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The administrative centre for the borough of the same name, Hastings is a town that has three original settlements that has engulfed them all. Hastings’ history has been helped by its coastal location – it has a connection with the Norman invasion and subsequent conquest of England; it was one of the medieval Cinque ports, an important fishing and smuggling port and with the introduction of the railways it became a seaside resort. It caters for a wider taste of people than just tourists; Hastings was the home for chess tournaments, the annual Half Marathon and the learning of English through the language schools.

Hastings Heritage

Fishing was Hastings' major industry; the beach launched fishing fleet are still working today at the Stade with its 400-600 year history and has won awards for its sustainable fishing. The recognisable tall-black (twenty five feet in height) fishing huts are similar to the huts in Whitby, but they are not used for drying the nets and about forty-five of them exist and are still maintained.

Hastings is sited in the High Weald Area of Oustanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and whilst it makes it a wonderful place to live the redevelopment of the area is in the administrative hands of the Hastings & Rother District Councils. Most of the jobs in the area are in the health, public services, retail and education sector, 85% of the firms employ fewer than 10 people (2005).

Hastings Attractions

Hastings has three museums (Fisherman’s Museum, Hastings Mueusm & Art Gallery and the Old Town Hall Museum) as well as the Smuggler’s Adventure in St. Clements Caves, a sea life museum and a shipping museum. Hastings has its cultural leanings to the arts; this includes the White Rock Theatre and the Stables Theatre in the Old Town both are used in Hastings’ Annual Music Festival. If you are into film, there is the Odeon in the town centre and an independent cinema in the Old Town.

The Hastings International Chess Congress was started in 1882 and a writer’s group was established in 1947, which is thought to be the oldest in the country.

Hastings, whether it is the sea air or something else, is a retreat for creative types – Dante Gabriel Rosetti, William Holman Hunt and Iain Sinclair and an annual Beer Festival held at Alexandra Park showcases national and local music talent.

The area around the fish markets in Rock-a-Nore is an area for amusements; be it a miniature railway, fairground rides, amusement arcades, cliff railways, St. Clements Caves, Hastings Country Park, the Old Town Week in August, a annual Seafood and Wine Festival, an annual Bonfire and firework display on the beach. But if you are of the more active persuasion – there are organisations that cater for angling, golf, lawn tennis, riding, rowing, swimming.

The Hastings Half Marathon is thought to be a great warm-up run for the London Marathon. The town is home to Hastings United, Hastings Rangers and Hollington United. The present site of Priory Meadow Shopping Centre was the site of the old Cricket Ground, which is now sited at Horntye Park. Rugby is played at the William Parker Sports College by the Hastings & Bexhill RFC, there is also the Cinque Ports Rugby Club who play in the Sussex Rugby Union. The running track at William Parker Sports College is also the home for the Hastings Athletic Club. If you want to go for a more leisurely sport, try the Hastings Open Bowls Tournament.

Hastings Trivia

• The Norman Castle on the sandstone cliff and Hastings Pier are a couple of the landmarks for Hastings. But there are so many other pockets to Hastings.
• The dungeons in the castle have a unique echo, go and listen to it.
• The Hastings Old Town is a jewel in Hastings crown with its various old houses and narrow streets; the East Cliff House was designed and built between 1760 and 1762 by Edward Capell, the Shakespearean critic, at a cost of £5,000.
• St. Clements Church was possibly built after 1377 and All Saints Church was built in the early 15th century, both of these are found in the Old Town.
• A clock tower that commemorated Albert – the Prince Consort – was found at the town centre, but has since been demolished after an arson attack.
• The ITV series of Foyle’s War was filmed in Hasting as has various other films including When I was 12 (2001) Grey Owl (1999).

Hastings Schools

The schools founded by the Reverend William Parker in 1619 and that founded by James Saunders in 1709 were eventually amalgamated to form Hastings Grammar School, which later became the William Parker Sports College.

• Hastings schools
• East Sussex pre-school and early years
• East Sussex schools
• East Sussex post 16 and higher education
• East Sussex adult education and community learning

Shopping

• Priory Meadow Shopping Centre

Public Transport

• Bexhill to Hastings Link Road.
• Buses - Bus Route Maps, Bus Timetables, Rider Bus Services (Rural service), Recent changes to the bus services, School transport, Passes and concessionary fares.
• Concessionary fares for school children, students, older and disabled people.
• Cycling
• Ferries - From Newhaven, you can cross the English Channel to Dieppe in France with Transmanche who operate throughout the year. From 1 May 2007, a new service between Newhaven and Le Havre will be operated by LD Lines.
• Green Travel - For East Sussex's Information on Green Travel
• East Sussex's Local Transport Plan.
• Parking - For parking information.
• Roads - all news about roads, roadworks, footpaths, traffic surveys, adopted roads, weighbridges, abnormal loads and considerate contractors.
• Trains - East Sussex is served by several train routes. There are regular services to Brighton, London and Gatwick Airport and along the coast.

Employment Demographics

For more detailed information on employment demographics, have a look at East Sussex in Figures.

Main Industries

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex at current basic prices published (pp.240-253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Year	Regional Gross Value Added	Agriculture	Industry	Services
1995	4,359	84	1,053	3,222
2000	4,953	54	1,155	3,744
2003	5,236	69	1,252	4,004

Did you know? - Transport and Environment 2006/07

• Over 3,000 kilometres (97 per cent) of road network are maintained by the Council - vital for the economic prosperity of the county.
• The Council maintain 38,000 street lights, 91 pedestrian crossings and 56 traffic signal controlled junctions.
• 38 schools have been helped to develop their own school travel plans.
• Over 500 kilograms of household waste per person each year are managed, and nearly 27 per cent is recycled and composted.
• Over 11 million bus journeys are run each year in rural areas.
• Over 275,000 people have been encouraged and enabled to use the 3,500 kilometres of Rights of Way in East Sussex.
• The Council helps to look after the county's environment, including Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Heritage Coast and other sites of local, national and international environmental importance.
• Applicants are satisfied with the way that waste and minerals planning applications are handled, with at least 50 per cent of major applications decided within 13 weeks.
• Nearly £49 million (10.5 per cent of the overall the Council's budget) was invested last year to improve the transport infrastructure, environment and economy.
• The Council has to pay £16 per year in electricity charges to light each one of our 38,000 street lights - that's over £500,000 a year. Over 22 million square metres of roads in the county are maintained and that it costs over £2 to 'tar and chip' each square metre of road.