Bulverhythe, also known as West St Leonards and Bo Peep, is a suburb of

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 ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...

, England with its

Esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...

and 15 ft thick sea wall. Bulverhythe is translated as "Burghers' landing place". It used to be under a small headland called Gallows Head, which was washed away by flooding. The suburbs of Filsham, West Marina and Harley Shute are nearby.

Bulverhythe village

Bulverhythe village is located to the

southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

of the area. The ancient village had a small harbour and pier, and is where the remains of the ''

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

'' can be seen. The village was once in the confederation of the

Cinque Ports The Confederation of Cinque Ports () is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier ( Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to t ...

, under the 'Limb' of

. It helped supply one ship together with Petit Ihamme (originally Pyppels Ham and now the village of Pebsham).

Filsham Manor

Filsham Manor was a house on Harley Shute Road dating back to

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

times. The house was rebuilt in 1682, and part of this remains today.

Gardens

In the east of the area lie West Marina Gardens which were designed by

James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...

and are in between the West St Leonards and Burton's town of St Leonards. The land was purchased in 1886 and laid out as a pleasure garden by 1891. The site is well-used and includes a bowls green, putting course and formal gardens. It is at the western extreme of the frontline garden displays. Decorative lighting has recently been installed.

Bulverhythe Salts

The Bulverhythe Salts was a site of a racecourse that was moved to the

shoreway.

Shipwrecks

In January 1921 a British tug was towing a German

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

when it broke adrift in a gale and was washed ashore at Bulverhythe. The U-boat was of a smaller type than the other that came ashore at Hastings in April 1919. The event was reported in the ''Hastings Observer'' with the headline: "Another Submarine Visitor!" Three tugs tried to refloat the submarine without success and after the hull was badly damaged by stormy seas, it was eventually dismantled. Another boat that washed up was the Dutch ship ''

'' that set sail to

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

but ended up running aground on the sandy strip in 1749. The remains can still be seen today at very low tide, just opposite the footbridge over the railway line at Bulverhythe.

Demography

Transportation

Railways

Bulverhythe was only served by a temporary station until the line extended to West Marina. The line was constructed by the Brighton, Lewes and Hastings Railway and when the South Eastern Railway line came from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and tunnelled through to St Leonards,

and the

Marshlink Line The Marshlink line is a railway line in South East England. It runs from Ashford, Kent via Romney Marsh, Rye and the Ore Tunnel to Hastings where it connects to the East Coastway line towards Eastbourne. Services are provided by Southern. Th ...

, a feud started between the companies. The junction for the two routes, called Bo-Peep junction, was named after a nearby

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

, which in turn came from the activities of smugglers and excise men.Jewell, Brian (1984) ''Down the Line to Hastings'' (1984) Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Baton Press, West Marina is now closed and, although both platforms and lights still remain, West St Leonards station is the only remaining station in this area.

References

External links

{{coord, 50.850, 0.523, type:city_region:GB, display=title Suburbs of Hastings Populated coastal places in East Sussex Beaches of East Sussex