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With the coming of the railway to the South Coast in the 1840’s more visitors were to
discover the delights of Bexhill. An early arrival, Lord de la Warr, seeing the great
possibilities of the area, began developing the land between the old Saxon village of Bexlei and
the sea.
At the peak of British colonialism, Lord de la Warr advertised the new town in the Calcutta
Times as “ideal for the Army Officer and his family to take his leave or retirement”, and so set
the style of quiet refinement for which the town is noted. As a result, many substantial properties were built within yards of the seashore, and a terrace
of six such town houses now comprise The Northern Hotel.
It’s hard to trace back why it was called ‘The Northern’, but when the late Eliza & Arthur Sims
purchased the property in the 1950’s it was probably already called this. As Bexhill was a
booming resort in the late 1880’s and early 1900’s, it may well have been to attract the
‘Northerners’ to the property, then run as a
bed & breakfast.
For more information try:
The Bexhill Museum,
The Bexhill-on-Sea
Guide, The De La Warr Pavilion,
and
The Costume Museum
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