De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill on Sea

The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill On Sea is known as an "iconic Modernist building" which was created to be a "democratic space for art, culture and recreation" and championed by Herbrand Sackville, the 9th Earl De La Warr (DLWP website). De La Warr (20 June 1900 to 28 January 1976) inherited his title when his father died whilst on active service in 1915, and became the first hereditary peer to join the Labour Party; he was just 23 years old when he became a junior minister in the first ever Labour Government in February 1924. Later, in April 1933 and as Mayor of Bexhill, De La Warr proposed a scheme for an entertainment hall/pavilion, which received overwhelming support from the people of Bexhill, and a loan of £70,000 was obtained from the Ministry of Health to cover the cost of the project (Discover Bexhill website).

RIBA were asked to hold a competition for the building design, which was announced in The Architects journal in September 1933, and which received 230 entrants. The same journal in February 1934 declared the winner of the £150 first prize to be the architects Serge Chermayeff (8 October 1900 to 8 May 1996) and Erich Mendelsohn (21 March 1887 to 15 September 1953). Chermayeff was a Russian born British citizen who had been practicing as an architect for 3 years when Mendlesohn joined him as a partner in their own firm in 1933. Mendlesohn had been practicing as an architect in Germany but, with the rise to power of the Nazis and growing antisemitism, his assets were seized and he was excluded from the Prussian Academy of Arts and struck off the German Architects Union; he had fled to Britain in 1933.

The design was a blend of Art Deco style integrated with Modernist materials and construction techniques, indeed, the first Modernist public building. Mendelsohn had a passion for the use of concrete and glass with a welded steel frame which was unprecedented before his arrival to this country, and he was lauded by many of his British peers. This 'passion' ensured that Mendelsohn became "an integral part in spearheading the modernist movement throughout the world" (Arch Daily website). 

So, the De La Warr Pavilion really is 'iconic' and, if you haven't already visited, you should think about going as soon as the current Coronavirus crisis is over, I certainly will be there asap. There is an excellent restaurant on the first floor, and I love sitting on the balcony, drinking coffee, and enjoying the view over the Channel, roll on!

Hastings Pier and a myth or rumour, or two?

Further to my recent blog, I can confirm that plans are afoot to try to open the pier this month, but nothing definite yet, apparently, though the Jack in the Green Programme already has Morris Dancers on the Pier on Sunday 1st May between 12.30 and 2pm; keep your eyes open for an earlier opportunity...

As you can tell from this photograph, I've been clambering around and under the Pier recently, but to the rumours alluded to above... First, there will be NO charge to go onto the Pier, excepting for attending gigs etc, so, it will be gratis, free, zero charge! If you hear anyone say anything else, and I've heard a £4 charge rumoured, that is codswallop, you can put people straight on that (I've been talking to someone very much in the know). 

Secondly, Harry Ramsden's are NOT going to be on the Pier, though there is truth behind their having been interested, but their model wasn't acceptable to the Pier Charity, Jamie Oliver had been in contact, but not for him I believe, and local trainees will gain experience in the restaurant in the old pavilion. There will be a separate cafe in the middle of the Pier, an information centre, and a bar...  

I trust this helps, it certainly hasn't dampened my enthusiasm!

Hastings Pier: Films and Ale!

I received a newsletter/email from the Hastings Pier Charity (website) which gives details of how local produce will be served within the food and refreshments at the pier, when it opens, including an ale brewed by Harveys Brewery, exclusive to Hastings Pier, cheers!   

Also, cinema begins on the 12th of May, tickets need to be booked in advance (website).

Thursday 12th May
Re: A Pier: The story of the renovation of Hastings Pier told by local film-maker, Archie Lauchlan

Friday 13th May
Jaws (1975): Man takes on nature in Steven Spielberg's iconic seaside thriller

Saturday 14th May
Star Wars – The Force Awakens (2015): A battle of good vs evil ensues in the seventh installment of the epic series

Friday 27th May
Pride (2014): A London-based LGBT community lend their support to the striking Welsh coal miners in this uplifting British comedy

Saturday 28th May
Dirty Dancing (1987): Watch as the best-moving couple, Baby and Johnny, have the time of their lives

Have fun and good cheer! 

Back to an Italian in Pelham Crescent!

Good to see 14-15 Pelham Crescent has returned to being an Italian restaurant, there were plenty of fish restaurants and cafes, and chippies, in Hastings already! 

