Seaford, East Sussex

Coordinates: 50°46′N 0°06′E / 50.77°N 0.10°E / 50.77; 0.10

Seaford
Seaford Bay viewed from the Head with Newhaven visible in the distance
Seaford  Seaford shown within East Sussex
Area	17.2 km2 (6.6 sq mi) [1]
Population	23,161 (Parish-2007)[1]
- Density	1,347 /km2 (3,490 /sq mi)
OS grid reference	TV482990
- London	67 miles (108 km) N
District	Lewes
Shire county	East Sussex
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SEAFORD
Postcode district	BN25
Dialling code	01323
Police	Sussex
Fire	East Sussex
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Lewes
Website	http://www.seafordtowncouncil.gov.uk/
List of places: UK • England • East Sussex

Seaford is a coastal town in the county of East Sussex, on the south coast of England. Located east of Newhaven and Brighton and west of Eastbourne, it is the largest town in Lewes district, with a population of about 23,000.

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 16th century the people of Seaford were known as the "cormorants" or "shags" because of their enthusiasm for looting ships wrecked in the bay. Local legend has it that Seaford residents would, on occasion, cause ships to run aground by placing fake harbour lights on the cliffs ^[2][3]

"The wily locals exploited their rights to flotsam and jetsam to the full, even to the extent of luring ships into the beach by lighting fires. Scores of vessels fell prey to the wreckers of Seaford shags. Grounded in the bay they were stripped of their cargos" - Lewes DC local history of Seaford

However, Seaford's fortunes revived in the 19th century with the arrival of the railway connecting the town to Lewes and London. It became a small seaside resort town, and more recently a dormitory town for the nearby larger settlements of Eastbourne and Brighton, as well as for London.

The traditional Sussex pronunciation of the name has a full vowel in each syllable: [ˈsiːˌfɔːd], "sea ford". However, outside Sussex (and increasingly within), it is commonly pronounced with a reduced vowel on the second syllable: /ˈsiːfəd/, "seaf'd".

Geography

The town lies on the coast near Seaford Head, roughly equidistant between the mouths of the River Ouse and the Cuckmere. The Ouse valley was a wide tidal estuary with its mouth nearly closed by a shingle bar, but the tidal mudflats and saltmarshes have been "inned" (protected from the tidal river by dikes) to form grassy freshwater marshes (grazing marsh). To the north the town faces the chalk downland of the South Downs, and along the coast to the east are the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs, and Beachy Head. This stretch of coast is notified for its geological and ecological features as Seaford to Beachy Head Site of Special Scientific Interest.^[4]

The River Ouse used to run parallel to the shore behind the shingle bar, entering the sea close to Seaford. However, a major storm in the 16th century broke through the bar at its western end, creating a new river mouth close to the village then called Meeching but renamed Newhaven. Part of the former channel of the river remains as a brackish lagoon.

The town formerly had excellent beaches, which were supplied by longshore drift constantly moving sand along the coast from west to east. However, in the early 20th century a large breakwater was constructed at Newhaven Harbour and the harbour entrance was regularly dredged. These works cut off the supply of fresh sand to the beach. By the 1980s the beach at Seaford had all but vanished, the shoreline becoming steep, narrow and largely composed of small boulders. This made Seaford attractive to watersports enthusiasts (since water visibility was good and there was a rapid drop-off into deep water) but it discouraged more general seaside visitors. So in 1987 a massive beach replenishment operation was carried out, in which around 1 million tonnes of material was dredged from sandbanks out to sea and deposited on the shore. During a severe storm in October of the same year a substantial amount of the deposited material on the upper part of the beach was washed out past low tide level, leading to questions in the House of Commons. The beach has been topped up several times since then, giving the town a broad beach of sand and shingle.

The town's publicity website^[5] 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° Celsius [68°F].

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

Seaford Beach with Seaford Head in the background. Taken by Peter Jordan, 2003

History

In the 1620 and 1624, the sheriff and jurat of Seaford was William Levett, of an Anglo-Norman family long seated in Sussex.^[6] William Levett of Seaford owned the Bunces and Stonehouse manors in Warbleton, probably inheriting them from his father John Levett, who died in 1607. Levett sold the estates in 1628 and died in 1635, his will being filed in Hastings.^[7]

The Levett family intermarried with other Sussex families, including the Gildredges, the Eversfields, the Popes, the Ashburnhams, the Adams, and the Chaloners. A seal with his arms belonging to John de Livet, Lord of Firle, was found at Eastbourne in 1851.^[8]

Crime

Crime Rates In Seaford ^[9]

Politics and administration

From 1894 to 1974 Seaford was an urban district run by Seaford Urban District Council. In the local government reorganisation of 1974 it became an unparished area which was part of the Lewes District Council area. This loss of independence was unpopular with Seaford residents and in 1999 the town became a civil parish within Lewes, with a town council.^[10] Municipal services within Seaford are now provided by three tiers of local government - the county council, the district council and the town council.

