A Drive Through Hailsham
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- Duration: 3:18
- Published: 2009-09-03
- Uploaded: 2010-12-19
- Author: AGWFilms
Footage of a car journey through town centre.
{{Infobox UK place | official_name=Hailsham | country=England | region=South East England | static_image= | static_image_caption=Hailsham Town Centre | area_footnotes= | area_total_km2 =19.4 | population = 19,836 | population_ref = (2007) The town of Hailsham was settled before the Romans and the Anglo Saxons. In the year 490 A.D., the Saxon invaders advanced along the coast from their original landing place at Selsey and, according to the Saxon Chronicle, attacked and took the British stronghold of Anderida which was the fort the Romans had built at what is now Pevensey, a few miles from Hailsham, thereby consolidating their conquest and forming the small kingdom of the South Saxons, or Sussex.
It was on the Pevensey Levels, which extend from Hailsham to the coast, that William of Normandy made his historic landing in 1066, for, in those days, the seashore was some distance inland - about halfway between Hailsham and the present beach along Pevensey Bay - and the ancient castle stood upon an island amongst the marshes of the River Ashburn.
The manor of Hailsham is recorded in the Domesday Survey completed by the Normans twenty years later.
There was some activity in this part of Sussex during the baronial wars and in the armed rivalry between Matilda and Stephen, the castle at Pevensey being garrisoned and held by opposing sides. Men of Hailsham may have taken part in the important battle of Lewes in 1264 when Simon de Montfort’s victory resulted in the establishment of the first principles of parliamentary representation.
During the seventeenth-century civil war between Charles I and Parliament, Hailsham and this part of Sussex declared against the royalist cause.
Little is known of the town of Hailsham before the 1086 Domesday Book, but evidence of a Roman road from Leap Cross across the Common, indicates some occupation prior to this.
* Robbery | Wealden: 0.1 / National average: 1.6
Hailsham's traditional industry was rope making, which included supplying ropes for public hanging to Great Britain and the Colonies. Presently, light industry survives in two large industrial estates to the west of the town, located in Diplocks Way and Station Road, and a smaller one at Hackhurst Lane (in Lower Dicker), all of which provide a source of employment for local residents.
The Quintins shopping centre in the centre of town was opened in the late 1980s and was named after Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone. At the heart of the centre is the Co-operative (supermarket). There is a Waitrose supermarket nearby in Vicarage Field, which was previously a Somerfield store. Another supermarket, Tesco, was granted planning permission for a new store on land in North Street. Building work began in 2007 and the store opened on 3 November 2008.
The Tesco plans have been the subject of much debate in the town over the past 13 years, with Mayor Nick Ellwood in particular disagreeing with the planned development. Another supermarket, Lidl, also plan to open a supermarket at the new Ropemaker Park development, on the former site of the Marlow Ropes factory.
Established in 1998, Hailsham Farmers' Market is based in the only active Livestock Market in East and West Sussex, and is living proof that Farmers' Markets are a vital link between the farmer and the consumer all round.
The Hailsham & Hellingly Masterplan, submitted to Wealden District Council as supplementary planning guidance in 2009, has taken a holistic approach to the town’s infrastructure: roads; sewerage and drainage; transport; retail; employment land; housing; healthcare; education and training; leisure, recreation and the arts. Among the Masterplan’s proposals are long-term visualisations for the town's roads, including two major (new) relief roads which would make the High Street and town centre more pedestrian-friendly, a community-based diagnostic and treatment centre with GP surgeries, and a community park/complex.
The town also has a secondary independent school, St. Bede's School. In Literature, the book "Never Let Me Go" uses Hailsham school as a background.
The closure of the section from Polegate to Hailsham was disputed — British Railways going so far as to admit that the town was growing at the time of closure and that the town would soon outgrow other public transport. Despite this, passenger services finished on 9 September 1968 with the final train, comprising two Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) units, leaving Hailsham station to the sound of detonators on the line and the tune of Auld Lang Syne sang by a large crowd who had gathered. After 119 years of railway operation into Hailsham, the line was gone.
* Hailsham Cricket Club is one of the oldest in East Sussex having been established in 1871. The club has been playing at their ground on Western Road in Hailsham ever since, and have on a number of occasions throughout their history won championship awards. Today, the club fields two Saturday one Sunday teams and a girl’s team.
*The 'Freedom Leisure Centre' recreation complex, located near the town centre, has facilities including a gym and swimming pool (with a flume and water slide). Several ten-pin bowling lanes were added in 2006. Hailsham Outdoor Bowling Club is based at the rear of the complex.
* For walkers and ramblers, there are numerous footpaths, woodlands, riverside and field walks in the Hailsham district. Information on suitable routes may be obtained from the Hailsham Town Council offices. There is an active branch of Ramblers (formerly known as the Ramblers' Association) in Hailsham, which organises a weekly series of walks.
* The local authorities promote cycling, and there is opportunity for safe cycling along the Cuckoo Trail, which runs through Hailsham and connects to Tunbridge Wells, Heathfield and Polegate.
Four pubs remain in the three streets that make up the triangle of Hailsham Town Centre including: The Grenadier; The Corn Exchange; and The Terminus. The fourth, 'The George', closed in June 2008 due to financial pressures, but reopened in December 2008 under new ownership. The Corn Exchange also operates as a nightclub on weekend nights. In addition, Hailsham has several members' clubs in the town centre including: Slate Base; the Hailsham Memorial Institute and The Hailsham Club (known locally as The Top Club). Local public houses and inns that have vanished over the years include: The Railway Tavern, The Good Intent; The Fox; The Black Horse Inn; The Swan Inn; The Market House; The Cow and The Brewers Arms (formerly the Railway Arms).
Following many years of service, the Pavilion closed as a cinema in 1965. The Pavilion served as a bingo hall until 1987, before being purchased using a Compulsory Purchase Order, after its owners fell into receivership, by Wealden District Council. By 1999, Hailsham Old Pavilion Society had raised enough money to restore the old cinema, and signed a 31-year lease at a peppercorn rent.
Although Gallery North is supported by Wealden District Council and Hailsham Town Council, they rely on donations, grants, bursaries and sponsorship from various organisations to manage the project. They are a not-for-profit organisation run by unpaid volunteers.
The shield is divided into four sectors. The upper left of these shows the six gold martlets and crown of the armorial bearings of the County of East Sussex. The remaining three quadrants each depict a facet of the town's history or culture.
The upper right shows a sheaf of corn, crook and rake, to illustrate the agricultural and rural connection from which Hailsham derived its status as a market town. The lower right shows a mill, of which Hailsham originally had several of this type - although it is believed that this represents the last surviving mill - Hamlin's Mill in Mill Road (the remains of ancillary buildings can still be seen) and again represents Hailsham's close connection with the farming industry.
Finally, the lower left quadrant depicts a ball of twine and rope "dolly", representing Hailsham's later entry into light industry, in the form of ropemaking, which supported several factories and numerous "ropewalks" within the town's boundaries. These have all but disappeared, with the Marlow Ropes factory in South Road, relocating in 2006.
Category:Towns in East Sussex Category:Wealden Category:Local government in East Sussex
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