Hastings Contemporary

Winkle Island is a traffic island at the heart of Hastings Old Town in East Sussex, England, in the United Kingdom. It is part of a unique area in Hastings called 'The Stade' (the old Saxon term for 'landing place') and the stretch of shingle beach from which Hastings' famous fishing fleet has been launched every day for over a thousand years. Winkle Island is located at the foot of All Saints Street at its junction with Rock-A-Nore Road at Hastings seafront. The small island is part of many outdoor events and festivals, such as the Hastings Old Town Week, and Jack In The Green. It is also the symbolic gathering place of the Winkle Club charity, as well as other local artistic events and street performances. A sculpture of a giant winkle, a marine gastropod, stands on the pavement. It was made by a member and given to the club by J. B. Jones. It is used as a collecting box for charity purposes.

Hastings Old Town is an area in Hastings, England, roughly corresponding to the extent of the town prior to the nineteenth century. It lies mainly within the easternmost valley of the current town. The shingle beach known as The Stade (the old Saxon term meaning "landing place") is home to the biggest beach-launched fishing fleet in Britain. Many events take place every year in the old town, including Jack In The Green and the Bonfire Procession. Many of these events are centred on Winkle Island, which is also the gathering place of the Winkle Club.

The Stade is a shingle beach in Hastings Old Town, Hastings, East Sussex, England. It has been used for beaching boats for more than a thousand years. It is now home to Europe's largest fleet of beach-launched fishing boats. The word stade is a Saxon term meaning landing place. The beach was originally a small landing area; hence the small footprint of the net shops. The building of the 1887 groyne at Rock-A-Nore and the 1896 harbour, however, stopped the eastward longshore transport of shingle along the coast, which is the function of groynes. As a result, the Stade steadily grew seaward, providing new room for the fishing fleet and necessary amenities.

Rock-a-Nore is an urban area of Hastings, East Sussex, England, stretching from the Old Town area along Rock-a-Nore Road between the cliffs and the beach called The Stade. Its name was officially adopted in 1859 and derives from a former building "lyinge to the Mayne Rock against the north".Rock-a-Nore contains the Blue Reef Aquarium, the Fishermen's Museum, and the East Hill Cliff Railway, and borders The Stade, with its tall black wooden "net shop" sheds, which were built to provide a weather proof store for the fishing gear. The sheds are tarred black and weatherboarded.

Hastings Fishermen's Museum is a museum dedicated to the fishing industry and maritime history of Hastings, a seaside town in East Sussex, England. It is housed in a former church, officially known as St Nicholas' Church and locally as The Fishermen's Church, which served the town's fishing community for nearly 100 years from 1854. After wartime damage, occupation by the military and subsequent disuse, the building (an unconsecrated mission chapel) was leased from the local council by a preservation society, which modified it and established a museum in it. It opened in 1956 and is now one of the most popular tourist attractions in the town and borough of Hastings. The building, a simple Gothic Revival-style stone chapel, has been listed at Grade II by English Heritage for its architectural and historical importance.

East Hill Cliff Railway, or East Hill Lift, is a funicular railway located in the English seaside town of Hastings. It provides access to Hastings Country Park via the East Hill, which overlooks the Old Town and Rock-a-Nore, an area to the east of Hastings. The line provides views over The Stade, home to the largest beach-launched fishing fleet in Europe. The line is owned and operated by Hastings Borough Council and has the following technical parameters: Length: 267 feet (81 m) Gradient: 38% Cars: 2 Capacity: 16 passengers per car Configuration: Double track Gauge: 5 ft (1,524 mm) Traction: ElectricityThe line was opened in August 1902 by Hastings Borough Council. It was originally operated on the water balance principle, and the twin towers of the upper station contained water tanks for this purpose. The line was modernised between 1973 and 1976, during which time it was converted to electric operation and new cars were provided.The line was shut in June 2007 because of an incident where a fault in a control panel caused the cars to fail to stop at the correct point, resulting in damage to both cars and stations. In 2008, Hastings Borough Council decided on a major refurbishment involving new cars and new control and safety systems, together with repairs to the damaged stations. The line reopened in March 2010. Following the closure of lines in Broadstairs and Margate, the East Hill Cliff Railway is now the steepest funicular railway in the United Kingdom. It is complemented by the West Hill Cliff Railway, which provides access to Hastings Castle and the Smugglers Adventure in St. Clements Caves.A model of the East Hill Cliff Railway is on public display at the Brighton Toy and Model Museum.

The Shipwreck Museum is an independent charitable museum in the historic Old Town of Hastings, UK. The museum has artefacts from many ships wrecked in the English Channel from the Goodwin Sands in Kent to Pevensey Bay in East Sussex, including the Amsterdam, a Dutch East Indiaman of 1749, and the Anne of 1690, a warship of Charles II. There are also exhibits of fossils found in the local area.

St Clements Caves are show caves located on the West Hill in Hastings, East Sussex. The caves were named after a nearby parish church and since 1989 are home to the "Smugglers Adventure" tourist attraction which tells the story of smuggling on the South Coast of England 200 years ago.

The Stag Inn is a public house in the Old Town area of Hastings, a port and seaside resort in East Sussex, England. One of many ancient buildings on All Saints Street, the 16th-century timber-framed inn was refronted in the 18th century, but many of its original features remain. The preserved bodies of two smoke-blackened mummified cats have been displayed on a wall since their discovery in the 19th century; witchcraft has been suggested as an explanation for this "grisly sight". The inn, which claims to be Hastings' oldest surviving pub, is operated as a tied house by the Shepherd Neame Brewery, and has been listed at Grade II by English Heritage for its architectural and historical importance.

St Mary Star of the Sea Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Hastings, East Sussex, England. It was built from 1882 to 1883 and designed by Basil Champneys. It is situated on the High Street, backing onto The Bourne in the Old Town. It was founded by the Pallottines and is a Grade II listed building. English Heritage describes the church as a "well crafted building of high quality."

Ebenezer Particular Baptist Chapel is a former Strict Baptist place of worship in Hastings, East Sussex, England. Founded in 1817 by members of the congregation of an older Baptist chapel in the ancient town, it was extended several times in the 19th century as attendances grew during Hastings' period of rapid growth as a seaside resort. It was closed and converted into a house in the late 20th century, but still stands in a prominent position in Hastings Old Town. English Heritage has listed the building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.

The Hastings Miniature Railway is a 10+1⁄4 in (260 mm) gauge miniature railway located on the seafront at Hastings, a seaside resort, town, and ancient cinque port, in East Sussex, England. Opened in 1948, it remains a popular tourist attraction. The line was re-opened in the summer of 2011 after a period of reconstruction and restoration, which coincided with a forced closure of the eastern part of the line, to facilitate building work on a new art gallery adjacent to the railway.