Hastings in historic gazetteers

Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887). John Bartholomew

Hastings.-- parl. and mun. bor., watering-place, market town, and one of the Cinque Ports, E. Sussex, 34 miles E. of Brighton and 62 miles SE. of London - parl. bor. 3690 ac., pop. 47,619; mun. bor., 1826 ac. and 355 foreshore, pop. 42,258; Cinque Port, 17,855 ac., pop. 46,185; 3 Banks, 8 newspapers. Market-day, Saturday; a place of great importance in ancient times; the site of the original town is supposed to be covered by the sea. William the Conqueror landed in the vicinity and fought the famous battle of Hastings - October 14th, 1066 - at the place called Battle, 6 miles NW. Most of the town lies in a well-sheltered hollow sloping towards the sea. St Leonards is joined to it by a. row of terraces and parades. The reputation of Hastings as a watering-place was first established about the beginning of the present century, and its trade is mostly connected with the supplies required by visitors; there are also coast fisheries, and some boatbuilding and lime-burning. The bor. returns 1 member to Parliament; it returned 2 members until 1885, when its parl. limits were reduced by the exclusion of 2 detached parts, viz., Petit Iham and the Liberty of the Sluice.