Seaford is a town in
East Sussex, England, east of
Newhaven and west of
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
.
[OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. ]
In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, Seaford was one of the main ports serving
Southern England
Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes ...
, but the town's fortunes declined due to coastal sedimentation silting up its harbour and persistent raids by French pirates. The coastal confederation of
Cinque Ports in the mediaeval period consisted of forty-two towns and villages; Seaford was included under the "Limb" of Hastings.
Between 1350 and 1550, the French burned down the town several times. In the 16th century, the people of Seaford were known as the "
cormorants" or "
shag
Shag, or Shagged, or Shagger, or Shagging, or Shags may refer to:
Animals
* Shag or cormorant, a bird family
** European shag, a specific species of the shag or cormorant family
** Great cormorant another species of the family
People Pseudonym
...
s" because of their enthusiasm for looting ships wrecked in the bay. Local legend has it that Seaford residents would, on occasion, cause ships to run aground by placing fake harbour lights on the cliffs.
Seaford's fortunes revived in the 19th century with the arrival of the railway connecting the town to
Lewes and London. It became a small seaside resort town, and more recently a
dormitory town
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
for the nearby larger settlements of
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
and
Brighton, as well as for London.
The traditional
Sussex pronunciation of the name has a full vowel in each syllable: "sea-ford". However, outside Sussex, and increasingly within, it is commonly pronounced with a reduced vowel on the second syllable: .
Geography
The town lies on the coast near Seaford Head, roughly equidistant between the mouths of the
River Ouse and the
Cuckmere. The Ouse valley was a wide tidal
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...
with its mouth nearly closed by a
shingle bar, but the tidal
mudflats and
salt marsh
A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...
es have been "inned" (protected from the tidal river by
dykes) to form grassy freshwater marshes (
grazing marsh
Grazing marsh is a British Isles term for flat, marshy grassland in polders. It consists of large grass fields separated by fresh or brackish ditches, and is often important for its wildlife.
History
Grazing marshes were created from medieval ti ...
). To the north the town faces the chalk
downland
Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...
of the
South Downs
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the eas ...
, and along the coast to the east are the
Seven Sisters chalk cliffs, and
Beachy Head
Beachy Head is a chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters.
Beachy Head is located within the administrative area of Eastbourne Borough Council which owns the land, formi ...
. This stretch of coast is notified for its geological and ecological features as
Seaford to Beachy Head Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The River Ouse used to run parallel to the shore behind the shingle bar, entering the sea close to Seaford. However, a major storm in the 16th century broke through the bar at its western end, creating a new river mouth close to the village then called Meeching but renamed
Newhaven. Part of the former channel of the river remains as a
brackish
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...
lagoon.
The town formerly had excellent beaches, which were supplied by
longshore drift constantly moving sand along the coast from west to east. However, in the early 20th century a large
breakwater was constructed at Newhaven Harbour and the harbour entrance was regularly dredged. These works cut off the supply of fresh sand to the beach. By the 1980s the beach at Seaford had all but vanished, the shoreline becoming steep, narrow and largely composed of small boulders. This made Seaford attractive to watersports enthusiasts (since water visibility was good and there was a rapid drop-off into deep water) but it discouraged more general seaside visitors. So in 1987 a massive
beach replenishment
Beach nourishment (also referred to as beach renourishment, beach replenishment, or sand replenishment) describes a process by which sediment, usually sand, lost through longshore drift or erosion is replaced from other sources. A wider beach can ...
operation was carried out, in which around 1 million tonnes of material was dredged from sandbanks out to sea and deposited on the shore. During a
severe storm that October a substantial amount of the deposited material on the upper part of the beach was washed out past low tide level, leading to questions in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
. The beach has been topped up several times since then, giving the town a broad beach of sand and shingle.
The town's publicity website states: For many, the main attraction in Seaford is the beach. This has an obvious attraction in the summer, when the sea reaches temperatures up to 20° Celsius (68 °F).
To the east of Seaford, below chalk cliffs, is a beach called Hope Gap. It is a location in the film
Hope Gap.
History
In 1620 and 1624, the bailiff of Seaford was William Levett, of an
Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to:
*Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066
* Anglo-Norman language
**Anglo-Norman literature
* Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...
family long seated in Sussex. William Levett of Seaford owned the Bunces and Stonehouse manors in
Warbleton
Warbleton is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. Within its bounds are three other settlements. It is located south-east of Heathfield on the slopes of the Weald.
Etymology
The place-name Warbleton, der ...
, probably inheriting them from his father John Levett, who died in 1607. Levett sold the estates in 1628 and died in 1635, his will being filed in
Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
.
