St. Mary's (Town)

Following the westward expansion of Hastings and the eastward expansion of Burton's St. Leonards in the mid-to-late 1830s, a large number of buildings had been erected on the seafront between the two towns. Although there were no official plans to give this district the name of St. Mary's, there were certainly a number of discussions to this effect, with Ross in his first guide to Hastings published in 1835 commenting that "The town of St. Mary's is now rapidly springing up between the "towns of Hastings and St. Leonards " ; already some well-built houses, such as Verulam-buildings, Seymour Place, Adelaide Place, etc., have been erected. The grounds are also laid out for a square (Warrior Square). The South Saxon Hotel is the only one at present in the place ; and the grand promenade, which joins that of St. Leonards, forming the "finest parade in the Kingdom." Brett says : — "Mr. Troup, who built Warrior Square, proposed that the new town between the Archway, St. Leonards (Mr. Burton's boundary) and the Seaside Hotel (now the Palace) should be called 'St. Marys.'"