Peacehaven
Encyclopedia
Peacehaven is a town and civil parish in the Lewes district
of East Sussex
, England
. It is located above the chalk cliffs of the South Downs
approximately six miles (9.7 km) east of Brighton
city centre, on the A259 road
. Its site coincides with the point where the Greenwich meridian
crosses the English south coast
.
barrow
(burial mound), currently under investigation by local societies very close to the cliff top. The barrow represents evidence of the occupation of Peacehaven at least 3,500 years ago.
A 2007 excavation of the new Bovis Homes
site to the west of Peacehaven Community School
's playing fields unearthed an astonishing range of evidence for a prehistoric
settlement throughout the Bronze and Iron Age
s.
Peacehaven has only existed as a settlement since 1916, after its founder, Charles Neville had purchased land in the parish of Piddinghoe
; he then set up a company to develop the site. He advertised it by setting up a competition to name the development, although the newspaper concerned — the Daily Express
— sued Neville over the competition, holding that it was a scam, since he was offering "free" plots of land in the town as runner-up prizes, but issuing them only on the payment of a conveyancing
fee. The exact name of the winner is unknown only it is believed to be a member of the Fearby family. The newspaper won the case, but the publicity brought the scheme to a large audience. The name chosen — New Anzac-on-Sea — lasted less than a year: the fateful Gallipoli campaign
led Neville to rename his development Peacehaven. By 1924 there were 3,000 people living in Peacehaven.
The town, apart from the newer development to the west named Telscombe Cliffs
& above Firle Road, still retains its original "grid" layout: rectangular plots of land on both sides of the main road. There are no "Streets" in Peacehaven, originally there were only "Roads" and "Avenues". With very few exceptions, "Roads" run east to west, and "Avenues" north to south — most forming crossroads where they intersected the South Coast Road (A259). Apart from this road, Roderick Avenue, running roughly up the centre, was the only surfaced road (except for the area of Local Authority housing around Friars Avenue (north)) in Peacehaven until the late 1950s, when the process of "making-up" the roads began. This started in Telscombe Cliffs and worked eastwards. As part of this, many of the Avenues had their junction with the main road blocked off, to reduce the number of junctions, and mainly eliminate crossroads.
Original houses were often very temporary affairs (some were old railway carriages). Others were constructed from former army huts, brought from North Camp near Seaford
, a few of these still survive, having been given an outer concrete block wall (they can be identified by their oblong shape that tends to be end on to the road). Peacehaven eventually grew to be larger in area than Lewes
, the county town
and administrative headquarters of the region.
below the cliffs can be reached by means of a pathway. There is an area of common land in the town now called The Dell, which sits between the A259 and the cliffs. A cinema formerly stood on this site. The Dell holds many events during the year from car boot sales and entertainments such as fireworks to fairgrounds, motorhome exhibitions, the Donkey Derby and an annual carnival
, though in 2005 the carnival was held on the Joff field located behind the Meridian shopping centre. In the 1950s, the carnival stalls were located on the then vacant land on the NW corner of the South Coast Road (A259) and Dorothy Avenue. Also Peacehaven & Telscombe F.C.
hosts a variety of football tournaments that range from age U10–U16 these can be seen every summer. The football club is located in the mid east of the town marked by the world famous floodlights.
The parish includes part of the Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs
Site of Special Scientific Interest
. The cliffs are mainly of geological interest, containing many Santonian
and Campanian
fossils. The SSSI listing includes flora and fauna biological interest too.
The Greenwich
meridian is marked by a 3.5 m (11.5 ft) tall obelisk
, commissioned by Charles Neville. It was unveiled on 10 August 1935 and has been relocated twice due to erosion of the cliffs.
church, to replace a temporary building which had been erected in 1922. The Roman Catholic church, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, was also founded in a temporary building in the 1920s; this survives as the church hall of the present brick structure. A Jehovah's Witnesses
Kingdom Hall and an Evangelical
church are also in use. Telscombe Cliffs United Reformed Church serves the population of both communities.
councillors.
The next level of government is Lewes District Council
with responsibilities for the wider ranging areas such as council tax collection, environmental health and democratic services. Peacehaven provides six councillors to the district council, representing the same three wards as the parish council. Election are held every four years, the May 2007 election returned six Conservative Party councillors.
