Eastbourne 1851 - 1951 - A Social History

This book sets out to record the changes which took place in a Southern coastal town during the period 1851-1951. In the early years the town was well planned and developed by major landowners. This seaside town lacked any manufacturing base and most working class residents had to rely on poorly paid work, much of it related to the holiday season. Eastbourne was planned so that, '... there would be good large houses in one direction... smaller houses in another... and they are not mixed up... they are all quite separate.' The social composition of the town ensured that at both local and national level it remained conservative in outlook even when a growing Labour Movement after 1918 began to challenge some of the assumptions of those in control.

Dr Clive Griggs is a Faculty Fellow in the Education Department of the University of Brighton. Previously he taught in secondary schools in London, Sofia and West Sussex.