NO. II.—SEAFORD, SUSSEX.

ON the Sussex coast, between Newhaven and Eastbourne, stands the “ancient town and port” of Seaford, a place which was formerly of some importance—seeing that it could boast of returning two Members to Parliament, and that it contained no less than seven churches; but, having been disfranchised under the Reform Act of 1832, it degenerated into an obscure fishing village, from which condition, like many other places on the southern coast, having felt the impulse of fashion, it is now rising to the dignity of a watering-place.

In very early times the site of the present town was doubtless chosen as advantageous to the dwellers on the coast, and many traces of Roman occupation have been discovered hereabouts, particularly near the cliff overlooking the eastern part of the town, where is an extensive earthwork, locally known as the Roman Camp. About the year 1820 evidences of a Roman cemetery were disclosed at Green-street, in this neighbourhood: these included sepulchral urns and coins, among the latter being one of Antonia, daughter of Marc Antony.

Somner has fixed upon Pevensey as the Anderida of the Romans; and a great battle between the Saxons and Britons in 485, at Mereredesburn, is thought to have been fought in this locality.

Seaford suffered considerably from the ravages of the French in their “descents” on the English coast; and it was probably in the invasion in 1545 that the place was burnt, and its several churches and other public buildings destroyed.

There is a tradition that the privileges of the borough were first granted by Edward I., in consequence of its inhabitants having supplied the king with the gift or loan of “five ships and eighty mariners;” the said “privileges” comprised exemptions from toll and custom, namely, “lastage, tollage, passage, rivage, appensage, wreck,” &c., and with rights of “soc and sac and toll,” and freedom from “justices itinerant.” The town received its charter of incorporation from Henry VIII. At that time Hastings was in a pitiful state, as recited in the charter.

In the reign of Charles I. the town was made a member of the Cinque Ports, which comprised Hastings, Sandwich, Dover, Romney, Hythe, Rye, Winchilsea, Seaford, Pevensey, Fordwich, Folkestone, Feversham, Lydd, and Tenterden; now, however, it is but a “member” of the first-named port, though with “separate local jurisdiction.”

The government of the town is a municipal corporation, consisting of a bailiff or mayor, jurats, and an indefinite number of freemen. The bailiff is also (ex officio) coroner for the liberty; and the jurats, who are local magistrates and may be twelve in number, are chosen by the freemen, who were formerly styled “barons.” These “barons” of the Cinque Ports possessed extensive and peculiar privileges under their charters, and attended the Brotherhood and Guestling of the Cinque Ports Parliament, the last of which was held at New Romney, in July, 1828. The first bailiff, elected in 1541, was one John Ockenden.

The bailiff is annually elected on Michaelmas Day, with quaint formalities, which are thus set forth by Mr. M. A. Lower in his “Memorials of Seaford:” “At the summons of the church bell the assembly of freemen takes place in the town-hall, and after the pro form business has been gone through, the freemen—leaving the jurats behind them on the bench—retire in a body to a certain gatepost near West House, and there elect their chief officer for the year ensuing. The motive for this singular proceeding seems to have been the prevention of unfair influence on the part of the magisterial body. The townsmen are attended on this occasion by the serjeant-at-mace in his proper costume, bearing the ensign of the bailiff’s authority in the shape of a small mace of silver, which is ornamented with the arms of Queen Elizabeth. The procession commences at a place called the Old Tree, where it appears the town pillory anciently stood, as it is called in old documents ‘the Pillory Tree.’ The place of execution, or rather the perquisite of the ‘finisher of the law,’ is still pointed to by the name of a piece of land called ‘Hangman’s Acre.’” The Pillory Tree was standing in 1578. The site is now marked by the “Old Tree” Inn.

