Peacehaven is a town and civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England. It is located above the chalk cliffs of the South Downs approximately six miles (9.7km) east of Brighton city centre, on the A259 road. Its site coincides with the point where the Greenwich meridian crosses the English south coast. Peacehaven is next to Telscombe Cliffs, a later western extension to Peacehaven, which lies within a separate parish and has a separate town council.
A Bronze Agebarrow (burial mound) lies very close to the cliff top, which has been under investigation by local societies.[3] The barrow represents evidence of the occupation of Peacehaven at least 3,500 years ago. A 2007 excavation of the new Bovis Homes site to the west of Peacehaven Community School's playing fields unearthed a large range of evidence for a prehistoric settlement throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages.
Peacehaven was established in 1916 by entrepreneur Charles Neville, who had purchased land in the parish of Piddinghoe; he then set up a company to develop the site (he also eventually built nearby towns Saltdean and parts of Rottingdean).[4] He advertised it by setting up a competition in virtually every newspaper in England to name the development. The name of the winners who chose the name 'New Anzac-on-Sea' (to commemorate the ANZAC's involvement in the Battle of Gallipoli)[5] were Mr West of Ilford, Essex and Mr Kemp of Maidstone, Kent.
The Daily Express later sued Neville over the competition, holding that it was a scam, since he was offering "free" plots of land in the town as runner-up prizes but issuing them only on the payment of a conveyancing fee. The Express won the case, but the publicity brought the scheme to a large audience. The idea was then to sell plots of land cheaply for people to build on themselves.
Initially, the town was New Anzac-on-Sea, but less than a year later, on 12 February 1917, it was renamed Peacehaven.[6]
In 1927, the directors of Peacehaven Estates Ltd, of South Coast Road, Peacehaven, and 7, Pall Mall, Westminster, were Lord Teynham (Chairman), C. W. Neville (managing director), and G. Kay Green.[7]
Although it has been claimed that the town was originally formed for retiring World War I veterans in order for them to escape and recover from the effects of the war, this is not proven. Mr Neville's publicity promoted the town as being an idyllic setting; sea air and simple lifestyle were thought to have aided good health. The land was also cheap and, as a result, working-class families from the city started to purchase plots and gradually build makeshift homes for weekends and holidays. This movement of frontier-style buildings made with whatever materials were available at the time was termed as the plotlands movement. Inhabitants felt a sense of freedom in living off what they needed and enjoying a simpler life away from the busy, polluted city. The Plotlands provided the working class an opportunity that might not have been available otherwise.[8]
By 1924, there were 3,000 people living in Peacehaven. Original houses were often very temporary affairs (some were old railway carriages). Others were constructed from former army huts, brought from North Camp near Seaford, a few of these still survive, having been given an outer concrete block wall (they can be identified by their oblong shape that tends to be end-on to the road). Eventually the local council invested in water and electrical services and so people started to build more substantial houses. After World War II, the local council introduced a zoning scheme in order to distinguish areas for improvement along the coast road. In 1974 the Town Centre Map and Action Plan was formed to aid development.
There are two listed farmsteads in the town: Halcombe Farm House built in the 17th century, and Hoddern Farm House from the 18th century. Another old building is the Shepherds Cot, now part of a private residential property in The Compts in north Peacehaven. This tiny cabin dates from the 1880s when it was built on farmland to shelter shepherds during the lambing season.[citation needed]
Peacehaven is located on fairly flat coastal land which is elevated around 40 to 50m (131 to 164ft)above sea level. The pebble beach below the cliffs can be reached by a stairs and concrete driveway and sea walk. There are a number of green spaces along the A259 and the cliffs, one of which is called The Dell. A cinema formerly stood on this site, and now it holds events such as car boot sales, fireworks, fairgrounds, motorhome exhibitions, the Donkey Derby and an annual carnival (though in 2005 the carnival was held on the Joff field located behind the Meridian shopping centre). In the 1950s, the carnival stalls were located on the then vacant land on the NW corner of the South Coast Road (A259) and Dorothy Avenue.
Neville was influenced by the American grid system of planning. There were originally no "Streets" in Peacehaven; only "Roads" and "Avenues". With very few exceptions, "Roads" ran east to west, and "Avenues" north to south, most forming crossroads where they intersected the South Coast Road (A259). Apart from this road, Roderick Avenue, running roughly up the centre, was the only surfaced road (except for the area of Local Authority housing around Friars Avenue (north) in Peacehaven until the late 1950s, when the process of making-up the roads began. This started in Telscombe Cliffs and worked eastwards. As part of this, many of the Avenues had their junction with the main road blocked off to reduce the number of junctions and crossroads. The town still retains its original "grid" layout (apart from the newer development to the west called Telscombe Cliffs and above Firle Road): rectangular plots of land on both sides of the main road. Aerial photographs from the 1930s[9] clearly show the "grid" pattern and, at that time, the scattered nature of the community.