The
Levett
Levett is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories.
Origins
This surname comes from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, no ...
family intermarried with other Sussex families, including the Gildredges, the Eversfields, the Popes, the Ashburnhams, the Adamses, and the Chaloners. A seal with his arms belonging to John de Livet, Lord of Firle, was found at Eastbourne in 1851.
Politics and administration
From 1894 to 1974 Seaford was an
urban district run by Seaford
Urban District Council
In England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local gove ...
. In the local government reorganisation of 1974 it became an
unparished area
In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unpa ...
which was part of the Lewes
District Council area. This loss of independence was unpopular with Seaford residents and in 1999 the town became a
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
within Lewes, with a
town council
A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities.
Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions.
Republic of Ireland
Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second t ...
. Municipal services within Seaford are now provided by three tiers of local government – the
county council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.
Ireland
The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irel ...
, the district council and the town council.
The town council has 20 members, four elected by each of five wards. The Seaford Community Partnership is a body incorporating representatives drawn from all three tiers of local government and from local civic groups. The partnership seeks to advise on long-term development strategy for the town. Currently the town council is composed of 10
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
, 7
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties
See also
*Liberal democracy
*Lib ...
and 1
Labour, 1
UKIP
The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest p ...
and 1 independent councillor.
In the
Lewes District council
Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of the ...
elections on 7 May 2015 the town returned 7
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
district Councillors and 3
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties
See also
*Liberal democracy
*Lib ...
district Councillors. For District elections, the wards are the same five as for the Town council (Central, North, East, West, South) however they only return two Councillors to the District council.
The
parliamentary constituency of Seaford was a notorious
rotten borough
A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorate ...
until its disenfranchisement in the
Reform Act 1832 when it was incorporated into the
Lewes constituency. Seaford returned three members of parliament who went on to become
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
:
Henry Pelham
Henry Pelham (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a British Whig statesman who served as 3rd Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1743 until his death in 1754. He was the younger brother of Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, who ...
represented the town from 1717 to 1722,
William Pitt the Elder
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him Chatham or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish ...
from 1747 to 1754 and
George Canning in 1827.
![Coastguard Cottages - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Coastguard_Cottages_-_geograph.org.uk_-_18320.jpg)
Seaford is currently part of the
Lewes parliamentary constituency. In the
2015 General election the constituency elected
Maria Caulfield
Maria Colette Caulfield (born 6 August 1973) is a British politician and nurse serving as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health and Women’s Health Strategy and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women since Octobe ...
as MP, defeating the former
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties
See also
*Liberal democracy
*Lib ...
MP
Norman Baker
Norman John Baker (born 26 July 1957) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewes in East Sussex from the 1997 general election until his defeat in 2015.
In May 2010 he was appointed ...
by 1,083 votes. Caulfield was formerly an NHS nurse.
Seaford has been twinned with the town of
Bönningstedt
Bönningstedt is a municipality in the district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is east of Pinneberg, and north of Hamburg. It is a "twin town" with Seaford, in East Sussex on the south coast of England
England is a ...
, Germany, since 1984. Seaford has one of the longest-serving
town crier
A town crier, also called a bellman, is an officer of a royal court or public authority who makes public pronouncements as required.
Duties and functions
The town crier was used to make public announcements in the streets. Criers often dress ...
s in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
—Peter White— who was appointed to this honorary position in 1977 by
Lewes District Council
Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of the ...
, and is now an appointee of Seaford Town Council. In 2012 he was also appointed Serjeant at Mace, and his historic uniform for both crying and mace-bearing is a replica of that worn by 19th. Century Serjeant William Woolgar. (in post 1865 – 1901)
Seaford has the westernmost of the South Coast
Martello Tower
Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts.
They stand u ...
s, number 74, now a local history museum.
Seaford
lifeguards patrol the beach and water each weekend and bank holiday from May to September. They are made up of volunteers, mainly young people, who give thousands of unpaid hours every year to train and help keep the public safe. They have been recognised as the best equipped and trained non-RNLI beach lifeguard unit in the country.
Sport and leisure
Seaford Cricket Club have played at the Salts Recreation Ground since 1946, though the origins of cricket in Seaford go back to the 18th century. The latest augmentation of facilities was in 2010, when the pavilion was extended.
Seaford Rugby Football Club
The first XV
Seaford Rugby Football Club is a community rugby club affiliated to the RFU. They play rugby in London and the SE Division: Harveys of Sussex League 1 (RFU Lv 9). They have competed at this level for over 10 seasons, with a respecta ...
