Buildings and architecture Many parts of Hailsham have been lost to
redevelopment prior to preservation orders being introduced. The town retains a number of buildings which display evidence of antiquity. The houses are mainly
Victorian in character with more modern residential developments around the original town centre. • War memorial – The High Street war memorial was unveiled on 28 November 1920 by Lord Leconfield, the then
Lord Lieutenant of the county. It records the loss to the community of the 86 men killed in
World War I and a further 35 lost during the
Second World War. The memorial comprises a wheel cross with
Celtic lettering under which the names of the dead are listed on two tablets. • St Mary's Church (now called Hailsham Parish Church) – St Mary's Church is a grade-listed building and dates back to the early 15th century, although there is evidence of a church on this site in the early 13th century. The building was substantially rebuilt in
Victorian times. Five of the peal of eight bells date from 1663 and three from 1889. The present clock was installed to celebrate
Queen Victoria’s
Diamond Jubilee.https://sussexparishchurches.org/church/hailsham-st-mary/ • The Old Vicarage – Now "The Grange", the Old Vicarage was built 1701-1705 for the Reverend Thomas Hooper as a vicarage for the adjacent church. The architectural style of the house exemplifies what many refer to as the Mary-Anne style which reflect the Dutch domesticity of the William and Mary period, combined with the more grand and formal
style of the Queen Anne period, is an early 18th-century residence and a Grade II listed building. • Fleur de Lys and Inglenook – The "Fleur de Lys" and "Inglenook" in Market Street – one building divided in two in the late 19th century, but now reinstated as one – was originally built in the reign of
Elizabeth I (1542) as part of the original hostelry of the town. Later to become the Workhouse, after which it was converted to shops and residential dwellings, it is now the Hailsham
Town Council’s offices and meeting room. • The Grenadier – In 1803, Hailsham Barracks were built to quarter troops intended to man the
Martello towers, which defended the
Pevensey areas from
Napoleon. The barracks were closed after the defeat of Napoleon at
Waterloo in 1815. • The Old Court House - The Old Court House was erected in 1861 consisting of a Court Room together with an office and residence for the
Police Superintendent. Prior to 1861, the first Police Station was located at the top of Hailsham High Street. Offenders were placed in the stocks situated in front of the Terminus Hotel, and a
gibbet was built on the corner of Summerheath Road and Western Road. • The Stone – A Grade II listed building, "The Stone" is probably the oldest house in Hailsham and possibly named after an old boundary stone in the grounds, and originally built around 1320 in the style of the Wealden Hall houses. Featuring
inglenook fireplaces, a bread oven, a priest hide, and with evidence of early sliding shuttered windows, it was once owned by Cardinal Wolsley. • Cortlandt – Originally called "Newhouse", Cortlandt was renamed after one of its previous occupants,
Philip van Courtlandt, an American who fought on the British side in the
American War of Independence. The renaming was undertaken by
William Strickland. • The Old Court House – Erected in 1861 consisting of a Court Room together with an office and residence for the Police Superintendent, The Old Court House was, prior to 1861, the first Police Station in Hailsham. • The Old Brewery – Built in 1827 by Thomas Gooch from Norfolk, The Old Brewery was renowned for strong beers. The building was used by a succession of
brewers and was, for a while, used as a
Catholic place of worship. • Hamlin's Mill – The one
mill believed to be the town's last surviving one was Hamlin's Mill (where the remains of the mill's ancillary buildings can still be seen today). The mill was a smock type built in 1834, and was destroyed by fire on 17 November 1923. It was replaced by a
powder mill, but by 1969, it was being used as a sack mill when it was again destroyed by fire. • Harebeating Mill – Harebeating Mill, a
post mill located at St Wilfrid's Green just off the top of Hailsham High Street, was previously known as Kenward's Mill. Only the lower floor of the mill remains and this, together with a more modern upper storey, has been converted into a private house. • Michelham Priory –
Michelham Priory at
Upper Dicker in Hailsham, was founded for
Augustinian Canons in 1229 in the
Sussex Weald. It is surrounded by a great
medieval moat, with 7 acres of lawns and gardens. Parts of the Priory buildings were destroyed at the
Dissolution in 1636, and the remaining buildings formed the nucleus of a fine
Tudor house built in the late 16th century. The property was owned by the
Sackville family from 1603 to 1897 and was given to the Sussex Archeological Trust in 1959.
Parks and gardens • Hailsham
Country Park covers approximately 22 acres and incorporates woodland, an open field area, wildflower meadow, two ponds and a lake. A water course skirts the open field area and all-weather footpaths can be found throughout the park. The various woodland sites within the Country Park have a very good selection of tree species including birch, oak, ash, maple and wild cherry. Wildlife residing in the area includes voles, mice, lizards and weasels. The Hailsham Country Park received South & South East in Bloom Silver Awards in 2009 and 2010, in recognition of the efforts of volunteers to restore the park's wildflower meadow and the planting of additional trees in recent years. • The Common Pond in Bellbanks Road has been a focal point in Hailsham for centuries and is considered to be the town's "Jewel In The Crown". The commons were largely enclosed in 1855, but the pond area was retained by the lord of the manor, Lord Sackville. It was finally bought by the Council in 1922 for £300, and became a public open space. Radical works to the 1.86-acre site began in 1996. The pond base was then excavated and surplus clay used to extend the existing central island, before the construction of a second island and a sloping marginal wetland area along and over a section of the south perimeter wall. Many thousands of carp and other fishes were removed, and not replaced. • The Dennis King Memorial Orchard &
Sensory Garden was officially opened in 2010 to help reverse the trend in the loss of traditional English orchards and create a fully accessible community garden for local residents. Advice and recommendations were received from the East Sussex Association of Blind and Partially Sighted People (ESAB) and Thrive, a national charity dedicated to enabling positive change in the lives of disabled and disadvantaged people through the use of gardening and horticulture.
Other sites of interest • Burfield Park – In 1807, Thomas Burfield, a local saddle maker, founded his rope company in Hailsham. Ropes were produced for the demands of the re-emerging
yachting industry, which was just recovering after
World War II. Furthermore, all the official hangman's ropes used here and in the colonies were made in Hailsham. Today, Marlow Ropes has a new purpose-built factory and warehouse, and continues to manufacture ropes on the same site. • Market Square – the site of the original market, with sellers spreading out into the adjoining roads. A market cross was erected in the square to make sure all deals were seen to be "done in the sight of the Lord". The cross was removed around 1880, to allow carts to turn the corners of the roads leading to the square. • Amberstone Farm – On Sunday, 26 June 1814, the
Emperor of Russia, the
King of Prussia and their suites halted on their way to
Dover at Amberstone Farm, which, at the time, was in the hands of Samuel Rickman, whose son was born soon afterwards. The child was by imperial request, named Alexander. == Places of worship ==