The town council has 20 members, four elected by each of five wards. The Seaford Community Partnership is a body incorporating representatives drawn from all three tiers of local government 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 it 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.^[11] 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 Bönningstedt, 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 lifeguards patrol the coastline of Seaford in the summer months to keep locals and visitors to Seaford safe in and around the sea and beach.

In 2009, Seaford became the first south east town to elect a young mayor. The town's youth voted Oscar Hardy as young mayor and Eleanor Homan deputy young mayor. ^[12]

Sport

Seaford Rugby Football Club, affiliated to the Sussex County Rugby Football Union, play at the town's Salts Recreation Ground, which is also home to Seaford Cricket Club.

Seaford Town, the local football club, plays at the Crouch Playing Field. They play in the Sussex County League Division Two.

The town has two golf courses, Seaford Golf Club, a downland course at Firle Road, and Seaford Head Golf Course which enjoys views of the coastline and the South Downs.

Seaford Bowling Club is a private club at Blatchington Road dating back to 1912, and there is also The Crouch Bowling Club in Crouch Gardens, East Street.

The Wave Leisure centres in Seaford and its surrounds offer a range of sports and pastimes, including badminton, indoor bowls, children's disco dancing, line-dancing and fitness classes.^[13] Wave Leisure is a not for profit organisation that operates a number of local leisure facilities including the Downs Leisure Centre in Seaford.

Swimming facilities are provided for the town at Seaford Head Swimming Pool, run by Wave Leisure.^[14]

Transport

A local circular bus service is provided by Renown Coaches, who also run bus 126 from Seaford via Alfriston to Eastbourne.

Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company and Stagecoach Group operate a frequent bus service mostly routed along the A259 through Seaford (although some services go via the Chyngton Estate on the east side of Seaford) which take commuters to Brighton or Eastbourne which both have extensive onward bus services.

Seaford railway station is the terminus of the line from Brighton via Lewes and Newhaven. The local train services are operated by Southern.

Famous residents

• Captain John Seaman sailed to Long Island in what is now New York State in the 1640s, purchased land from the native Americans and founded Seaford, New York.
• Sir Anthony Blunt, the former keeper of the Queen's paintings who was revealed to be a Soviet spy, went to school in Seaford.
• Comedian Dickie Henderson and actress Penelope Keith both went to school in Seaford.
• Jordan (Pamela Rooke), an actress/model noted for her work with Vivienne Westwood and the SEX boutique in the Kings Road area of London in the mid 1970s, was born in Seaford, and now works in the town as a veterinary nurse.
• Val McCalla, who was recently voted as one of the top 100 black Britons of all time and was the founder of The Voice (newspaper), lived in Seaford until his premature death in 2002.
• The astronaut Piers Sellers attended Tyttenhanger Lodge Preparatory School, Seaford.
• Twin sisters Connie Powney and Cassie Powney, who played Mel and Sophie Burton in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks, grew up in Seaford.
• Paul Garred, drummer of the band The Kooks, grew up in Seaford.
• Colin Wells (cricketer), ex-professional cricketer for Sussex and Derbyshire, lives in Seaford.
• Pete Thomas, the world famous drummer, was brought up in Seaford. Recently inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Pete is best known for his 30 year association with Elvis Costello.
• Tennessee Thomas, girl drummer of The Like and fashion model, lived a while in Seaford before moving to California.
• Michael Olowokandi, from Nigeria, former NBA basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves and most recently the Boston Celtics 2006–2007, went to school for a short time at Newlands Preparatory School, Seaford.
• English actor Nigel Davenport, attended St Peter's School, Seaford.
• Actor Oscar Lloyd, who appears in ITV soap Emmerdale.
• Bruce Stewart, writer of the 1970, ITV series Timeslip, lived in Seaford

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, although many such as Ladycross School were closed and the land used for new housing estates in the last decades of the 20th century.

Although it has many primary schools (Chyngton, 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 (formerly Seaford Head School). Seaford is also home to independent school, Newlands Preparatory and Manor, which includes a specialist unit for pupils with specific learning difficulties.^[15]

The town is also home to a special needs boarding school called Bowden House which is run by Tower Hamlets Council.

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 Peter's School, Seaford

See also

• Seaford Museum
• Seaford railway station
• Bishopstone
• Bishopstone railway station
• Tide Mills, East Sussex
• East Blatchington
• Alfriston

References

External links

• Seaford, East Sussex at the Open Directory Project
• Seaford Museum and Heritage Society
• Photographs of Seaford
• Seaford Town Council
• Seahaven FM community radio station based in Seaford
• Seaford Lifeguards
• Seaford Town Website, tides, trains, weather etc
• Seaford Community Partnership