| 
Settled before the Romans and the Anglo Saxons.
In the year 490 A.D., the Saxon invaders advanced along the coast
from their original landing place at Selsey and, according to the
Saxon Chronicle, attacked and took the British stronghold of Anderida
which was the fort the Romans had built at what is now Pevensey,
a few miles from Hailsham, thereby consolidating their conquest
and forming the small kingdom of the South Saxons, or Sussex.
It was on the Pevensey Levels, which extend from Hailsham to the
coast, that William of Normandy made his historic landing in 1066,
for, in those days, the seashore was some distance inland - about
halfway between Hailsham and the present beach along Pevensey Bay
- and the ancient castle stood upon an island amongst the marshes
of the River Ashburn.
The manor of Hailsham is recorded in the Domesday Survey completed
by the Normans twenty years later.
There was some activity in this part of Sussex during the baronial
wars and in the armed rivalry between Matilda and Stephen, the castle
at Pevensey being garrisoned and held by opposing sides. Men of
Hailsham may have taken part in the important battle of Lewes in
1264 when Simon de Montfort’s victory resulted in the establishment
of the first principles of parliamentary representation.
During the seventeenth-century civil war between Charles I and Parliament,
Hailsham and this part of Sussex declared against the royalist cause.
Little is known of the town of Hailsham before the 1086 Domesday
Book, but evidence of a Roman road from Leap Cross across the Common,
indicates some occupation prior to this.
Note the different spellings of ‘Hailsham’ and “Hellingly”
through the years.
1154 to 1189 Sir
Richard Covert of Bradbridge was Lord of the “Manor of Haylesham”.
1190 Helling Church
consecrated and endowed by gifts of Nicolas de Brade.
1228 Advowson of “Haylesham
Church” granted to Michelham Priory.
1234 Salt pan workings,
along what is now the marsh edge, extracted salt from the tidal
waters (hence, the areas of Saltmarsh and Marshfoot).
1252 Henry III granted
Market Charter to the Royal favourite, Peter of Savoy.
The market died out in the 17th century to be revived on 15th December
1786 and by mid-19th century was the biggest cattle market in the
county and attracted drovers from as far away as Wales.
1263 Gilbert, son
of Gilbert Godseb drowned while bathing in “Haylesham Pond”
(now known as the Common Pond.)
1264 Benedict the
Jew, of “Heylesham”, was “outlawed” (much
as Robin Hood would have been) for clipping the King’s coin.
1399 to 1413 Troy
weights were introduced to the Market. Early consumer protections
move.
1425 to 1450 St Mary’s
Church, Hailsham built - (present structure).
1540 to 1640 Hailsham
was one of the chief centres of leatherwork and tanning (using local
oak bark) due to being a thriving cattle market town.
1542 Fleur-de-Lys
Inn built in Market Street (later to be the  Parish
Workhouse, and now Town Council Offices).
1557 John Miller,
protestant minister of Hellinglegh, burnt at the stake in Lewes.
1559 Uprising of the
inhabitants of Hailsham who burnt part of the church.
1581 Manor of “Haylesham”
granted to Gregory, Lord Dacre of Herstmonceux.
1603 James VI of Scotland
declared King of England - probably from the market cross in Market
Square of “Haylysham”. Received with little enthusiasm
locally.
1656 William Lancaster
(non conformist) turned out of the living of Hellinglegh.
1663 First five bells
cast for Hailsham Church at Bellbanks (Common Pond) by John Hodson.
1708 Hailsham Vicarage
built next to Parish Church (now known as “The Grange”).
1800 The Stone Cross
in Market Square removed as being an obstacle to carts and wagons.
Barracks established on Hailsham Common (between Summerfields Road
and London Road) to house troops for the war with France (dismantled
in 1815 after success at battle of Waterloo). Grenadier Inn in High
Street also built to meet needs of troops.
1804 “Newhouse”
built in George Street (later to be re-named “Cortlands”).
1807 Rope making started
by Thomas Burfield.
1814 Emperor of Russia
and King of Prussia made overnight stop at Amberstone House (on
26th June).
1824 Hellingly Church
paths relaid in brick by unemployed labourers.
1827 National School
built in South Road, Hailsham to replace one held in the Church
by churchwarden Francis Howlett.
1836 New “Union”
Workhouse built at junction of Hellingly and Hailsham parish boundaries
(serving needs of 12 parishes).
Hellingly Church battlemented Tower built replacing an earlier wooden
spire.
1837 Clock added to
Hellingly Church Tower.
Erection of Zoar Chapel Lower Dicker (Extended 1874).
1844 Hellingly Church
of England Controlled School built in Church Lane.
1849 Hailsham Station
and railway service to Polegate opened.
1855 As a result of
an Enclosure Award on Hailsham Common, the Recreation Ground in
Western Road was created.
1862 Hailsham Infants’
School built in the High Street (at the junction with North Street).
1868 Market ceased
to be held in High Street/Market Square - moved to new walled-in
site in Market Street.
1878 Hailsham Board
School built in Battle Road (now Hailsham Community College).
1880 Railway line
extended northwards to Heathfield and Tunbridge Wells.
1885 Water Works Company
started supply from springs at Magham Down.
1894 Austens gun shop
burnt down where Victoria Gate now stands.
Purchase of new cemetery ground in North Street Hellingly.
1895 Closure of Hellingly
Churchyard for burials.
First Parish Council elections.
1897 Acquisition of
400 acres of land for a “county lunatic asylum” at Hellingly.
1903 First patients
admitted to Hellingly Hospital.
1906 Hailsham Church
obtained first pipe organ.
1907 Telephone Exchange
first installed in High Street.
1913 New Hellingly
Infants’ School built opposite New Village Hall.
1914/5 Erection of
Hellingly Village Hall, the gift of John Hancock Nunn.
1921 Hailsham War
Memorial erected.
1943 Bomb fell near
church after landing at rear of Post Office and bouncing over the
building. It shattered most of the windows and destroyed the Auxiliary
Fire Station with the loss of one life.
1951 Four of the Hailsham
church bells were recast and all the bells re-hung.
1953 Hellingly recreation
ground moves to Lower Horsebridge.
1954 Hellingly Memorial
Sport Pavillion opened.
1959 Closure of Hellingly
Primary School in Church Lane.
1962 Hellingly Church
organ rebuilt and transept to the Lady Chapel restored.
1965 Closure of the
Cuckoo line to passenger traffic.
1974 Hailsham Parish
Council adopted the status of Town Council, allowing the Chairman
to be called Town Mayor.
1985 Closure of Hellingly
Hospital.
1986 Major improvement
works carried out by the Town Council at the 1.86 acre Common Pond
site began, including the creation of a second central island.
1988 The Quintin’s
Shopping Centre in North Street opened to the public, named after
Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of Marylebone.
1990 Cuckoo Trail
opened to walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
1993 The Hailsham
Pavilion Cinema & Theatre refurbished.
2000 The Hailsham
Pavilion Cinema & Theatre re-opened to the public via funds
raised by the Hailsham Old Pavilion Society (H.O.P.S.) to restore
the old cinema. A 31-year lease was signed at a peppercorn rent.
The Square Youth Café, funded by Hailsham Town Council, opened
its doors, providing a drop-in ‘café-style’ facility
for young people in Hailsham and surrounding areas.
Hellingly Millennium Arboretum opened.
2007 Planning applications
for the construction of an Aldi supermarket at the historic Hailsham
Cattle Market site rejected by Wealden District Council.
2008 Hellingly Parish
Council granted ‘Quality Status’.
2009 Hailsham Parish
Council granted ‘Quality Status’.
|
