Brandard (John) after John Thorpe.

Marina St. Leonards, Looking West,

£125


Hastings, Thomas Mann, 1850.
one of eight locally published scenes from ‘Mann’s Views of Hastings and St Leonard’s’, after the local artist, John Thorpe, who was born in nearby Fairlight in 1813. This view shows the completed first phase of the elegant Georgian seaside resort, conceived and constructed by the most successful developer of the period, James Burton (1761-1837), hence the traditional name of Burton’s St Leonard’s. The viewpoint is on the early promenade contained by a simple and low sea wall, at about the point where the later 19th century St Leonard’s Pier would be sited. It shows the end of the long colonnade on the right, followed by Burton’s own small villa, and then extends away to the west, towards Bulverhythe, Bexhill, and Beachy Head. The recreational purpose of the area is emphasised by the elegantly dressed figures on the promenade and the horse-drawn bathing machines on the beach,.