, affiliated to the Sussex County
Rugby Football Union, play at the same venue, which has the distinction of being below sea-level.
Seaford Town Seaford may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Seaford, Victoria
** Seaford railway station, Melbourne
* Seaford, South Australia
** Seaford railway station, Adelaide
United Kingdom
* Seaford, East Sussex
**Seaford (UK Parliament constituency)
** ...
, the local football club, plays at the Crouch Playing Field. They play in the
Sussex County League Division Two.
The town has two
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...
s, Seaford Golf Club, a downland course at Firle Road, and Seaford Head Golf Course, from which the coastline and the South Downs can be seen.
Seaford has at least two bowling clubs. They include Seaford Bowling Club, which is a private club at Blatchington Road, dating back to 1912, and The Crouch Bowling Club in Crouch Gardens, East Street.
Downs Leisure Centre operates 'The Wave' in Seaford. The Wave is a
leisure centre offering a range of sports and pastimes, including badminton, indoor bowls, children's disco dancing, line-dancing and fitness classes. It should not be confused with WAVES, which is a Seaford-based charity supporting families in difficulties.
Swimming facilities are provided for the town at Seaford Head Swimming Pool, which is also run by Wave Leisure.
Towards the western end of Seaford Bay lies Newhaven and Seaford Sailing Club. Founded in 1952 by a group of sailing enthusiasts, the club now has two sites – racing off Seaford Beach and sailing at Piddinghoe Lake near Newhaven where the
RYA accredited Sailing School is located.
The area around Seaford, such as up the
Cuckmere Valley and along the
South Downs Way
The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs in southern England. It is one of 16 National Trails in England and Wales. The trail runs for from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Susse ...
, offers many walking routes.
Transport
Two local half-hourly circular bus services, the 119 and 120, are provided by Cuckmere Buses (Monday-Friday) and Compass Bus on Saturdays, who also run bus 126 from Seaford via
Alfriston
Alfriston is a village and civil parish in the East Sussex district of Wealden, England. The village lies in the valley of the River Cuckmere, about four miles (6 km) north-east of Seaford and south of the main A27 trunk road and part ...
to
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
.
Brighton & Hove
Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages.
Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and ...
operate two frequent bus services, the 12 and 12A (up to every 10 minutes), routed along the
A259 south coast road through Seaford (the 12A goes via the Chyngton Estate on the east side of Seaford) which take passengers to
Brighton or
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
which both have extensive onward bus services.
Seaford station is the terminus of the line from
Brighton via
Lewes and
Newhaven. The local train services are operated by
Southern.
Notable people
*
Sir Anthony Blunt, the former keeper of the Queen's paintings who was revealed to be a Soviet spy, went to school in Seaford.
* Actor
Tony Caunter
Anthony Patrick Caunter (born 22 September 1937) is a Retired British actor best known for his role as Jack Shepherd in the Yorkshire TV sitcom ''Queenie's Castle'' and also his portrayal of Roy Evans in ''EastEnders'' from 1994 to 2003.
The s ...
, who played Roy Evans in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, grew up in Seaford.
* Comedian
spent time in Seaford, writing about it in his song "Museum of Sex".
* Chess player
area of London in the mid-1970s, was born in Seaford, and now works in the town as a veterinary nurse.
* Actor
went to school in Seaford.
, an early British martyr: her relics were translated to Seaford in 1058 AD.
* Actor
2006–2007, went to school for a short time at Newlands Manor School, Seaford.
*
went to school in Seaford.
OBE, photographer for Picture Post lived in Seaford with her husband Thurston Hopkins, also a photojournalist, from the 1980s up until her death at age 90 in 2021.
Between the late 19th century and the 1950s, Seaford was renowned as a "school town". The many
and other independent schools were the main employers in the town. In the 1960s, Sutton Avenue had a road sign warning "7 schools in next mile". Sunday mornings in term-time were marked by "crocodiles" of schoolchildren from each of the preparatory schools walking to church for the special schools' service.
Most of these independent schools, such as
were closed and the land used for new housing estates in the last decades of the 20th century. The last girls' school, Micklefield, closed in 1994.
Although it has many primary schools (Chyngton, Cradle Hill, Annecy, Seaford County Primary), from the nursery to the "sixth year" of education, the town of Seaford has only one state-run secondary school,
, which in 2009 closed its sixth form, but re-opened it in 2014. Seaford was also home to an independent school, Newlands Preparatory and Manor, which included a specialist unit for pupils with specific learning difficulties. However, the school closed for good in July 2014. Its previous site is currently being redeveloped into a housing estate.
The town is also home to a
.
work from the 11th century.
.