Holywell, Eastbourne

Holywell (local pronunciation "holly well") is a part of Meads, a district of Eastbourne in the county of East Sussex, UK. Holywell has no specific boundaries, but lies approximately between the western end of the lower promenade and the chalk pinnacle below St Bedes Preparatory School.

William Figg’s 1816 map of Eastbourne shows an area called Holly Well Furlong near what was until 1896 the Hollywell fishing hamlet. This settlement was by the low cliff edge, above the place where fresh water emerges from the chalk. Below the chalk at this point lies an impervious stratum of gault which causes the rainwater which has seeped through the chalk to spill out almost at sea level. The fishing settlement was approached from what is now Holywell Road via the lane between the present Helen Gardens and St Bede's Preparatory School. On the left side of this lane, opposite the present sports complex of St Bede's School, stood Holywell House - said to have been an inn at one time. The house was standing as early as 1839 and demolished in about 1897.

The pinnacle was formerly known locally as Gibraltar, and the ground around here was the site of lime kilns which were worked by the fishermen. In 1905, the town council laid out a public garden, named somewhat loosely The Holywell Retreat, on the site of a disused chalk pit known as The Gore some 400 metres to the northeast of the Holywell fishing settlement. A tea chalet was later built in the garden and the area above was redesigned in the Italianate style after World War I to provide work for the unemployed. The Council later erected beach chalets above the lower promenade. In 1935, one of the chalets was set aside for the use of King George V and Queen Mary during their visit to the town. More chalets were constructed in the 1950s; as of 2009^[update] there were 69 brick-built chalets available for annual rent.

During the Second World War, Canadian troops in Eastbourne set up a rife range in Whitbread Hollow, although their official War Diaries refer to this as the Holywell Range. The targets were near the cliff edge and sentries were posted to ensure range safety. Cliff-scaling exercises were also carried out here. The Canadians also referred to the 'Hollywell gun position' which was the site of a Bofors anti-aircraft gun; again this was some distance from what is commonly known as Holywell, being situated on the footpath at the western end of the seafront - an area known locally as the Foot of Beachy Head.

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