Bexhill Town Hall

Curator at the Bexhill museum; Julian Porter

Bexhill Town Hall - a history from the archives of Bexhill Museum.

From 1883 the village of Bexhill became the new resort of Bexhill-on-Sea.

Bexhill village 1863.

Bexhill-on-Sea 1886.

The ancient hilltop village of Bexhill dates back to at least AD 772 and is mentioned in a Charter of King Offa of Mercia. He gave the land to the Bishops of Selsey, they later became the Bishops of Chichester.

In 1570 Queen Elizabeth took Bexhill back and gave it to Sir Thomas Sackville, Duke of Dorset. In 1813 Elizabeth Sackville married the 5th Earl De La Warr.

7th Earl De La Warr – landowner. John Webb – builder.

John Webb built the first sea wall and East Parade in 1883.

Downsborough’s 1887 plan of the proposed resort - Town Hall site indicated.

Local Government in Bexhill-on-Sea.

1834 – 1884 : Battle Board of Guardians 1883 – Construction of new resort begins 1884 – 1894 : Local Board of Health 1895 – Town Hall opened 1895 – 1902 : Urban (District) Council 1902 – Incorporation of the Borough 1902 – 1974 : Bexhill Borough Council 1972 – Local Government Reorganisation 1974 – present : Rother District Council

Where did they used to meet?

When the Local Board was formed in July 1884 it met at the Assembly Room of the Bell Hotel in Bexhill Old Town. In May 1885 they rented a room in Dorset Cottage, Hastings Road. There was no office in Bexhill and all the paperwork had to be carried backwards and forwards from Hasting by carriage.

In 1893 the Local Board moved its meetings to the Bexhill Institute, Station Road, and remained there until the new Town Hall was ready in 1895. The Bexhill Institute was built by public subscription in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria’s jubilee, it is now the Youth Centre.

Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lane (1827- 1895) ‘Father of Local Government’ in Bexhill.

Henry Lane was the first chairman of the Local Board and also the new Urban District Council. He was Bexhill’s first resident Justice of the Peace, the first Bexhill representative on East Sussex County Council and our first Alderman. Henry Lane lived at Broadoak Manor. He presented the very large chair used by the chairman in the Council Chamber and it bears his coat of arms.

Unveiling of the Henry Lane Memorial 25th June 1898.

Viscount and Viscountess Cantelupe.

In 1891 the 7th Earl De La Warr’s son and heir Gilbert Sackville married Earl Brassey’s daughter Muriel.

They restored and modernised the ancient Manor House as their new residence in Bexhill from 1892. This became the focus for society events during the 1890s.

The Manor House was once called Court Lodge, as the Manor Court was held there.

Timeline for Bexhill’s Town Hall

1891 April Site inspected for potential purchase for the proposed Town Hall 1892 March In principal agreement to buy the land from the De La Warr estate 1893 July Purchase sanctioned by the Local Board for £580 1894 Henry Ward appointed as architect 1894 February Builder Charles Thomas’ tender accepted for £5,250. 1894May The De La Warr Estate made the gift of the land that is now Town Hall Square. The Town Hall was built over the severe winter of 1894-5 1895 April 27th The Town Hall officially opened by Lord Mayor of London 1896 July Commemorative tablet installed in the entrance 1902 May 21st Incorporation of the Borough of Bexhill-on-Sea 1908 March 16th The Town Hall was extended to create new Council Chamber 1925 July 36 Station Road added to site 1937 Extension on Amherst Road 1940 September The Town Hall was bombed during an air raid 1962 The house ‘Chignal’ added to the site 1989 Amherst Road tax office built

The Town Hall site was bought from the De La Warr Estate but the Square was a gift. There was a proposal to use Town Hall Square as the site for a Bexhill market. In the background is another prominent building, the London & County Bank, which was opened in 1898.

Building the new Town Hall.

The Hastings architect Henry Ward was selected to design the new Town Hall, he also designed St Stephen’s Church on the Down and St John’s Church on London Road. The tender for the building work was won by Charles Thomas of Western Road, Bexhill, in February 1894. The cost total cost of the build was £5,250. The work took place during the severe winter of 1894-1895 but the bad weather did not delay the builders.

Henry Ward with the Lambert Walker family during the construction of St Stephen’s Church c1899.

Henry Young – Chairman and Engineer.

The chairman of the Town Hall Building Committee and its extension was Henry Young of Cooden Mount.

Henry Young ran a foundry in Pimlico and he also provided the new railway bridge when the Sackville Arch was upgraded from a cattle arch in 1892. He also cast the Sphinxes for Cleopatra’s Needle in London.

The Kursaal – 1896.

Henry Young also built the 8th Earl’s Kursaal, our first Pavilion.

The Lord Mayor of London. Viscount Cantelupe.

Sir Joseph Renals, the Lord Mayor of London, and his wife visited the Cantelupes at Bexhill Manor in January 1895. Viscount Cantelupe asked the Lord Mayor if he would officially open Bexhill’s new Town Hall and he agreed. The visit to Bexhill by the Lord Mayor of London, in his state coach and with his entourage has been described as one of the greatest days in our Town’s history.

Preparations for the Lord Mayor of London’s visit – 1895.

The tradesmen in Western Road built an archway to welcome the Lord Mayor to Bexhill-on-Sea.

Crowds lined the streets of Bexhill.

St. Leonard’s Road from Sea Road.

Town Hall Square.

The Lord Mayor of London in his state coach – 27th April 1895.

The procession included 33 carriages and a four-in-hand coach. There was also a yoke of Sussex oxen. The Lord Mayor was accompanied by the City Marshall on horseback.

The Lord Mayor of London open’s Bexhill Town Hall – 27th April 1895.

Viscount Cantelupe is seen here in military uniform.

