Bonaparte's Ditch

A dyke ‘Bonaparte’s Ditch’, some half mile long was dug between Harley Shute and Bulverhythe Hill in 1804, possibly as defences against a potential French landing on the low-lying land at Bulverhythe Salts. (Today, it would run south-west from the west junction of Bulverhythe Road and Cliftonville Road, parallel to, and halfway, between Bexhill Road and the railway line).. In 1834, in order to extend the racecourse into a figure of 8 shape, temporary bridges were placed over the ditch.

Napoleonic Defences

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