If anyone visits Bella Napoli (website) please feel free to share your experience with others who read this blog, either contact me, or make a comment (nothing defamatory or rude please, though if it isn't great, it would be worth knowing). I visited the older encumbent a couple of years ago, and enjoyed it, but haven't had the experience more recently, sadly... 

Cheers!

Hastings Jewel in the Crown: St Mary in the Castle

When he handed the keys over to Zoe Ashdown of the St Mary in the Castle Charitable Trust a couple of years ago, the leader of Hastings Borough Council, Jeremy Birch, said "This is the start of a very bright, new future for St Mary in the Castle... It gives me great pleasure to hand over the key to this jewel in our crown." 

Last year I interviewed 2 of the 9 trustees, Judy Rogers and Tom Frosdick, and I have spoken to them both since, and not a few times to Sean Berkeley too, who has since been appointed manager. At the interview, I discovered that Giles Sutton, the principal of Buckswood School, had taken over the lease of St Mary in the Castle from the Council, in the iterim, to help ensure its development as an arts and cultural centre for Hastings. 

The Cupola

His plan allowed time for the Trust to become a charitable body, and for its consolidation, before passing on the lease, which we are still awaiting, although I thought it may have happened sooner after the original interview. Whatever, I said then, and still believe, it's good to see philanthropists still exist in Hastings, though probably not ragged trousered!

Keeping St Mary in the Castle viable had been difficult for many years. It was named after the original church that Hastings Castle was built around, and which continued parochial services until the late 16th century under the auspices of the vicars of St Clement and All Saints. The church fell into ruin, as did the castle. In 1601 the lordship of Hastings, including authority over the castle, passed to the Pelham family, which begins my story. 

Victorian Pelham Crescent

Basic repairs to the castle began in 1824, being instigated by Thomas Pelham, the Earl of Chichester, who also commissioned the building of a new St Mary in the Castle in the centre of a crescent of Regency houses that is now Pelham Crescent. The architect was Joseph Kay, and the foundation stone for the church was laid In 1825, with the structure completed in 1828, although the houses on the western side remained unbuilt for a few more years. A shopping arcade, the design influenced by Burlington Arcade in London, was built below the crescent. 

The Cupola and Balcony

The church is of a neo-classical design with a Palladian Portico, and is set against the cliff, with catacombs and burial vaults beneath. It has a number of unique and interesting features, for example, unusual in an Anglican church, is a tank for baptism by immersion, dating from 1928, which was fed by one of the five springs found emerging from the cliff-face when the church was built.

The church became parochial in 1884, and was refurbished in 1888-89, the architect then probably being Henry Ward, who was prolific in Hastings at the time (in January, I talked about him building the new town hall in Queens Road). There were repairs to the roof made by Herbert Murray Jeffery in 1938-39, but over the following 30-40 years, the building became neglected. It ceased use as an Anglican church in 1970, and was sold to a nonconformist church, which managed to keep going for 8 years. 

The Balcony and Seating

After various failed plans, and whilst the structure again fell into disrepair, the church was acquired by Hastings Borough Council in 1990, together with 7 Pelham Crescent, where the office is now situated. Supported by Engish Heritage and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, restoration began and the building was made structurally sound, the roof was rebuilt, and the ceiling plasterwork restored.

In 1991, the Friends of St Mary in the Castle (FOSMIC) sought to make the building a cultural centre for Hastings, FOSMIC becoming a charity in 1994, and receiving a European Union grant and an award from the Arts Council lottery fund in 1995. The lease was passed to FOSMIC the following year. Work was completed in 1998, but they ran into financial difficulties. 

The Restaurant

A number of organisations and people have worked to keep the project on course. Sonrise Church, South Coat Artists, Barbara Rogers until recently had run St Mary in the Castle as an 'ethical' small business for up to three and a half years in total, and the Council itself had made a few attempts. However, by the end of 2012 the Council put the lease out to tender and approved the plans submitted by Giles Sutton, which sought to ensure the continued use of the building for cultural purposes, and a restaurant was opened on Pelham Place as well.

The Trust has ambitious plans which have been supported by Giles Sutton and the Council, and the future looks exceedingly bright. I have already talked about the music side of St Mary in the Castle a few times, and I shall be adding more very soon about this gorgeous 'jewel' in Hastings 'crown', and its future... 

Some of the photographs are my own, and I thank the Trust for the rest.