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Eastbourne
History - 1849 to 1945
By the mid
19th century most of Eastbourne belonged to two major landowners.
The Gildredge share of land passed to the Gilbert family and the
Cavendish family inherited the Burton share. The Selwyn share
of land likewise later passed to these two and by 1850 they owned
80% of Eastbourne. William Cavendish, later the 7th Duke of Devonshire,
and John Davies Gilbert were two dynamic Victorian innovators.
Encouraged
by the rising prosperity of the Industrial Revolution they planned
to develop Eastbourne in the grandest possible style to create
a seaside resort built 'for gentlemen by gentlemen'. The photograph
shows Eastbourne seafront in about 1900. These grand plans would
never have succeeded without the key advance of the 19th century
- the railway.
The first
train puffed into Eastbourne station on May 14th 1849 and sparked
off celebrations which continued well into the night. In 1859
the newly titled Duke of Devonshire appointed architect Henry
Currey to draw up a development plan for the town. The central
feature of the design was an amazing 80 foot wide tree lined boulevard
now known as Devonshire Place.
The promenade
was built and the pier opened in 1872. The Duke personally funded
the construction of the three-tiered promenades at Holywell and
Eastbourne College was founded in 1867. By now East Bourne had
expanded and incorporated the hamlets of South Bourne, Meads and
Sea Houses.
Currey's second
ambitious plan saw the development of Meads into an exclusive
area of villas and tree lined streets. Not to be out-done, the
Gilberts achieved major development in the Uppertown area of town.
In 1883 Eastbourne became a municipal borough and the Town Hall
was completed in 1886.
By 1901 the
town was established as a major resort, and in 1903 the local
authority unveiled the first motor omnibus service in the country.
Between 1851 and 1901 the population increased from 3,433 to 43,344.
The borough
continued to expand until the outbreak of the First World War,
during which Eastbourne lost 1,065 residents. The development
was picked up again in 1918 and the next 20 years saw the establishment
of the Towner Art Gallery (1924), the Bandstand (1931) and numerous
parks and gardens.
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