The county council
for East Sussex has responsibility for Education, Libraries, Social Services, Civil Registration, Trading Standards and Transport. Elections for the County Council are held every four years. Peacehaven parish is combined with the neighbouring Telscombe parish forming the Peacehaven & Telscombe Towns electoral division which elects two councillors to the council. The May 2005 election returned two Conservative councillors with a 61% turnout.
Peacehaven is in the Brighton Kemptown constituency for the UK parliamentary elections.
At European level, Peacehaven is represented by the South-East region, which holds ten seats in the European Parliament
. The June 2004 election
returned four Conservatives, two Liberal Democrats
, two UK Independence
, one Labour
and one Green
, none of whom live in East Sussex.
, and most travel into the city for shopping and other leisure activities. Being in such close proximity to Brighton and the reliance upon the city for local amenities has led to a considerable "Brighton feel" to the town, in which many of the residents consider themselves "from Brighton". Peacehaven is twinned with the French
town of Épinay-sous-Sénart
and the German
town of Isernhagen
.
There is a leisure centre
and the Co-operative Meridian Shopping Centre
; there are also four schools in Peacehaven: Hoddern Junior school; Peacehaven Infants School; Meridian School and Peacehaven Community School
; a police station, a dentist, several doctors’ surgeries and a plentiful supply of pubs and restaurants located throughout the town. These include the independent fast food outlet "Big Mouths" on the corner of the South Coast Road and Horsham Avenue, which leads the town's al fresco dining, and the eye-catchingly named "Grindlestonkers" towards the east. There are four churches; the parish church is the Church of the Ascension, and serves both Peacehaven and Telscombe Cliffs. There are dance schools, such as Harlequin and Studio 54, as well as numerous football and martial arts clubs.
In late 2006 a number of meetings between the then Mayor, Cllr Elayne Merry, and local businesses lead to the formation of the Peacehaven & District Chamber of Commerce in February 2007. The Chamber organises regular networking and support meetings for the benefit of its members plus an annual Trade Show to promote local services. 2009 saw the first Business Awards ceremony in which the winners in each category received a "Monument" to mark their achievement.
's 1938 novel Brighton Rock when anti-hero
Pinkie Brown
intends to throw his girlfriend Rose from the high cliffs which are part of the town. More recently Peacehaven was selected for the site at which Tiffany's ashes were portrayed to be cast over the cliffs, in the BBC
soap EastEnders
in 1998, with viewers told she had spent happy childhood holidays there. Filming however, took part in the adjacent town of Seaford
. Also, a Mr. Bean
episode was shot at the cliff tops of Peacehaven and down to the beach.
The film Quadrophenia
starring Phil Daniels in the leading role as a Mod named Jimmy also ended up in Peacehaven. At the end of the film he finds out his idol, the suave Mod "poster boy" Ace Face (played by Sting), is in reality a bellboy
. He steals Ace's scooter
and heads out to Peacehaven Cliffs and an uncertain fate.
In 1978, the Oi!
/punk
band Peter and the Test Tube Babies
were formed in Peacehaven by Peter Bywaters and Del Strangefish. They are still performing today. They immortalised Peacehaven with the track "Peacehaven Wild Kids", released on the b-side of their 1980 single "Banned From The Pubs" (No Future Oi4).
Lewes (district)
Lewes is a local government district in East Sussex in southern England covering an area of , with of coastline. It is named after its administrative centre, Lewes. Other towns in the district include Newhaven, Peacehaven, and Seaford. Plumpton racecourse is within the district...
of East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is located above the chalk cliffs of the South Downs
South Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
approximately six miles (9.7 km) east of Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
city centre, on the A259 road
A259 road
The A259 is a busy road on the south coast of England passing through Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex and part of Kent. Part of the road was named "the most dangerous road in South East England" in 2008.-Description:...
. Its site coincides with the point where the Greenwich meridian
Prime Meridian
The Prime Meridian is the meridian at which the longitude is defined to be 0°.The Prime Meridian and its opposite the 180th meridian , which the International Date Line generally follows, form a great circle that divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.An international...
crosses the English south coast
Southern England
Southern England, the South and the South of England are imprecise terms used to refer to the southern counties of England bordering the English Midlands. It has a number of different interpretations of its geographic extents. The South is considered by many to be a cultural region with a distinct...