In the 37th year of Elizabeth, the cucking-stool, the pillory, and the butts are mentioned in a “presentment” by the jury as in a state of decay. The pillory was an instrument of punishment to be met with in former times in most old county towns; but the cucking or ducking-stool was not so common, on account of its peculiar construction and use. It could, of course, be used only in such places as had a convenient pond or piece of water at hand wherein to “duck” its unfortunate occupant. The cucking-stool is referred to by some of the older poets. Thus Gay writes:—

Down to the sixteenth century, Seaford had a harbour of its own. The river Ouse flowed between the town and the shingly beach to find an outlet at Seaford Head, or Cliff End, and ships floated up to the houses, in much the same fashion as they do at Shoreham even to this day; but by the accumulation of shingle through the action of the tides its outlet was diverted, and the harbour destroyed. A grant of Queen Elizabeth, dated 1592, speaks of the “decayed haven of Seaforth, called Beame lands,” &c. This land, now used for the purposes of recreation, but still retaining the corrupted name of the Bemblands, exhibits but few traces of the river-bed which of old conferred upon the town the distinction of a Cinque port. The haven in the end became a duck-pool.

Seaford is a borough by prescription, and from the end of the thirteenth century, as stated above, returned two members to Parliament, and it was at one time represented by the celebrated statesmen, the elder Pitt and George Canning; this borough was long remarkable for the obstinate election contests between the partisans of the two noble houses of Lennox and Pelham, and also for the open display of “bribery and corruption,” which formed perhaps the chief political interest of its worthy burgesses.

Seaford gives the title of “Baron” to the family of Ellis, Lords Howard de Walden; and it may be added that the custom of “Borough English” prevails here, whereby property descends to the youngest son.

The arms of Seaford are (like those of the other Cinque Ports) the dimidiated lions of England, with the three ships’ sterns. The town, however, has an ensign peculiar to itself: “Or, an Eagle displayed azure;” while the seal of Seaford, of which we give a representation, bears on the obverse an eagle, and on the reverse an antique ship.

The lordship of the manor of Seaford has belonged successively to families of historic fame, notably the Warrens, the Poynings, the Howards, Dukes of Norfolk, the Monteagles (to whom it was granted as a reward for valour), and the Pelhams. One member, at least, of this last-named family exhibited bravery in the defence of the town, if we may judge from the following verses which appear on the monument of Sir N. Pelham at Lewes:—

There are still to be met with in Seaford one or two old buildings which would delight the antiquarian visitor. The Plough Inn possesses a fine old chimney-piece; and the “Crypt House,” and the Court House with its jail beneath—somewhat similar to the Tolhouse at Great Yarmouth, already described in these pages[35]—will not prove uninteresting. Among the old records of the town is one referring to a curious trial which took place here in the reign of Elizabeth, in which the prisoner claimed the “benefit of clergy.” The entry, which we quote from the “Memorials of Seaford,” runs as follows:—

“Nich. Gabriell, a shepherd, was found guilty of stealing six shep, (sheep) at Chintinge. On being asked by the bailiff if he had anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon him, he claimed the benefit of the clergy, which was granted by the Court. Robert Hyde, Vicar of Seaford, and another clergyman, handed him a book to make proof of his learning, whereupon he read it off like a clerk (legebat ut clericus), and thus the heavier penalty was commuted for branding on the hand.”

The parish church, dedicated to St. Leonard, exhibits marks of considerable antiquity, being mostly of the Decorated period; the tower dating back to the Norman era. It has been recently enlarged and repaired, not in the best of taste; prior to that time the body of the fabric had been “a vile piece of patchwork, to which painted shutters on the outside of all the lower windows gave a truly grotesque appearance.” The original chancel is supposed to have been burned down in the general conflagration of the town already mentioned. In the nave, opposite the south porch, is a curious piece of sculpture. A tablet in the belfry records the recasting of the bells in 1807.

The bay of Seaford is one of the most dangerous parts along the coast, in consequence of its numerous shoals and rocks, and consequently the spot has become noted for its wrecks and “wreckers.” The latter are referred to by Congreve in his epilogue to the “Mourning Bride:”—