The America Ground, Hastings

The America Ground: 8 acres of Hastings town centre that in the early nineteenth century was an open section of beach, apparently beyond the borough boundary and with no obvious owner. Free from the rules of local authority and taxes, this almost lawless area was gradually occupied by a thousand or more people, many of them squatters, who lived and worked there - until they were all evicted by the government in 1835.

This is the story of that beach, which became almost 'independent' of the ancient town (like America had of England), but ultimately played a crucial role in expanding the old fishing port into a modern seaside resort.

Auteur

Local historian Steve Peak has written several books about Hastings' history over the years, and is the curator of the well-loved Hastings Fishermen's Museum. He writes a blog called the Hastings Chronicle, which is an in-depth fount of local knowledge: https://hastingschronicle.net.

Texte du rabat

In the nineteenth century the 'America Ground' played a key role in the expansion of Hastings. Appearing to to be lie outside the town boundary, residents and businesses there had no taxes to pay. The freedom from local authority rules created a libertarian atmosphere, and one of the names the Ground acquired was 'America', after the newly independent state across the Atlantic. However, the Ground's almost-lawless autonomy meant there was repeated conflict between occupants over land. The increasing frequency of these clashes eventually prompted central government to seize control of the Ground and all settlers were evicted. What might have been a new America on British soil was converted it into an up-market suburb of the increasingly popular seaside resort of Hastings. The area that was the Ground is now one of Historic England's Heritage Action Zones, and this book has been published to relate the history of the Ground as part of the regeneration of the area.