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An old-established market town and one of the two administrative centres of the Wealden District, it originally stood on the main road from London to Eastbourne. Following the building of the new A22 dual-carriageway trunk road in the 1960's, it is now by-passed by through traffic being situated within half a mile of the main road on a loop road from Horsebridge to Cacklebury with an alternative route into Eastbourne across the edge of the Pevensey Levels.

Since the late 1950's the High Street has been one-way to vehicular traffic (from north to south) and since similar treatment to George Street and North Street, traffic now circulates clockwise around the triangular town centre.

Approaching the town from the northern end of the High Street, visitors will find an adequate number of free municipal car parks located close to the shopping centre, with easy access from the car parks to the High Street and pedestrianised shopping precincts.

The majority of shops are located within or on the roads forming the town centre triangle, or in one of the two shopping precincts - “The Quintins” (named in honour of the Rt. Hon. Quintin Hogg M.P., perhaps better known as Lord Hailsham of Marylebone), or “Vicarage Field” (the ancient name for this area which originally had been literally fields adjacent to the Church and Vicarage).

Each of the precincts - one on either side of the High Street - has a food supermarket - Waitrose in Vicarage Field, and Co-op in Quintins, with Tescco to open Christmas 2008 - there are also branches of Boots (the Chemist), Superdrug, Woolworths, and a variety of smaller local traders. The remaining shops in the precincts and the High Street offer all manner of wares, including newspapers and stationery, hardware/DIY materials and tools, sports equipment and clothing, household electrical appliances, photographic equipment and services, audio and video equipment and accessories, household linen and dry-cleaning and a variety of bakeries, restaurants and cafes,; travel agents, a large number of branch offices of national building societies, and several surveyors and estate agencies. There are also a number of shops raising funds for charitable purposes by selling all kinds of new and second-hand goods including clothing.

Many of these establishments can be found in the Advertisements section of this Guide.

All four of the traditional banks have branches around the Market Square area.

Continuing from Market Square along Market Street, the historic, walled Market Place is to be found in a short distance, where on Fridays a market of general wares is held, and with a farm produce market on the second Saturday of the month. Cattle market sales are held here separately, on different days of the week.

Close to the town centre, visitors will easily find the 15th Century Church of St Mary the Virgin, which, built on a knoll overlooking the wide expanse of Pevensey Marsh (and commanding breath-taking views for many miles from its tower), was the original parish church and the focal epicentre of Hailsham.

Not far from the Church is to be found several of the oldest and most interesting of the historic buildings of the town, the Pavilion Cinema (erected in 1921), and also the Hailsham Heritage Centre (Museum).

Adjacent to the northern car parks (off Vicarage Lane and at the rear of Vicarage Fields) are the more recently developed sites containing the Hailsham Community Hall, the Freedom Leisure Centre complex, and the Wealden District Council Offices.