The day was reported in the National press.

The 8th Earl De La Warr returns from the Second South African Campaign – 25th July 1900.

The 7th Earl De La Warr had died in 1896 and Viscount Cantelupe became the 8th Earl De La Warr. In 1898 to escape from financial problems the Earl went out to South Africa as a war correspondent for The Globe

magazine. He returned wounded in 1900.

The 8th Earl De La Warr held the first British motorcar race on the seafront, 19th May 1902.

The Earl styled his new resort along Continental lines, including mixed bathing! The Cantelupe Road Police Station and Magistrates Court were opened in 1903. Up until then the Town Hall has used as a court.

Incorporation of Bexhill 1902.

Bexhill became an Incorporated Borough on the 21st May 1902 allowing us to have a Town Mayor.

Reading the Charter of Incorporation – 21st May 1902.

This was the first royal charter granted by King Edward VII and we were the last Sussex town to get a royal charter. It was also the first time a royal charter had been delivered by motor car.

8th Earl was expecting to become the Town’s first mayor…

Ebenezer Howard – Bexhill’s first Mayor.

The 8th Earl De La Warr and his family in 1900 after his return from South Africa, his son and heir Herbrand was born while he was away.

The 8th Earl De La Warr ran off with an actress just before Christmas 1901, Countess De La Warr later divorced him and she was granted custody of the children. This all became public knowledge by July 1902 and the 8th Earl had to withdrew his claim to be the first Mayor of Bexhill.

But the 8th Earl returned in triumph to become Bexhill’s second Mayor in 1903.

This rather cheeky cartoon appeared in the Bexhill

Observer, it was drawn by Henry Young’s son A. Stanley Young. He also designed the tablet in the foyer of the Town Hall - July 1896.

Laying the foundation stone for the extension of the Town Hall. The seven year old Baron Buckhurst with his grandfather Earl Brassey – 16th March 1908.

Herbrand, Baron Buckhurst, became the 9th Earl De La Warr in 1915. This was his first public engagement. The 1908 extension created the current Council Chamber.

1906 and another visit by a Lord Mayor of London.

The Lord Mayor of London Sir Walter Vaughan Morgan. His visit to Bexhill was to open the extension to Egerton Park.

Bexhill’s Mayor in 1906 Daniel Mayer.

Grant of Arms – 1907.

The old arms included the shields of the Sackville family and Bishops of Chichester

The original Council Chamber, now the large committee room.

Earl Brassey being presented with the freedom of the Borough by Mayor Jimmy Glover, 9th November 1907. Jimmy Glover was the outgoing mayor, an hour later Earl Brassey was elected as mayor. The Mayoral chain and gavel were presented to Bexhill by Earl Brassey.

Jimmy Glover as Mayor. Earl Brassey his successor.

James “Jimmy” Glover was Mayor 1906-1907. He was the Musical Director at the Drury Lane Theatre and was also the Manager of the Kursaal. Earl Brassey was Mayor from 1907-1908.

The Town Hall was the venue for many local events.

Postcard of Town Hall Square c.1913.

Bexhill Horse Show prize giving - 27th May 1912. The first Bexhill Horse Show was held in 1903.

Officially what we know as Town Hall Square is called Buckhurst Place, but at least one Edwardian postcard refers to it as Castle Square.

Bexhill Museum used to have their public lectures in the Council Chamber.

The Bexhill Town Band 1930.

Reading of the Peace Declaration - 2nd July 1919.

Mayor Joseph Barker Wall reads the Peace Declaration to an expectant crowd.

Daniel Mayer was Town Mayor at the start of the First World War, but he stood down due to his German ancestry and was replaced by Frank Bond.

Presentation of the tank ‘Muriel’ - 22nd September 1919.

The tank was given in recognition of the great number of war bonds purchased by the people of Bexhill. The tank was displayed on West Parade.

The Town Hall later took over the two properties to the west.

The unveiling of the Henry Lane Memorial 25th June 1898.

In July 1925 Number 36 Station Road (now London Road) was bought by the Corporation for £1,585. In 1962 the next property ‘Chignal’ was bought for £6,550.

Fire Brigade and Fire Engines.

The fire engine ‘Diana’ is named after Countess De La Warr, 7th March 1925. Diana is in the driving seat and the 9th Earl is next to her.

The fire engine ‘Lady Kitty’ is named after their daughter in 1931.

From 1896 until 1971 The Bexhill Fire Station was behind the Town Hall on Amherst Road.

The 1930 General Development Plan proposed a new civic centre.

This plan advocated rebuilding many key areas of the town in a modern style. It did address the issue that Bexhill lacks a clearly defined town centre. It introduced the idea of a modern pavilion for the seafront, but although Adam, Thompson and Fry tendered for the De La Warr Pavilion contract they were not successful.

The Town Hall was further extended in 1937. From the

Bexhill Observer of 4th September 1937. The new tax offices on Amherst Road were built in 1989.

The 9th Earl De La Warr was elected as Mayor of Bexhill in November 1932.

Countess De La Warr, 1932.

The 9th Earl De La Warr is best know for another important civic building.

The 9th Earl was Mayor of Bexhill from 1932 to 1935. He championed the project to build a new entertainment hall for Bexhill - to provide work during the depression and to revitalise the town’s tourist economy. The De La Warr Pavilion is his lasting contribution to Bexhill. Up until the 1990s it still contained Council offices.

The Town Hall in wartime.

Report Centre, Civil Defence Service 1939, Town Hall.

The Town Hall was bombed during an air raid in September 1940. The seven members of staff on site at the time survived by taking shelter in the strong room. Other accommodation had to be found for the various departments for the rest of the war. Council meetings were held at Garth Place.

The Town Hall decorated for Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation 1953.

The End.

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All Images copyright Bexhill Museum Ltd.