The funicular terminus on East Hill can be seen from some locations in the Old Town and this is from the junction of Courthouse Street and High Street.

View full size

This part of the Stade is where the fishing boats are beached. There was an attempt to build a harbour here but that was mainly unsuccessful leaving part of a wall which now acts as a breakwater.

View full size

Along Rock-a-Nore Road, east of the funicular station, is the Fisherman's Museum housed in the old Fisherman's Chapel. One of the exhibits is the last of the local sailing luggers - built in 1912.

The Museum is the former Fishermen's Church of St Nicholas. It was built in 1854 on the beach at the heart of the fishing industry because fishermen rarely attended the two nearby parish churches of All Saints and St Clements.

This picture is taken from the deck of the old lugger.

View full size

Another of the exhibits in the Fishermen's Museum is this 14-feet long fully-rigged model of the 1514 warship 'Henri Grace A Dieu' (The Great Harry), built in 1922.

The Museum was set up by the Old Hastings Preservation Society in 1956. The society wanted to save the Fishermen's Church as a building, and had been offered one of the last of the Hastings luggers, the Enterprise RX 278, by its owner Harold Pepper. Hastings Council leased the church to the society and the borough engineer, in April 1956, demolished part of the southern wall so that the Enterprise could be pulled in.

Entry is free but the society relies heavily on donations to keep the museum running so do make a donation if you can.

View full size