Bexhill-on-Sea, E Sussex - Church - early undivided back Peacock postcard 1903

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex - the Church - [early undivided back postcard - these were the norm before the rules were changed on writing the message on the address side in 1902]
• Publisher:  Peacock Brand
• Postally used:  yes
• Stamp:  Edward VII half d. dark green [the older shade]
• Postmark(s):  Bexhill on Sea Sep 14 1903 cds
• Sent to:  Master W. D. S. Brooke, 'Lympstone', Goodrington Road, Rochester
• Notes / condition: 

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Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one.

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NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Bexhill-on-Sea (often simply Bexhill) is a town in the local government county of East Sussex, within the ancient and historic county of Sussex, in the south of England, within the District of Rother. It has a population of approximately 40,000. The Anglo-Saxon name for the settlement was Bexelei, from leah—a glade where the box tree grows.^[2]

The earliest evidence of occupation of the site came from the discovery of primitive boats at Egerton Park. The town came into official existence with the Charter of 772. In this charter, King Offa II, King of Mercia, granted land to Bishop Oswald to build a church. Three hundred years later, around 1066, William the Conqueror gave the Rape of Hastings, including the captured town of Bexhill (also referred to as the ""Badman Town""), to Robert, Count of Eu, as the spoils of victory.

The coastal confederation of Cinque Ports consisted, during the Middle Ages, of a confederation of 42 towns and villages in all. This included Bexhill, under the 'limb' of Hastings.^[3]

The manor of Gotham in Bexhill was held by the de Lyvet (Levett) family from an early date. (The Levetts held land at Firle, Catsfield, Ninfield, South Heighton and West Dean and elsewhere, some of which was lost due to an heir's bankruptcy.) Thomas de Lyvet, son of Richard, granted Gotham manor to James Fiennes, 1st Baron Saye and Sele. Thomas's daughter Elizabeth, who married William Gildredge of Withyham, unsuccessfully disputed Gotham manor in 1445.^[4] The Gildredge family later lived at nearby Eastbourne, where by 1554 they owned much of the land. Today's Gildredge Park in Eastbourne is named for the family. Most of the Gildredge lands were carried by marriage into the Gilbert (now Davies-Gilbert) family of Eastbourne, who made the Gildredge manor house their own.

The church owned Bexhill Manor until Queen Elizabeth I acquired it in 1590 and granted it to Thomas Sackville, then Baron Buckhurst. Thomas became the first Earl of Dorset in 1603. In 1813, when the male line of the earldom had died out, Elizabeth Sackville married the fifth Earl De La Warr, and she and her husband inherited Bexhill. This early history can still be seen in street names, with Sackville Road, Buckhurst Road, De La Warr Parade, and King Offa Way being some of the most significant roads in the town. On 20 May 1729, a waterspout came ashore, became a tornado, and travelled 12 miles (19 km) inland to Battle and Linkhill; nine farms and properties received serious damage.^[5]

In the early 1800s the fashion for seaside recreation was boosted by The Prince of Wales, later to become George IV, with the building of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. The 7th and 8th Earls De La Warr dived enthusiastically into the creation of a resort at Bexhill with an ambitious building program which included shops and houses in London Road (then called Station Road), residential building on Hastings Road and beginning a sea wall and esplanade between Galley Hill and Sea Lane in 1883. John Webb, the London building contractor who constructed the Eastern Esplanade also developed the land which he had received in part payment and laid out Western Road and built the Devonshire Hotel. In 1884 the 7th Earl De La Warr added the suffix 'on-Sea' to Bexhill.^[6]

Smuggling was rife in the area in the early 19th century. In 1828, the local Little Common Gang were involved in what was known as the Battle of Sidley Green,^[7] Sidley being an area in the north of Bexhill.

During local government reform in 1974, Bexhill became part of Rother District Council, thereby losing its Town Council. In its place, Bexhill became a Charter Trustees town, represented by the Bexhill councillors of Rother District Council.^[8] A quarterly forum is held to provide a voice to the community at a local level.^[9] There have been recent plans to recreate a Bexhill Town Council.^[10]

Bexhill is the home of Rother District Council; District Council Elections are held every four years. Thirty-eight Councillors in total are elected, eighteen of these from the nine wards that make up Bexhill. The May 2011 election returned 11 Conservatives, 4 Independents, 2 Liberal Democrats, and 1 Labour.^[11]

The next level of government is the East Sussex County Council, with responsibility for Education, Libraries, Social Services, Civil Registration, Trading Standards, and Transport. Elections for the County Council are held every four years. For these elections, Bexhill is divided into three wards: West, King Offa, and East.^[12]

The 2005 East Sussex County Council election resulted in 29 Conservatives, 15 Liberal Democrats, 5 Labours, and 1 Independent, of which Bexhill provided 1 Liberal Democrat and 2 Conservatives.^[12]

The Parliament Constituency for Bexhill includes the nearby town of Battle. The constituency was created in 1983 and was served by Charles Wardle until the 2001 election, when Wardle left the Conservative party. He was replaced by Gregory Barker, who remains the current serving MP.

At the European level, Bexhill is represented by the South-East region, which holds ten seats in the European Parliament. The June 2004 election returned four Conservatives, two Liberal Democrats, two UK Independents, one Labour, and one Green—none of whom live in East Sussex.^[13]

A Site of Special Scientific Interest lies within the Bexhill district—High Woods. It is of biological importance because it is the only known sessile oak Quercus petraea woodland in East Sussex.^[14] Fossils are also commonly found in Bexhill. In 2009 the world's oldest spider web was found encased in amber in the town. It was 140 million years old.^[15] In June 2011 it was reported that the world's smallest dinosaur had been discovered at Ashdown Brickworks near the town. A single vertebra was found.^[16]

type=printed postcards

theme=topographical: british

sub-theme=england

county/ country=sussex

number of items=single

period=pre - 1914

postage condition=posted