.
History
There is a Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
barrow
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
(burial mound), currently under investigation by local societies very close to the cliff top. The barrow represents evidence of the occupation of Peacehaven at least 3,500 years ago.
A 2007 excavation of the new Bovis Homes
Bovis Homes Group
Bovis Homes Group plc is a second tier national British housebuilding company based in New Ash Green, Kent. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
site to the west of Peacehaven Community School
Peacehaven Community School
Peacehaven Community School is a state secondary school for 11 to 16 year olds in Peacehaven, East Sussex.The school was opened in 2001 following a 40-year campaign by the local community for a secondary school in Peacehaven. The Headteacher is Helen Cryer....
's playing fields unearthed an astonishing range of evidence for a prehistoric
Prehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
settlement throughout the Bronze and Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
s.
Peacehaven has only existed as a settlement since 1916, after its founder, Charles Neville had purchased land in the parish of Piddinghoe
Piddinghoe
Piddinghoe is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It is located in the valley of the River Ouse between Lewes and Newhaven, five miles south of the former, downstream of Southease....
; he then set up a company to develop the site. He advertised it by setting up a competition to name the development, although the newspaper concerned — the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
— sued Neville over the competition, holding that it was a scam, since he was offering "free" plots of land in the town as runner-up prizes, but issuing them only on the payment of a conveyancing
Conveyancing
In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien....
fee. The exact name of the winner is unknown only it is believed to be a member of the Fearby family. The newspaper won the case, but the publicity brought the scheme to a large audience. The name chosen — New Anzac-on-Sea — lasted less than a year: the fateful Gallipoli campaign
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
led Neville to rename his development Peacehaven. By 1924 there were 3,000 people living in Peacehaven.
The town, apart from the newer development to the west named Telscombe Cliffs
Telscombe
Telscombe is a civil parish with the status of a town in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It consists of three distinct settlements, separated from each other by an open area of downland called Telscombe Tye....
& above Firle Road, still retains its original "grid" layout: rectangular plots of land on both sides of the main road. There are no "Streets" in Peacehaven, originally there were only "Roads" and "Avenues". With very few exceptions, "Roads" run east to west, and "Avenues" north to south — most forming crossroads where they intersected the South Coast Road (A259). Apart from this road, Roderick Avenue, running roughly up the centre, was the only surfaced road (except for the area of Local Authority housing around Friars Avenue (north)) in Peacehaven until the late 1950s, when the process of "making-up" the roads began. This started in Telscombe Cliffs and worked eastwards. As part of this, many of the Avenues had their junction with the main road blocked off, to reduce the number of junctions, and mainly eliminate crossroads.
Original houses were often very temporary affairs (some were old railway carriages). Others were constructed from former army huts, brought from North Camp near Seaford
Seaford
-In the United States of America:*Seaford, Delaware*Seaford, New York*Seaford, Virginia*Seaford Hundred, an unincorporated subdivision of Sussex County, Delaware; see List of Delaware Hundreds-In Australia:*Seaford, Victoria**Seaford railway station, Melbourne...
, a few of these still survive, having been given an outer concrete block wall (they can be identified by their oblong shape that tends to be end on to the road). Peacehaven eventually grew to be larger in area than Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, the county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
and administrative headquarters of the region.
Geography
The pebbly beachBeach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
below the cliffs can be reached by means of a pathway. There is an area of common land in the town now called The Dell, which sits between the A259 and the cliffs. A cinema formerly stood on this site. The Dell holds many events during the year from car boot sales and entertainments such as fireworks to fairgrounds, motorhome exhibitions, the Donkey Derby and an annual carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
, though in 2005 the carnival was held on the Joff field located behind the Meridian shopping centre. In the 1950s, the carnival stalls were located on the then vacant land on the NW corner of the South Coast Road (A259) and Dorothy Avenue. Also Peacehaven & Telscombe F.C.
Peacehaven & Telscombe F.C.
Peacehaven & Telscombe F.C. is a football club based in Peacehaven, East Sussex, England. They were formed in 1923 and joined the Sussex County Football League Division Two in 1969. They won the Division One title seven times in their history. They were champions of the Sussex County Football...
hosts a variety of football tournaments that range from age U10–U16 these can be seen every summer. The football club is located in the mid east of the town marked by the world famous floodlights.
