Town Council Meetings
East Cliff – A Liberal Offer
At the meeting on Jan. 7th, a letter was received from Mr. Phillips, solicitor to the Countess of Waldegrave, with an offer from her ladyship to sell to the Corporation all the sand and stone that fell from the East Cliff between Hastings and Ecclesbourne for £10 a year. It had been let to Mr. Cramp at a higher sum and would be so again if the Council declined it; but her ladyship wished the town to have the privilege. Ald. Ginner and Couns. Vidler and Picknell regarded the offer as a very liberal one and worthy of acceptance. One member said that at one time as much as £100 a year had been paid for the privilege, but was reminded by another member that such was before the Council asserted their right to the stone beach. The offer was accepted. At the next meeting it was resolved that Frederick Ashton be appointed as overlooker and that he be authorised to sell the sand and sandstone at a certain stipulated amount per cart-load, but that the hard blue stone and white sand should be retained.
The Western Stone-beach.
Thomas Tutt, jun. having applied for a piece of ground 24 x 12ft on the stonebeach at Bopeep whereon to erect a shed to keep his boats in, Ald. Ross moved the granting of the application, remarking that it would be making some use of that for which the Corporation had been paying rent for 300 years without exercising any right over it. In reply to Mr. Howell, the Clerk said he would so draw the lease that Tutt should not come on the Council for any damages in the event of a law-suit. The application having been complied with, at the next meeting of the Council, Mr. George Standford applied for a piece of stonebeach 75ft square, for a carpenter’s shop next to Tutt’s piece. At the meeting on the 2nd of March Mr.Picknell moved, and Ald. Ross seconded the adoption of the committee’s recommendation of a piece of stonebeach to be leased to Stanford at a spot opposite the Fountain Inn. Coun. Putland objected to the site, contending that it was the worse part in which to try their right, and that it would have been better to have gone farther westward, beyond the tower. They would be throwing the whole expense of a contest on the smallest piece of beach instead of facing the fight with a large and valuable frontage as if they were afraid to face the difficulty [No, no!] According to the papers, if the Corporation permitted a place to be put up it would be pulled down. [See page 19 for the lord of the manor’s threat and the execution thereof] Coun. Putland moved as an amendment to the Committee’s recommendation that the land granted to the applicant should be beyond the tower (then known as 39), but he did not get a -
