Chartered Surveyors Eastbourne East Sussex

Approximate Population: 94,816

The area around Eastbourne is known to have been settled throughout history. Flint mines and other Stone Age artefacts have been found in the surrounding countryside, and there are Roman sites within the modern boundaries of the town. In 1717, a Roman bath and section of pavement were discovered between the present pier and the redoubt fortress in the hamlet then known as Sea Houses, while in 1841, the remains of a Roman villa were found near the entrance to the pier and lie buried near the present Queens Hotel. An Anglo-Saxon charter, circa 963 AD, describes a landing stage and stream at Bourne. Following the Norman Conquest, the Hundred of what is now Eastbourne, was held by Robert, Count of Mortain, William the Conqueror’s half brother. The Domesday Book lists 28 ploughlands, a church, a watermill, fisheries and salt pans.

A charter for a weekly market was granted to Bartholomew de Badlesmere in 1315–16; this increased his status as Lord of the Manor and improved local industry. During the Middle Ages the town was visited by King Henry I and in 1324 by Edward II. Evidence of Eastbourne’s medieval past can seen in the fourteenth century Church of St Mary’s and the manor house called Bourne Place. In the mid-sixteenth century the house was home to the Burton family, who acquired much of the land on which the present town stands. This manor house is owned by the Dukes of Devonshire and was extensively remodelled in the early Georgian era when it was renamed Compton Place. It is one of the three Grade I listed buildings in the town.

Eastbourne’s earliest claim as a seaside resort came about following a summer holiday visit by four of King George III’s children in 1780 (Princes Edward and Octavius, and Princesses Elizabeth and Sophia).

Chartered Surveyors Eastbourne East Sussex