the cause of that difference. Many of the labourers who had families lived in temporarily constructed huts, and on the 21st of October, seven of such huts in the parish of Ore were burnt to the ground.
For robbing a ganger, a man named William Gates was sent to Lewes for trial on the 3rd of November. The charge, was that he had robbed the ganger while asleep out of doors, of a silver watch, worth £3.00, one sovereign[1], five half sovereign[2]s and a florin. On the 12th of the same month, a man named George Lee lost one eye, with a probability of losing the other in an operation of blasting some part of the Ore tunnel.
On the 7th of December a young man named Richard Jones was taken to the Infirmary, he having been nearly buried and severely hurt by a fall of earth between Hastings and Battle. Frederick Hilton, a lad, was also in the Infirmary with a broken thigh. These two accidents were on the South-Eastern Railway works on the London and Hastings branch.
Although the Hastings and Ashford line was not opened for public traffic until 1851, of which opening and other particulars will be found in chapter XLVI — the work of keying the St. Leonards and Hastings tunnels, as a finishing touch, was arranged for the 28th of October. Alderman Thomas Farncomb, Lord Mayor of London, was invited to perform the operation; and, albeit, I have given details of the ceremony in my “History of the Farncombs” [(Historico-Biographies, Vol 1)] its repetition here is necessary to complete my story of the Hastings and Ashford railway, in 1850.
His lordship having accepted the invitation of the directors of the South Eastern Railway Company to put the finishing touch to their Ashford, Rye and Hastings branch, the event was regarded with much curiosity by the people of Hastings, and specially so by those who had supported the South-Eastern Company in preference to the Brighton Company for communication with London and Hastings. There was, therefore, excitement on the morning of the appointed day, but there was also not a little depression, it being viewed by some as a bad augury that, unlike the brilliant weather which attended his lordship’s first state-visit to Hastings, the day was wet and miserable, added to which there was on the preceding day an unfortunate landslip of 30,000 cubic yards of earth on the north side of the Mount Pleasant tunnel. By this untoward accident the rails were forced upward and outward many feet from their position. All hands were at once set to the seemingly superhuman work of clearing away the obtruding earth and getting the rails back into their place. Stupendous efforts were made by all concerned, the promise of extra pay causing the workmen to exert themselves to the utmost. Thus from Sunday morning until about noon on Monday the work of reparation was continued, during which just when hope returned that the difficulty would be surmounted some more of the earth slid down and increased both the labour and anxiety. Additional men were got together from other parts of the line where their services were still required, the consequence of which was the want of completion of the line in the parish of Guestling until within an hour or two of the contemplated time. Even up to the last moment it was feared that the line would not be in readiness for the Mayors of London and Hastings to accomplish their work on the day appointed; and here it should be stated that Mayor Farncomb was to perform the ceremony of keying-in the Mount Pleasant tunnel and the St. Leonards tunnel, whilst Mayor Scrivens was to insert the last brick in the Hastings tunnel. Two of these objects and actions were ultimately accomplished, but for reasons hereafter shewn, the third had to be abandoned.
