Eastbourne, East Sussex

Birbeck Engineering Co.

Does anybody remember Birbecks Engineering? and 6" Shell Fuse Bases? If anybody reads this would love to hear from you. Names I recall are :- Nancy, Rose, Rita, Fred Laker, Bert Irvrin, Ted Colley, Ernie Lidyard, Mr Bodkin, Miss Birbeck.

Eastbourne flower gardens

My Grandad was foreman of the Carpet Gardens on Eastbourne seafront. He took over from his elder brother who had taken over from their father. They had, as a family, looked after the Carpet Gardens for over a century.

The family name was Cottington. Grampy always told us that when digging over the flower beds they uncovered Roman mosaics. As a tribute to them they copied the design in the flowers.

Just a simple family memory from long ago.

Our first home together.

In September 2007 my partner Alan and I moved into a first floor flat on Tideswell Road directly opposite the church. The fact that the lounge windows overlook the church was the clincher for me when I was viewing the flat for rental. I love the fact that we are not overlooked by other properties which is very unusual for a town centre property. The church itself is a very attractive building and a great piece of architecture. The gardens are smart and well maintained, although small boys sometimes get told off for playing football on the grass. There are now some trees on the pavement around the church which were really pretty when we moved in, dark green and covered in berries (a bit bare at the mo though as its March).

As I am typing this I can see the church out of my window and it hardly looks any different to the photo. Although the picture doesn't relay the size of the building, it is huge! It's only the road that looks different as it's covered with numerous cars now and has been blocked off at the end.

I haven't heard the bell this morning, sometimes it rings for ages on a Sunday morning and is loud and droning..just one dong after the other. Oh for some pretty church bells!

It has just occurred to me that neither of us has ever stepped foot inside, maybe one day....

Proposal

This is where Alan asked me to marry him on a beautiful moonlit evening in January. The weather was mild and the moonlight was shining on the sea making it all silvery. There weren't many people around, just the odd jogger and dog walker as it was a Monday night.

I guessed what was happening as he was so nervous, but due to some advice from my friend Simone I kept quiet for once. He took my hands in his and gave a lovely speech about the year we have  spent together and then got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife.. and of course I said yes. The mischievous side of me was dying to mess around though  and pretend otherwise, but I decided that would be too naughty.

Afterwards we walked home, which is close to the seafront and shared a bottle of champagne whilst we called and texted our family and friends with our news. Everyone was very happy for us and we celebrated with our families at a meal the following Sunday.

We are marrying in Easter 2009 at the Manor Barn in Bexhill. Lots of planning to do now!

Sussex A Century Ago Photographic Memories

Lobbying by the Duke of Devonshire and others secured borough status for Eastbourne in 1883 with George Wallis, the Duke’s agent, becoming the first mayor. The Town Hall was built following an architectural competition to designs by a Birmingham architect, W Tadman Foulkes. The foundation stone was laid by Lord Edward Cavendish, the Duke’s son, in 1884. It is in an ornate Renaissance style and better in the flesh than it looks in this photograph; it is still very fresh and hard-edged.

Eastbourne Photographic Memories

Booming expansion led the Duke of Devonshire and the townspeople to lobby for borough status, finally granted by royal charter in June 1883. A design competition for a suitably grand town hall was won by W Tadman Foulkes, a Birmingham architect, and the foundation stone was laid in 1884 by Lord Edward Cavendish, the Duke’s son.

Sussex A Century Ago Photographic Memories

The first master plan drawn up by Henry Currey, the Duke of Devonshire’s surveyor, covered the stucco seaside terrace and squares. After 1870 Currey produced his second master plan for the areas around the hamlet of Meads, this time for tree-lined streets of villas and houses in grounds that led to this western development being nicknamed ‘The Belgravia of Eastbourne’. Meads Road, of course, had old trees already: a villa is seen on the right, and on the left carriages shelter from the sun alongside the flint wall fronting Saffrons Park, now a sports ground. Francis Frith’s Sussex A Century Ago