Sussex Exclusive Magazine. Issue 4 2023

Eastbourne
Grandeur
Paul Hitchcock exposes an Eastbourne oddity
In the
Diary
Our round up of what’s on in Sussex during
the next few months
‘Beck and Calling’
Billingshurst, 13th, 14th and 15th Aprill
There is no better way to
understand Eastbourne grandeur
than to walk along the seafront
from the Wish Tower to the Pier
and look, not out to sea, but
inland to the hotels and fine residences.
From west to east
Starting at The Grand Hotel opposite the
Western Lawns you will have a fine display
of a purpose built affluent Victorian seaside
resort. There are some gaps with modern infill,
but the original building line is mostly
intact.
Then, just beyond the Pier, the Eastbourne
grandeur comes to an emphatic and
deliberate full stop.
The eastern marker
Note that The Queens Hotel is built at an angle to
the promenade and sticks out into the natural line
of the seafront.
A mistake on the part of the architect? Not so.
The seventh Duke of Devonshire, who created the
modern resort of Eastbourne and whose statue you
will have seen as you passed the bandstand on your
seaward side, was by modern standards a terrible
snob. He deliberately built The Queens at that
angle to block the view of the working peoples’
houses beyond it so as to not offend the sensibilities
of his friends and affluent visitors to Eastbourne.
Did the founding father of Eastbourne have a
darker side? Perhaps this is why Engels visited the
town so often in his search for socialism.
To find out more about Eastbourne grandeur visit
The Eastbourne Heritage Centre on Carlisle Road.
The Billi Tap
Billingshurst, 25th - 26th April
One of Billingshurst’s newer haunts, the
micro-pub Billi Tap, has a handful of exciting
events in store for those yearning for a bit of
seasonal socialising. The 25th of April offers
the opportunity to sample the mouth-watering
Mexican food prepared by local company ‘Day
of the Fed’ to go with your Billi Tap refreshment,
and the 26th is the day of their Easter bakeoff for
all aspiring bakers out there. Bring in your own
cake for a chance to beat the competition!
Billingshurst Dramatic Society presents a play
centred around a particularly poignant point in
the lives of the Beck sisters, Edith and Ellen, who’s
portraits hang side by side in the Billingshurst
Women’s Hall, a place they helped fund to fruition
a century ago. Wealthy Billingshurst residents
and avid supporters of the suffrage movement,
they made a particularly bold step in 1911 in the
name of women’s rights. The pair joined in the
nationwide boycott of the census, inviting local
women to join them by promising to pay their fines
if apprehended. This was a very impactful event and
drove their message with great force - that if they
didn’t count when it came to voting, they shouldn’t
be counted as part of the British community at all!
Written by Ted Gooda, author and local English
teacher, this commemoration of local history is set
to be a triumph!
For more details, visit:
billingshurstdramaticsociety.com
Brighton Fringe Festival
Billingshurst, 25th - 26th April
England’s largest arts festival is returning to
Sussex to present a whole host of exciting events
for locals, visitors and the like. With theatre
productions, comedy shows, dance performances,
workshops and music among many other sources
of entertainment, the festival continues to draw in
multitudes, eager for a summer experience they’re
unlikely to forget. Many of their events are free
to attend and Brighton Fringe is certainly one to
bookmark in for the warmer season.
For more information, visit:
www.brightonfringe.org
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