was put to rest when coming across the following:

“Dr. M'Clelland forgets that he holds, or did then hold, three offices,  Namely Deputy Apothecary; Assistant Opium Examiner and Secretary to the Coal and Iron Committee - all salaried appointments; - a short time before this discussion he was Curator to the Museum also, to which he had no objection to be re-appointed [sic].  The first of appointments above requires actual attendance at office from eleven to four daily. ….”  Books on Google Play - Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Volume 8, Asiatic Society, 1840

The Observer Building - new hope!

Hastings developer reveals plans for former Observer building

A neighbourhood developer has vowed to turn the former Observer building into a community asset after its offer to purchase the building was accepted. White Rock Neighbourhood Ventures – the owner of neighbouring Rock House – secured the purchase of the empty Cambridge Road site on Monday (November 12).

Read more at: https://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/business/hastings-developer-reveals-plans-for-former-observer-building-1-8705646