The point where the Prime meridian of the world crosses the coast is marked by a 3.5m (11ft) tall obelisk, commissioned by Charles Neville. It was unveiled on 10 August 1936, and has been relocated twice due to erosion of the cliffs.[11]
Governance
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2016)
Peacehaven's lowest tier of government is the Peacehaven Town Council who are responsible for local planning, highways and other amenities. The council consists of 17 elected councillors from three wards, North, West and East Peacehaven.[12] The May 2007 election returned 17 Conservative Party councillors.[13]
The next level of government is Lewes District Council with responsibilities for the wider ranging areas such as council tax collection, environmental health and democratic services. Peacehaven provides six councillors to the district council, representing the same three wards as the parish council. Elections are held every four years, the May 2007 election returned six Conservative Party councillors;[14] the May 2023 local elections returned six Labour Party councillors for these six seats.
The county council for East Sussex has responsibility for education, libraries, social services, civil registration, trading standards and transport. Elections for the county council are held every four years. Peacehaven parish is combined with the neighbouring Telscombe parish forming the Peacehaven & Telscombe Towns electoral division which elects two councillors to the council. The May 2013 election returned two UKIP councillors.
The Co-operative Meridian Shopping Centre is in the town. There is also a leisure centre, several pubs, coffee shops, cafés and restaurants located throughout the town.
There are four churches in Peacehaven and one in Telscombe Cliffs. The Church of the Ascension, build by L. Keir Hett to replace Peacehaven's Anglican church, replaced a temporary building which had been erected in 1922. The Roman Catholic Church, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, was also founded in a temporary building in the 1920s; this survives as the church hall of the present brick structure. A Jehovah's Witnesses' Kingdom Hall and an Evangelical church are also in use.[16][17][18][19] Telscombe Cliffs United Reformed Church serves the population of both communities.[18]
Education
The town has one secondary school, Peacehaven Community School. There are also three primary schools: Peacehaven Heights Primary School, Meridian Primary School, and Telscombe Cliffs Primary School and Nursery. The library located in the Meridian Centre hosts various training talks for adults and educational activities for children, as well as hosting a regular citizens' advice bureau.[citation needed]
The town is served by the local newspapers, Sussex Express[23] and The Argus (formerly South Coast Leader).[24]
Sport and leisure
Peacehaven has a Non-League football club Peacehaven & Telscombe F.C. who play at the Sports Park. The club hosts a variety of football tournaments that range from age U10–U16 every summer. There is also a small leisure centre and a bowls club[25][26] and dance schools such as Harlequin and Studio 54, as well as football and martial arts clubs.
Several special interest groups operate. The Women's Institute meets regularly at the Meridian Centre along with various other community groups.[citation needed]
Delivered on 30 acres of land given over by Southern Water and funded by financial contributions from Southern Water and Bovis Homes a new community led recreation destination 'The Big Parks Project' was completed in 2015.[27] Designed by architects Kaner Olette and engineers HOP & Crofton Consulting, the project includes a central activity café, children’s playgrounds, new cycle paths, skate park, and sports facilities.[28][29][30] The project has received many accolades since it was completed, including Constructing Excellence Sustainability Award – Winner 2015;[31] Architects Journal Retrofit Award – Winner 2015;[32] RIBA South East Award – Winner 2016;[33] Sussex Heritage Trust Public & Community – Highly Commended 2016.[34]
The 1979 film Quadrophenia starring Phil Daniels in the leading role as a mod named Jimmy also ended up in Peacehaven. At the end of the film he finds out his idol, the suave mod "poster boy" Ace Face (played by Sting), is in reality a bellboy. He steals Ace's scooter and heads out to Peacehaven Cliffs and an uncertain fate.
Peacehaven was selected for the site at which a car is pushed over the cliff in the TV thriller series The Level, while earlier Tiffany Mitchell's ashes were portrayed to be cast over the cliffs, in the BBC soap EastEnders in 1999, with viewers having been told at her funeral that she had spent happy childhood holidays there.[36]
Miodrag Kojadinović has a short story about a search for an ancestor in Peacehaven that plays with the concept of a "haven of peace", which won a prize for stories with Jewish themes and appeared in Serbian[37] and Hungarian,[38] both out of Novi Sad.
