Eastbourne sits on the south coast of East Sussex between Brighton and Hastings. It is a large seaside town with some 90,000 inhabitants, but began as a small village in Saxon times.

Prior to this, Bronze-age settlers lived in various areas within and around what is now the town, and Celts are known to have settled on the South Downs at the top of Eastbourne.

Eastbourne's name comes from 'Burne' the stream which ran through the Old Town of Eastbourne, but which is now just a small pond in Motcombe Gardens. It is overlooked by St. Mary's Church, a Norman church which alledgedly lies on the site of a Saxon Moot. The 'East' was added in the 13th century.

Edward II visited the village of East Burne in 1324 and the village began to grow. In the 1450s, Eastbourne men "Thomas Profot - gentilman, Richard Burton - yeoman and Thomas Motard - yeaoman" are all pardoned after Jack Cade's rebellion against the government in 1450. And in 1467 The Manor of Bourne was held by Baron de Roos, though it is later denied him due to his support of the Lancastrian movement.

During the middle ages the area prospered as a major sheep farming and fishing area and in 1555 East Bourne was sold to three wealthy Sussex families - Burton, Gildredge and Selwyn. In 1556 Bourne Place (now Compton Place) was built, and still stands as a private ladies training college today.

At the end of the 17th century, Eastbourne folk were involved in battle with the French - and on on 30th June 1690 the English and Dutch navies were unsuccessful as they fought the French off Beachy Head. In 1717 Roman chequer-worked pavement, a bath and antiquities were discovered near Sea Houses, the seafront area of the town.

After Dr Richard Russell of Lewes published his 'Dissertation on the Use of Sea Water' and encouraged people to visit the seaside to improve their health in 1752 people began to be more interested in visiting the sea for leisure and health, and George III sealed Eastbourne's reputation as a resort by sending his children to stay at the Round House, which overlooked the water in 1780. When the Round House was demolished in 1841, mosaic tiling was found beneath - further evidence of Roman occupation.

In 1804-5, two Martello Towers were erected (one on Wish Hill and the other at the Redoubt,) to defend Eastbourne against Napolean and the marauding French. Soon after this time, schools, churches and hotels began to appear and the town rapidly began its development towards the resort known today as the Sun Trap of the South.