Tide Mills, East Sussex
Encyclopedia
Tide Mills is a derelict village in East Sussex
, England
. It lies about two kilometres (1.2 miles) south east of Newhaven
and four kilometres (2.5 miles) north west of Seaford
and is near both Bishopstone
and East Blatchington
.
and numerous workers' cottages, housing about 100 workers. The tide mill at Bishopstone was erected in 1761 by the Duke of Newcastle
, and was later owned and operated by William Catt (1770–1853) and his family.
The Sussex Archaeological Society
started a long-term project in April 2006 to record the entire East Beach site: Mills, Railway Station, Nurses Home, Hospital
, RNAS Station
and the later holiday homes and the Marconi Radio station (1904). Apart from the dig, it will evolve into a huge collection of film, video, recollections and photographs logging the decline of the area.
The mill stopped in around 1900, the village was condemned as unfit for habitation in 1936 with the last residents forcibly removed in 1939. The area was in part cleared to give fields of fire and also used for street fighting training. The site was not used for target practice by Newhaven Fort
Artillery, though this story is common locally.
The area accommodated vast numbers of Canadian troops during the Second World War.
There are the remains of a station on the Newhaven to Seaford line at . It started life as either Bishopstone Station (the Victorian OS map of 1879 shows it as this together with a short branch line to the mills) or Tide Mills Halt, but became Bishopstone Beach Halt
in 1939 before its closure in 1942. This is different from today's Bishopstone railway station
at .
. Two girls are playing hide and seek in the summer of 1968. Eleanor is hiding from Alice who never comes looking for her. Alice disappears and over thirty years later she is still missing. Much of the 'action' takes place around the Tide Mills. The cover photograph for the UK edition published by Myriad Editions shows a shot of the Tide Mills.
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies about two kilometres (1.2 miles) south east of Newhaven
Newhaven, East Sussex
Newhaven is a town in the Lewes District of East Sussex in England. It lies at the mouth of the River Ouse, on the English Channel coast, and is a ferry port for services to France.-Origins:...
and four kilometres (2.5 miles) north west of Seaford
Seaford, East Sussex
Seaford is a coastal town in the county of East Sussex, on the south coast of England. Lying east of Newhaven and Brighton and west of Eastbourne, it is the largest town in Lewes district, with a population of about 23,000....
and is near both Bishopstone
Bishopstone, East Sussex
Bishopstone is a hamlet with a population of about 200 people, located along a dead-end road west of Seaford, East Sussex. Bishopstone was an episcopal manor: hence its name meaning "dwelling place of the bishop". The church, dedicated to Saint Andrew, is thought to date from the 8th century, and...
and East Blatchington
East Blatchington
East Blatchington is a coastal village in East Sussex, and is nowadays the western part of Seaford where the two have gradually merged. East Blatchington is associated with Tide Mills, and is sometimes given as an alternate name for the Tide Mills area....
.
The old village
The village consisted of a large tide millTide mill
A tide mill is a water mill driven by tidal rise and fall. A dam with a sluice is created across a suitable tidal inlet, or a section of river estuary is made into a reservoir. As the tide comes in, it enters the mill pond through a one way gate, and this gate closes automatically when the tide...
and numerous workers' cottages, housing about 100 workers. The tide mill at Bishopstone was erected in 1761 by the Duke of Newcastle
Duke of Newcastle
Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne is a title which has been created three times in British history while the title of Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne has been created once. The title was created for the first time in the Peerage of England in 1664 when William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne...
, and was later owned and operated by William Catt (1770–1853) and his family.
The Sussex Archaeological Society
Sussex Archaeological Society
The Sussex Archaeological Society, founded in 1846, is the largest county-based archaeological society in the UK. Its headquarters are in Lewes, Sussex...
started a long-term project in April 2006 to record the entire East Beach site: Mills, Railway Station, Nurses Home, Hospital
Chailey Heritage Marine Hospital
The ruins of the Chailey Heritage Marine Hospital stand to the seaward side of Tide Mills, east of Newhaven, Sussex, in England.-Objectives:The hospital was built in 1924, to provide aftercare and recovery for disabled boys who had undergone surgery...
, RNAS Station
Newhaven Seaplane Base
Newhaven Seaplane Base is today the derelict site of an experimental seaplane base at the head of the beach east of Newhaven Harbour, seaward of Tide Mills, East Sussex, England-History:...
and the later holiday homes and the Marconi Radio station (1904). Apart from the dig, it will evolve into a huge collection of film, video, recollections and photographs logging the decline of the area.
The mill stopped in around 1900, the village was condemned as unfit for habitation in 1936 with the last residents forcibly removed in 1939. The area was in part cleared to give fields of fire and also used for street fighting training. The site was not used for target practice by Newhaven Fort
Newhaven Fort
Newhaven Fort was built on the recommendation of the 1859 Royal Commission to defend the growing harbour at Newhaven, on the south coast of England...
Artillery, though this story is common locally.
The area accommodated vast numbers of Canadian troops during the Second World War.
There are the remains of a station on the Newhaven to Seaford line at . It started life as either Bishopstone Station (the Victorian OS map of 1879 shows it as this together with a short branch line to the mills) or Tide Mills Halt, but became Bishopstone Beach Halt
Bishopstone Beach Halt railway station
Bishopstone Beach Halt was a railway station in England that was opened on the 1 June 1864 and closed on 1 January 1942. The station was built for residents of the Bishopstone and Tide Mills villages and located on the west side of Mill Drove...
in 1939 before its closure in 1942. This is different from today's Bishopstone railway station
Bishopstone railway station
Bishopstone railway station is located on the western side of the town of Seaford in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to the coast, and approximately from the hamlet of Bishopstone, from which it takes its name...
at .
Mill complex
Old photographs and paintings, together with a poem show that the tide mill complex included a windmill.Access
Access is either via Mill Drove, an insignificant single track road which runs south west from the Newhaven and Seaford roads at approximately the point where one changes into the other (very limited parking, and access is via a pedestrian railway crossing at Bishopstone Beach Halt); or along the beach to the east of Newhaven Harbour.In popular culture
The Tide Mills features in the 2007 novel A Kind of Vanishing by crime-writer Lesley ThomsonLesley Thomson
Lesley Thomson is the Solicitor General for Scotland, one of the two law officers of the Scottish Government.She has 25 years' experience as a prosecutor, including as district procurator fiscal for Selkirk, district procurator fiscal for Edinburgh, and interim area procurator fiscal for Lothian &...
. Two girls are playing hide and seek in the summer of 1968. Eleanor is hiding from Alice who never comes looking for her. Alice disappears and over thirty years later she is still missing. Much of the 'action' takes place around the Tide Mills. The cover photograph for the UK edition published by Myriad Editions shows a shot of the Tide Mills.
External links
- Friends of The Tidemills and Newhaven Eastside Conservation Group
- Corn. Bishopsten (sic), Sussex. Tide mills. Petition of merchants for sanction to build tide mills for grinding corn
- Outreach Helps to Turn the Tide
- Saline Lagoons The pound for the tide mill as a wildlife habitat
- Tidemills - a sustainable energy story
- Abandoned Communities ..... Tide Mills