In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Hailsham like this:
HAILSHAM, a small town, a parish, a sub-district, and a district, in Sussex. The village stands in a pleasant vale, on the Polegate and Uckfield railway, 1¾.mile E of the Cuckmere river, 5¼ miles NW of Pevensey bay, and 11 E by S of Lewes; is a seat of petty sessions and a police court; and has a railway station with telegraph, a post office‡ under Hurst Green, a banking office, three good inns, a church, a dissenting chapel, and charities £20. ...
The police court house is a neat erection of 1861. The church is later English; consists of nave and two aisles; and has a low pinnacled tower. A cattle and sheep market is held on alternate Wednesdays, and is one of the largest in the county; and fairs are held on 6 April and 3 June. The parish comprises 5, 283 acres. Real property, £7, 392. Pop. in 1851, 1,825; in 1861, 2, 098. Houses, 403. The increase of pop. arose from the influence of the railway, and from the enlargement.of a ropery. The property is much subdivided. A priory of Black canons was founded at Michaelham, on the river Cuckmere, in the time of Henry III.; and is now represented, partly by a tower, partly by a farmhouse. A Premonstratensian monastery was founded, at Otham, by Ralph de Dene, and afterwards removed to Bayham; and traces of its walls still exist. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Chichester. Value, £356. * Patron, Mr. Sheppard.—The sub-district contains also the parishes of Arlington, Herstmonceux, Wartling, Hooe, and Ninfield. Acres, 25, 245. Pop., 6, 005. Houses, 1, 107. The district comprehends also the sub-district of Hellingly, containing the parishes of Hellingly, Chiddingly, Langhton, Warbleton, and Heathfield. Acres, 54, 365. Poor rates in 1863, £8, 816. Pop. in 1851, 13, 289; in 1861, 12, 668. Houses, 2, 370. Marriages in 1862, 83; births, 388, of which 38 were illegitimate; deaths, 222, of which 56 were at ages under 5 years, and 9 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 833; births, 4, 326; deaths, 2, 267. The places of worship, in 1851, were 15 of the Church of England, with 3, 949 sittings; 8 of Independents, with 1, 707 s.; 4 of Baptists, with 1, 200 s.; 3 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 400 s.; 3 of Calvinistic Methodists, with 580 s.; and 2 undefined, with 200 attendants. The schools were 14 public day schools, with 1, 239 scholars; 41 private day schools, with 582 s.; 25 Sunday schools, with 1,867 s.; and 5 evening schools for adults, with 248 s. The workhouse is in Hellingly.
Hailsham through time
Hailsham is now part of Wealden district. Click here for graphs and data of how Wealden has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Hailsham itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Hailsham, in Wealden and Sussex | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/8534
Date accessed: 28th April 2024
Not where you were looking for?
Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Hailsham".