Newhaven

The Area

Newhaven is a working port and a major cross-Channel terminal. People have  lived in and around the town since Iron Age dwellers built a fort on Castle Hill above the harbour.

The River Ouse originally ran parallel to the sea with its outlet at Seaford but, in 1579, during the reign of Elizabeth I, a storm blocked the mouth with shingle  and forced the river to find a new outlet. This new harbour town was known as New Haven.

In the 16th Century, the area was marshy and prone to flooding. A canal was cut to the sea to ease the flooding and a fixed harbour entrance built.

Newhaven flourished with imports and exports. Oak was exported, wines came from the continent and and slab ice arrived from the Baltic.

Breweries and shipyards added to the town’s prosperity. The cross-Channel service to Dieppe began, using paddle steamers. Soon after, in 1848, the imposing London and Paris Hotel was built. The hotel, which was demolished 110 years later, would have been the last glimpse of Britain by British and Canadian soldiers as they set out on the ill-fated Dieppe raid of 1942.

Firms based in the town include Cash Bases, Bevan Funnel and Fludes. It is now the European headquarters of manufacturing giant Newell Rubbermaid.

There is a new business and training centre on the once rundown Denton Island and work will soon begin on another.

Newhaven has one of the longest associations with lifeboats of any British port as rescue crafts have been built there since 1803.

Shops and homes

Newhaven has a good selection of shops, restaurants and pubs and is currently undergoing intensive regeneration and investment and is popular with residential developers.

The West Quay, south of the swing bridge, has been transformed with new housing and a pleasant open space.

Places of interest

The town has much to offer visitors. Bathers have the choice of beaches to the east and west of the harbour entrance.

Newhaven Fort is a leading military museum, attracting about 35,000 visitors annually. The fort was built in the 1860s to deter invaders.

North of the town, Garden Paradise is one of the South’s busiest gardening centres.

Schools

Denton Community School, Acacia Road, Denton. 01273 513377.
Grays School, Western Road. 01273 513968.
Meeching Valley Primary, Valley Road. 01273 514300.
Southdown Junior, Church Hill. 01273 514532.
Telscombe Cliffs Community Primary, Central Avenue, Telscombe Cliffs. 01273 583113.
Tideway Community School and Sixth Form Centre, Southdown Road. 01273 517601.