Landmarks
Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs
Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex, England. The site was notified in 1986 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981...
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...
. The cliffs are mainly of geological interest, containing many Santonian
Santonian
The Santonian is an age in the geologic timescale or a chronostratigraphic stage. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series. It spans the time between 85.8 ± 0.7 mya and 83.5 ± 0.7 mya...
and Campanian
Campanian
The Campanian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch . The Campanian spans the time from 83.5 ± 0.7 Ma to 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma ...
fossils. The SSSI listing includes flora and fauna biological interest too.
The Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
meridian is marked by a 3.5 m (11.5 ft) tall obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
, commissioned by Charles Neville. It was unveiled on 10 August 1935 and has been relocated twice due to erosion of the cliffs.
Religious buildings
There are four churches in Peacehaven and one in Telscombe Cliffs. L. Keir Hett designed and built the Church of the Ascension, Peacehaven's AnglicanAnglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
church, to replace a temporary building which had been erected in 1922. The Roman Catholic church, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, was also founded in a temporary building in the 1920s; this survives as the church hall of the present brick structure. A Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
Kingdom Hall and an Evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
church are also in use. Telscombe Cliffs United Reformed Church serves the population of both communities.
Governance
Peacehaven's lowest tier of government is the Peacehaven Town Council who are responsible for local planning, highways and other amenities. The council consists of 17 elected councillors from three wards, North, West and East Peacehaven. The May 2007 election returned 17 Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
councillors.
The next level of government is Lewes District Council
Lewes (district)
Lewes is a local government district in East Sussex in southern England covering an area of , with of coastline. It is named after its administrative centre, Lewes. Other towns in the district include Newhaven, Peacehaven, and Seaford. Plumpton racecourse is within the district...
with responsibilities for the wider ranging areas such as council tax collection, environmental health and democratic services. Peacehaven provides six councillors to the district council, representing the same three wards as the parish council. Election are held every four years, the May 2007 election returned six Conservative Party councillors.
The county council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
for East Sussex has responsibility for Education, Libraries, Social Services, Civil Registration, Trading Standards and Transport. Elections for the County Council are held every four years. Peacehaven parish is combined with the neighbouring Telscombe parish forming the Peacehaven & Telscombe Towns electoral division which elects two councillors to the council. The May 2005 election returned two Conservative councillors with a 61% turnout.
Peacehaven is in the Brighton Kemptown constituency for the UK parliamentary elections.
At European level, Peacehaven is represented by the South-East region, which holds ten seats in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. The June 2004 election
European Parliament election, 2004
Elections to the European Parliament were held from 10 June 2004 to 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom...
returned four Conservatives, two Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
, two UK Independence
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
, one Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and one Green
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
, none of whom live in East Sussex.
Economy
Although an independent town, Peacehaven relies heavily on the bordering city of Brighton and Hove. Many local residents commute into work via a regular bus link supplied by Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach CompanyBrighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company
Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company operates almost all bus services in the city of Brighton and Hove in southern England. The company was established in 1884 as Brighton, Hove and Preston United Omnibus Company and has been part of the Go-Ahead Group since 1993.The company currently operates a...
, and most travel into the city for shopping and other leisure activities. Being in such close proximity to Brighton and the reliance upon the city for local amenities has led to a considerable "Brighton feel" to the town, in which many of the residents consider themselves "from Brighton". Peacehaven is twinned with the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
town of Épinay-sous-Sénart
Épinay-sous-Sénart
Épinay-sous-Sénart is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Inhabitants of Épinay-sous-Sénart are known as Spinoliens.-References:** -External links:* *...
and the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
town of Isernhagen
Isernhagen
Isernhagen is a municipality in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated right next to Hanover. Bundesautobahn 7 passes through the municipality.-Division of the municipality:Isernhagen consists of 7 districts:...
.
There is a leisure centre
Leisure centre
A leisure centre in the UK and Canada is a purpose built building or site, usually owned and operated by the city, borough council or municipal district council, where people go to keep fit or relax through using the facilities.- Typical Facilities :...
and the Co-operative Meridian Shopping Centre
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
; there are also four schools in Peacehaven: Hoddern Junior school; Peacehaven Infants School; Meridian School and Peacehaven Community School
Peacehaven Community School
Peacehaven Community School is a state secondary school for 11 to 16 year olds in Peacehaven, East Sussex.The school was opened in 2001 following a 40-year campaign by the local community for a secondary school in Peacehaven. The Headteacher is Helen Cryer....
