Tag archives for Steve peak
Town Plans and Money Plans
The 410 pages of Hastings Council’s Draft Local Plan on the future of the town till 2041 attracted many criticisms earlier this year, and the Council meeting on 23 September…
70 Years of the Fishermen’s Museum
STEVE PEAK, local historian and Fishermen’s Museum trustee celebrates its 70th birthday One of the leading tourist attractions in Hastings is celebrating its 70th birthday this month. The Fishermen’s Museum…
The Death of St Leonards
STEVE PEAK, local historian and museum trustee, explores a little-known aspect of the relationship between St Leonards and Hastings The planned layout in 1830 This month is the 150th anniversary of the…
George Woods – Seaside Hastings in the 1890s
A display of fascinating photos taken in Hastings in the 1890s has gone on display in the Fishermen’s Museum in Rock-a-Nore Road, shares STEVE PEAK, local historian and museum trustee.…
A History of Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve
We recently marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Country Park. Local historian, STEVE PEAK adds to the celebration with a history. Postcard of Ecclesbourne Glen in the…
Robert Tressell: The Original Hastings Independent
STEVE PEAK The creation of a new political party in Hastings – the Hastings Independent Group – because of the failure of the Labour Party to help ordinary people would…
The History of the Hastings Fishermen’s Museum
STEVE PEAK The Hastings Fishermen’s Museum was built in 1853/4 as a church, which closed in 1939 and was converted into the Fishermen’s Museum in ; Until the early 1830s…
The Net Shops – Part Two
Local historian, author and honorary curator of the Fisherman’s Museum, STEVE PEAK, explores the history of the net shops. See the last edition for Part ; All the unique and…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
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The Net Shops
– Part One
Local historian, author and honorary curator of the Fisherman’s Museum, Steve Peak explores the history of the net ; The Hastings net shops are unique: tall, thin wooden sheds, up…
Happy Birthday Hastings Pier
Steve Peak presents the history of Hastings pier on its 150th birthday Hastings Pier celebrates its 150th birthday on 5 August. It started a new phase in the history of…
Bavarding with HIP
A rather special Barvard Bar event took place at St Leonards’ Regency Rooms - aka Crown House - earlier this month. Tim ‘Bavard’ Crook generously loaned his concept and his…
News from the Country Park
The Bale House at Hastings Country Park will celebrate an official Grand Opening tomorrow (Saturday) financed by the Platinum Jubilee Fund. Friends of Hastings Park Nature Reserve, operators Groundwork South…
How the Rock Fair Ended
As part of his history of America Ground Steve Peak wrote about the three main fairs, and how the killjoys ended the biggest and best – the Rock Fair. Three…
Rock-a-Nore: once the Eco-Nore of the East
Local historian Steve Peak explores some of the ways Rock-a-Nore has been ; Instead of pumping all our sewage into the sea, why can’t Hastings have a recycling plant to…
The America Ground
By Steve Peak In the early 19th century, the America Ground, 8½ acres of Hastings’ town centre, was an open piece of beach, beyond the borough boundary and with no…
Hastings Commons Diary
A semi-regular round-up of everything going on in the Hastings Commons By Andrew Myers What is the Hastings Commons? It’s a place – a collection of buildings in the America…
A Very Hastings Riot: The story of the town’s iconic net shops
Sheds of various shapes and sizes have stood on the shingle in front of Hastings Old Town for centuries, but it was a council planning decision in 1835 that created…

