Brighton and Hove is a city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex, England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administered by Brighton and Hove City Council, which is currently under Labour majority control.
Burgess Hill is a town and civil parish in West Sussex, England, close to the border with East Sussex, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, 39 mi (63 km) south of London, 10 mi (16 km) north of Brighton and Hove, and 29 mi (47 km) northeast of the county town, Chichester. It had an area of 3.7 sq mi (9.6 km2) and a population of 30,635 at the 2011 Census, making it the fourth most populous parish in the county and the most populous in the Mid Sussex District. Other nearby towns include Haywards Heath to the northeast and Lewes, the county town of East Sussex, to the southeast.
Seaford is a town in East Sussex, England, east of Newhaven and west of Eastbourne.
Newhaven is a port town in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England, lying at the mouth of the River Ouse.
Rodmell is a small village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It is located three miles (4.8 km) south-east of Lewes, on the Lewes to Newhaven road and six and a half miles from the City of Brighton & Hove and is situated by the west banks of the River Ouse. The village is served by Southease railway station, opened in 1906. The Prime Meridian passes just to the west of the village.
Mid Sussex is a local government district in West Sussex, England. The largest town is Haywards Heath, where the council is based. The district also contains the towns of Burgess Hill and East Grinstead plus surrounding rural areas, including many villages. The district includes part of the South Downs National Park and part of the designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty of High Weald, including sections of Ashdown Forest. The district contains most headwaters of the River Ouse. Its largest body of water is Ardingly reservoir which is used by watersports clubs. At the 2021 census the district had a population of 152,949.
Wealden is a local government district in East Sussex, England. Its council is based in Hailsham, the district's second largest town. The district also includes the towns of Crowborough, Polegate and Uckfield, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. The district's name comes from the Weald, the landscape and ancient woodland which occupies much of the centre and north of the area.
Lewes is a local government district in East Sussex, England. The district is named after the town of Lewes. The largest town is Seaford. The district also includes the towns of Newhaven, Peacehaven and Telscombe and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. The council meets in Lewes and has its main offices in Newhaven.
Polegate is a town and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. It is located five miles (8 km) north of the seaside resort of Eastbourne and is part of the greater area of that town. Although once a railway settlement, its rail links were closed as part of the Beeching cuts. The 2011 census put the civil parish of Polegate at a population of 8,586, with 41.2% aged 65 and over.
The A259 is a road on the south coast of England passing through Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent, and is the longest Zone 2 A road in Great Britain. The main part of the road connects Brighton, Peacehaven, Eastbourne, Hastings, Rye, and Folkestone.
Lewes is a constituency in East Sussex represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by James MacCleary, a Liberal Democrat.
Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the 2024 general election by Chris Ward of the Labour Party.
Southease is a small village and civil parish in East Sussex, in South East England between the A26 road and the C7 road from Lewes to Newhaven. The village is to the west of the River Ouse, Sussex and has a church dedicated to Saint Peter. Southease railway station lies roughly a kilometre east over the river and may be reached via a swing bridge.
Piddinghoe is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It is located in the valley of the River Ouse between Lewes and Newhaven, five miles (8 km) south of the former, downstream of Southease.
Telscombe is a town and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It consists of three distinct settlements, separated from each other by an open area of downland called Telscombe Tye.
Peacehaven & Telscombe Football Club is a football club based in Peacehaven, East Sussex, England. The club is affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association. The club are currently members of the Southern Combination Premier Division and play at the Sports Park.
Saltdean is a coastal village in the city of Brighton and Hove, with part outside the city boundary in Lewes district. Saltdean is approximately 5 miles (8 km) east of central Brighton, 5 miles (8 km) west of Newhaven, and 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Lewes. It is bordered by farmland and the South Downs National Park.
↑ "Population: Peacehaven". East Sussex County Council Library and Information Services. Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
↑ Bridgewater, Peter (2007). An Eccentric Tour of Sussex. Sussex: Snake River Press. pp.78–81. ISBN978-1-906022-03-7.
↑ Crawford, John (19 March 2007). "Notice of Election"(PDF). Lewes District Council. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2008.
↑ Harris, Roland B. (November 2004). "Peacehaven Historic Character Assessment"(PDF). Sussex Extensive Urban Survey (EUS). East Sussex County Council, West Sussex County Council, Brighton and Hove City Council and English Heritage. Archived(PDF) from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
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