Eastbourne - Simple English Wikipedia

# Eastbourne

### From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.

Eastbourne is a town in the south of England. It is in the county of East Sussex. Eastbourne is a town on the coast of the English Channel. The nearest city is Brighton & Hove.

## [edit] Geography

Eastbourne lies next to chalk hills called the South Downs. The famous chalk cliff Beachy Head is in the town. Eastbourne's architecture and buildings are mainly from the Victorian and Georgian periods. Eastbourne has recently built a marina called Sovereign Harbour which makes the town bigger.

## [edit] Census

Eastbourne's population was approximately 93,630 in 2001. [1]

- 22.7% of residents are aged 19 or below.
- 22.7% of residents are aged 20 to 39.
- 25.4% of residents are aged 40 to 59.
- 28.2% of residents are aged 60 or above.

Most jobs in Eastbourne are in tourism or tourism-related services.

## [edit] Politics

The MP for Eastbourne is Nigel Waterson of the Conservative Party. He has served as MP since 1992.

Eastbourne Borough Council has 27 members (called councillors). Currently, there are 15 Conservative councillors, 11 Liberal Democrat councillors and one independent councillor. The leader of the council is Councillor Ian Lucas.

## [edit] History

There have been people living in the Eastbourne area since 4000BC, but the town did not develop until around 1150AD. St. Mary's Church (now in Eastbourne's Old Town) was first built between 1160 and 1190. Eastbourne was strategically important during the Napoleonic Wars and had a Martello Tower built from 1804 to 1810. The tower is one of few Martello Towers that are still standing, and is now called the Wish Tower.

The town became much bigger after a railway station was built there in 1849. It joined Eastbourne to London, Brighton and the South Coast Railway. From 1858, William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Burlington (later 7th Duke of Cavendish) invested a lot of money into the town. The elegant areas of Meads, Devonshire Park and the Western Parades were developed as a result of his investment. Cavendish's influence is recognised by many place and business names in Eastbourne, for example: the Cavendish School, the Burlington Hotel, or the Devonshire Park Theatre.

Eastbourne Pier was first built in 1865. It is a famous symbol of Eastbourne and today houses amusement arcades, a nightclub and a public house. It also has a rare, working camera obscura.[2]

## [edit] Links

- Eastbourne Borough Council [3]
- The Francis Frith Collection of Historical Photographs [4]

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Category: Towns in England

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