insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 23 - January 2017 | Page 31

TOWNSPOTLIGHT SPOTLIGHT ON HAILSHAM Hailsham is one of East Sussex’s best kept secrets. Beautiful, scenic and brimming with modern amenities, the town has its own distinct personality. Just eight miles from Eastbourne, charming Hailsham is the place to go when you need to get away from the hustle and bustle of bigger towns. It is a calming, picturesque kind of place with an energetic community feel, but where life seems that little bit slower. HISTORY IN BRIEF Although it was first thought that the original settlers in Hailsham were the Romans when they invaded in AD 43, it was later discovered that the area was inhabited as far back as the Neolithic period: 10,200 to 4,500 BC. Hailsham was an integral part of the Anglo Saxon invasion in AD 477; this is where the fighting hordes took refuge, and was one of the first areas to become part of the new South Saxon (now Sussex) kingdom. Hailsham might, therefore, be the very oldest area of Sussex altogether. In 1252, Henry III granted Hailsham a market charter, which meant that the town could legally run a market. It has done ever since, and the markets today (held on Saturdays and Thursdays, along with a monthly farmers’ market) are very popular. 31