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.

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.

Bexhill village 1863.

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. Bexhill-on-Sea 1886.
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?

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.

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.
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.

The Manor House was once called Court

Lodge, as the Manor Court was held there.

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.
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 The 8th Earl De La
Mayor. 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
The 8th Earl De La Warr to be the first
and his family in 1900 after Mayor of Bexhill.
his return from South
Africa, his son and heir
Herbrand was born while
he was away.
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. Bexhill’s
Mayor in 1906
Daniel Mayer.

The Lord Mayor

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

Officially what we know as Town Hall

Square is called Buckhurst Place, but at
least one Edwardian postcard refers to it
as Castle Square.

Postcard of Town Hall Square c.1913.

Bexhill Horse Show prize giving - 27th

May 1912. The first Bexhill Horse Show
was held in 1903.

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.
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.

Mayor Joseph Barker Wall reads the

Peace Declaration to an expectant
crowd.
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.

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.

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

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

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.
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.
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.

Report Centre, Civil Defence Service 1939, Town Hall.

The Town Hall decorated for Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation 1953.
The End.
Heritage Trail Leaflet
Thank you

All Images copyright Bexhill Museum Ltd.