Most of this website has been researched and written by local author Steve Peak (below).
If you have any questions or ideas, email him on
This website is designed and maintained by Simon Dallyn of Green Man Computers. Please get in touch by
The Hastings Chronicle section of this website aims to put on record all the important events in the history of Hastings and St Leonards, in chronological order. The material used in compiling it has come from so many different sources that it has not been possible to give a reference for each entry. The primary sources have been the local newspapers (available from the late 18th century onwards), local authority records, national archives, primary publications (especially street directories) and personal memories. The main secondary sources have been other publications (including all notable Hastings history books) and reliable websites. All this material has been checked as far as possible and is believed to be correct, although it cannot be 100% guaranteed.
The Chronicle has its origins in a project which I (Steve Peak) set up and ran under the management of Hastings Reference Library and the University of Sussex for 12 months in 1983/4. A team of nine people was employed to compile the Chronicle, and I would like to thank them all for what they did, and their interest in the subject. They were: Helen Ayres, Melita Dennett, Mary Harding, Brenda Johnstone, Mike Mathews, Paulette Naylor, Colin Pope, Susan Toplis and Andrew Walker.
The Hastings Chronicle was then published softback (printed on a photocopier) in 1984. Since then I have added to the data continuously, with much invaluable help from Hastings Library. Many thanks also go to Hastings Museum and Art Gallery for their aid over the years, and to Andrew Walker for setting and helping run the now-closed website www.HastingsChronicle.net. I hope eventually to publish the Chronicle in book-form, but it would be rather large!