Essential Hotels > England > East Sussex > Hastings

Hastings is an appealingly historic harbour town positioned on the East Sussex coast. It faces the English Channel, and is bordered by the scenic High Weald to the north. It has a history of habitation spanning several thousands of years, but it is famous throughout the UK for the Battle of Hastings in 1066, which forever redefined the face of England under the subsequent Norman rule. The conflict itself however took place in the aptly named Battle, which sits a few miles inland from Hastings. The town of Battle, which later grew thanks to the gunpowder industry, remains a popular tourist spot today, not least for its Norman abbey.

It was Hastings’s natural port that continually drew settlers to the area, but unfortunately this meant that it was ripe for invasion. As a result, Hastings received extensive military fortifications, including Hastings Castle, which was constructed by the Normans within months of William the Conqueror’s conquest of England. The waters also provided an important natural resource – seafood. Despite the fact that the British weather and the action of the sea have drastically changed the shape of the harbour over time, visitors to the town can still see fishing boats being launched from the beach today as they would traditionally have been.

Like many English coastal towns, Hastings has enjoyed a reputation as a resort. Several locations in the centre date back from this time, including Pelham Crescent, named for the Earl of Chichester who developed this area at the turn of the 18th century. The introduction of the railways in the 1900s brought further growth to the coast. Today Hastings has changed somewhat, offering a pre-Victorian Old Town area, which includes The Stade beach and the town’s fishing area, as well as newer developments and lovely St. Leonard’s, which was originally purpose-built as a residential area for the upper classes. Visitors still come to Hastings for the coastal experience that brought many before them.