Waterworks Road

Waterworks Road

At around 160 meters long, Waterworks Road is so named for the Watermill that used to be roughly where the road intersects Queen's Road, this being demolished at some point prior to the construction of the Gas Works which opened in 1830.

Watermill

Few records exist of the watermill itself, although there is in the Collier and Milward archives reference to the area of this road being known as the 'Watermill Brook' with accounts dating to 1738, a conveyance dated to 30 Aug. 1769 of a mill (possibly not this one) which was originally a powder mill to "Edward Milward from Elias Sinnock of Ore, blacksmith, and his wife Elizabeth, late Elizabeth Thatcher, one of the devisees of John Bossom of Hastings, cordwainer".

This conveyance is one of a number appearing during the 18th Century. A number of leases also appear, one dated to 29 Sept 1813, described thus:-Edward Milward of Hastings, esq to Mark Godden of Ore, gardener - piece of land known as Watermill Brook (3a 1r 0p) Hastings St Andrew and Hastings St Mary in the Castle (NW: lands belonging to Mrs Sayer; NE: lane leading from the seaside to Ore; W and SE: other lands belonging to EM) Witness: John Tompsett"

Development

By 1868, there is record of a slaughterhouse and stable to the rear of numbers 1 & 3, with a coach house at the rear of number 5 and stables and a workhouse behind numbers 7 & 9 - all of these properties being to the southern side of the road and plans apportioning this and adjoining streets into building plots having been drawn up by Messrs Voysey, Jeffery and Skiller in July of 1865.

Housing on the north side of the road (even numbers 4-20) appears to have been in the planning stage circa 1871 (although the below plan from the Ion Castro collection reportedly dates to 1800 and names them as 'Alfred Terrace') - the houses in fact first appear on mapping from Ordnance Survey dating to 1873, by which time number 5 is now a flour mill. In addition, one of the properties in Queen's Road opposite the junction and slightly to the south is shown on the map, yet dated in the render of the building to 1870.

An Air Raid Shelter is known to have been situated in the Corporation Yard to the north of the road during WW2.

Images

• Images
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  Map from Ion Castro Collection believed to be incorrectly dated to circa 1800.

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  Construction-of-the-Gasometer-in-Waterworks-Road.-1892.

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  Gasometer construction c1892

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  Tapners-Fire-1909

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  Dengates-truck-outside-their-depository-warehouse-in-Waterworks-Road.-1935.

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  Location of Waterworks Road Abattoir