Remembering the time when Hastings was a centre for smuggling

Local historian Steve Peak takes a look at a time when the main job of coatguards was to put a stop to the smuggling that was rife in the Hastings area.
By Andy Hemsley
Published 19th May 2022, 12:05 BST
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He writes: HM Coastguard is celebrating its 200th birthday this year and Hastings was an important regional station during the service’s early years of fighting smuggling.

When smugglers were most active, in the 1820s, there were stations of armed Coastguards at Fairlight Cove, Fairlight Head, Ecclesbourne Glen and two in Hastings, one on the seafront where Robertson Terrace is today, and the other at Marine Parade.

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East Sussex, being close to France, witnessed smuggling more than anywhere, and there were numerous violent conflicts on the beaches and inland, with fatal casualties on both sides.

Strudee Place, Hastings, in the 1900's SUS-220305-151751001Strudee Place, Hastings, in the 1900's SUS-220305-151751001
Strudee Place, Hastings, in the 1900's SUS-220305-151751001

Changes in the excise laws in the early 1830s made smuggling less profitable, and it gradually died out.