; a police station, a dentist, several doctors’ surgeries and a plentiful supply of pubs and restaurants located throughout the town. These include the independent fast food outlet "Big Mouths" on the corner of the South Coast Road and Horsham Avenue, which leads the town's al fresco dining, and the eye-catchingly named "Grindlestonkers" towards the east. There are four churches; the parish church is the Church of the Ascension, and serves both Peacehaven and Telscombe Cliffs. There are dance schools, such as Harlequin and Studio 54, as well as numerous football and martial arts clubs.
In late 2006 a number of meetings between the then Mayor, Cllr Elayne Merry, and local businesses lead to the formation of the Peacehaven & District Chamber of Commerce in February 2007. The Chamber organises regular networking and support meetings for the benefit of its members plus an annual Trade Show to promote local services. 2009 saw the first Business Awards ceremony in which the winners in each category received a "Monument" to mark their achievement.
Media
The town plays a part in Graham GreeneGraham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
's 1938 novel Brighton Rock when anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
Pinkie Brown
Pinkie Brown
Pinkie Brown is a fictional character, the main character and antihero of Graham Greene's 1938 novel Brighton Rock.-Character overview:In the novel, Brown is portrayed as an up-and-coming gangster, the teenaged leader and enforcer of a powerful gang in the Brighton underworld...
intends to throw his girlfriend Rose from the high cliffs which are part of the town. More recently Peacehaven was selected for the site at which Tiffany's ashes were portrayed to be cast over the cliffs, in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
in 1998, with viewers told she had spent happy childhood holidays there. Filming however, took part in the adjacent town of Seaford
Seaford, East Sussex
Seaford is a coastal town in the county of East Sussex, on the south coast of England. Lying east of Newhaven and Brighton and west of Eastbourne, it is the largest town in Lewes district, with a population of about 23,000....
. Also, a Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean is a British comedy television programme series of 14 half-hour episodes written by and starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character. Different episodes were also written by Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis and one by Ben Elton. The pilot episode was broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990,...
episode was shot at the cliff tops of Peacehaven and down to the beach.
The film Quadrophenia
Quadrophenia (film)
Quadrophenia is a 1979 British film, loosely based around the 1973 rock opera of the same name by The Who. The film stars Phil Daniels as a Mod named Jimmy. It was directed by Franc Roddam in his feature directing debut...
starring Phil Daniels in the leading role as a Mod named Jimmy also ended up in Peacehaven. At the end of the film he finds out his idol, the suave Mod "poster boy" Ace Face (played by Sting), is in reality a bellboy
Bellhop
A bellhop, also bellboy or bellman, is a hotel porter, who helps patrons with their luggage while checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform , like certain other page boys or doormen...
. He steals Ace's scooter
Scooter (motorcycle)
A scooter is a motorcycle with step-through frame and a platform for the operator's feet. Elements of scooter design have been present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motorcycles identifiable as scooters have been made from 1914 or earlier...
and heads out to Peacehaven Cliffs and an uncertain fate.
In 1978, the Oi!
Oi!
Oi! is a working class subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads and other working-class youths ....
/punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Peter and the Test Tube Babies
Peter and the Test Tube Babies
Peter and the Test Tube Babies are a punk rock band that was formed in the small town of Peacehaven, England in 1978 by Del Strangefish and Peter Bywaters. Due to their humorous tongue-in-cheek lyrics, they have been considered part of the Punk Pathetique subgenre...
were formed in Peacehaven by Peter Bywaters and Del Strangefish. They are still performing today. They immortalised Peacehaven with the track "Peacehaven Wild Kids", released on the b-side of their 1980 single "Banned From The Pubs" (No Future Oi4).
Twin towns - Sister cities
Épinay-sous-SénartÉpinay-sous-SénartÉpinay-sous-Sénart is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Inhabitants of Épinay-sous-Sénart are known as Spinoliens.-References:** -External links:* *...
IsernhagenIsernhagenIsernhagen is a municipality in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated right next to Hanover. Bundesautobahn 7 passes through the municipality.-Division of the municipality:Isernhagen consists of 7 districts:...