Harbour Field Recreation Ground, Winchelsea Beach

Image: © Simon Carey Taken: 21 Apr 2019

For a brief period in the 18th century this was the site of the new harbour for Rye. Both Rye and Winchelsea had seen their ports decline rapidly due to the actions of the sea, the latter was abandoned as a port in the 16th century whilst Rye's importance had dwindled to nothing by the 1640s. A scheme to open a new harbour here had been suggested as early as 1593 by an Italian engineer, Federico Genebelli, but was vetoed by the Rye town commissioners who believed it would benefit Winchelsea more than them. However, the scheme was revived in 1724 and worked commenced on building a new outlet from the River Brede to the sea at this point. What followed was nearly 60 years of muddled incompetence, financial problems, nepotism and a persistant port versus rural hinterland stand off, which often resulted in sections being built then demolished before being rebuilt again, the harbour being dredged then lift to silt up before dredging started once more. Things reached a head in 1762 when the Harbour Commissioners of Rye bought in John Smeaton on a consultancy basis to give the project kudos. Smeaton, the builder of Eddystone Lighthouse, suggested that the Rother, Tillingham and Brede should be joined then sent down the channel in order to scour the entrance. After 25 more years of incompetence and poor management the harbour was opened on 14 July 1787 and immediately hit problems regarding the harbour entrance which was exarcebated by further problems of the intricate drainage system inland resulting in the final abandonment on 6 November 1787, barely 4 months after opening. The harbour is still marked on the first OS map published in 1813 but with a large spit that forces the channel into the sea in TQ9316. By Pett's 1839 tithe map, it had become a pasture field called New Harbour. The settlement of Winchelsea Beach is relatively new, dating from the interwar period. The field itself was given to the people of the new community as a recreation ground in the early 1950s. This view looks southwards down what was the channel where the curve of the land gives an idea of where the watercourse once ran.

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