‘Then, before then, before that and now’

Four phases of ‘The Memorial’

Ion Castro looks into his archive

Many of us, especially older ones like me, still refer to the town centre as ‘The Memorial’, no, not the Shopping centre but the place, partially pedestrianised, where Havelock Road meets Cambridge Road, Robertson Street, Harold Place, Wellington Place and York Buildings, Queens Road and Station Road, where, in 1863 a memorial to Albert the Good, Queen Victoria’s husband was erected to commemorate the untimely death in 1861 of the Queen’s consort. The Memorial lasted until 1973 and gave its name to the area but what was there before that? Continue reading ‘Then, before then, before that and now’

Hastings Ripper

THE DEMON BARBER OF GEORGE STREET

DID JACK THE RIPPER LIVE IN HASTINGS?

By Helena Wojtczak In 1888 a serial killer called Jack the Ripper terrorised the streets of London’s East End. He was never caught and his identity remains a mystery to this day. More than 170 names have been put forward as possible suspects, including Queen Victoria’s grandson the Duke of Clarence and the artist Walter Sickert. But many people believe that Jack the Ripper was a man called George Chapman, who worked for a time as a barber in George Street, Hastings. Continue reading Hastings Ripper