No difficulty was apprehended in the journey of the Lord Mayor and his party from Ashford to Rye, at which latter town it was proposed the train should stop, and an address be presented from the inhabitants: but as there was still a doubt as to the possibility of removing the obstruction further on, other means were adopted for bringing the party to Hastings, should the necessity arise. Mr C. P. Hutchings, of the Marine Hotel, was also a large fly-proprietor, and being well acquainted with Mr. Hoof, the contractor, as well as with his highly-respected son — the latter of whom regrettably died at the hotel — was appealed to for providing a large number of conveyances, some to go to Rye with the Company’s engineer and chairman of directors, and some to a nearer part of the line, in each case to return with such of the travelling party as might not have been able to proceed further. But as supporting the aphorism that "mishaps come not singly," other accidents and disappointments occurred, as will here be described. Mr. Hutchings got together some twenty or more carriages, of which number nine or ten were sent to the neighbourhood of Bunger-hill — where quite recently a station has been formed—and the remainder to Rye. In the journey to Rye, however, the horses attached to the carriage in which Mr. Macgregor and Captain Barlow were seated ran away, upsetting the carriage and throwing its occupants to the ground. The first-named gentleman escaped unhurt, but Captain Barlow received some injuries. In another carriage was Mr G. Scrivens, our Hastings Mayor, who received the two gentlemen into his carriage, and thus enabled them to continue their journey to Rye. That such an accident should have occurred is no source of wonderment to persons who have travelled to or from Rye via the Guestling and Icklesham hills in bygone times, when they were in a worse condition than they are now; and especially is it no surprise to me who have had two similar "spills" while travelling that route. It seemed, however, that there was to be no end to the many accidents which happened before the completion of that line of railway, some of which, as being intimately acquainted with Capt. Barlow (engineer), Mr. Macgregor (chairman of Directors), Mr: Butt (assistant-engineer), Messrs. Newton, Smith, Fisher and Mendy (contractors) and Mr. Fry (surgeon), I was called upon to assist at or otherwise to witness. It is my intention to give a classified list of the numerous accidents as I proceed with my general history; and if it should seem that my own personality is too frequently introduced in what I write, the explanation is that I am prompted by the desire to offer vouchers of accuracy through opportunities of personal attestation. It may also be stated that I was at the time a contributor to a county paper. I purpose, however, to complete the story of the Lord Mayor’s last public visit to Hastings by appropriating the excellent report of the Hastings and St. Leonards News, the oldest of our local journals.
On the arrival of the expected train at Rye, the occupants were received by the Mayor and Corporation and the leading gentry and trade, who had walked in procession from the Town Hall, preceded by the mace-bearers, a band of music, flags, &c.; flags were also hoisted on the Church, the Town Hall, Landgate Tower, &c.; and a temporary arch was erected over the line near the station, bearing the word "Welcome," in gold letters, with the Cinque Ports arms and the arms of the City of London on either side, decorated with evergreens. Merry peals were rung from the church bells. The Lord Mayor, the Chairman and Directors, with their friends, alighted at the station, where the following address was read by E. N. Dawes, Esq., Town Clerk: :—
To the Chairman and Directors of the South Eastern Railway Company.
Sir and Gentlemen, We, the Mayor and Corporation and Inhabitants of the Ancient Town and Port of Rye, cordially and sincerely greet you on your arrival here this day, and on the completion of the works of the Ashford, Rye and Hastings Line.
We hail it as a prospect of a new era for the benefit of this Town, and we hope that you may long continue to manage the affairs of this important Company, advantageously to the interests of those whom you represent, feeling as we do, that under such circumstances an opportunity will be afforded for the development of the resources and energies of those who now respectfully address you and give you a hearty welcome.
Signed on behalf of the meeting, JEREMIAH SMITH, Mayor. Dated 28th October, 1850.
Mr. MacGregor made a suitable reply. The whole party then partook of refreshment; after which they left, amid loud cheers from the spectators, of whom there were upwards of a thousand. P. Barlow, Esq., engineer in chief, preceded the train in a beautifully constructed miniature engine, to which was attached a coupé carriage, so as to pilot the travellers. On reaching Guestling, nearly an hour’s delay took place, the road not having been completed for a short space. At length the Ore tunnel was reached (which is 1380 yards long), and here the important ceremony took place of nominally completing the work, by inserting the last brick. Accompanied by the Chairman and Directors, the engineers and other invited friends, his Lordship alighted from the train, and having ascended the platform erected for the purpose, after a short address, the brick was pronounced to be deposited in its (we trust} long resting place in a “workmanlike manner” — having, it would seem, been pronounced by the engineer as satisfactorily completed.
In the interim a scene had been going on at the Terminus about which we, as chroniclers of the day's proceedings, must say a few words. In the circulars of invitation issued by the Directors to the Town Council of Hastings, and other guests, to the déjeuner at the Swan Hotel, one o'clock was named as the hour of arrival. About this time numbers might be seen wending their way towards the Priory, attracted by the strains of the Town Band, which was waiting to greet the train's arrival. A great concourse had assembled, although the ground was exceedingly damp, from the heavy rain. One o'clock came, two o'clock came, but no train, nor any tidings of it, and the public mind began to waver as to the probability of its reaching Hastings at all. By half-past two many began to think of returning home, feeling assured that something had occurred to prevent the auspicious event from coming off at all, The ballast engine went up the line to reconnoitre, but was not many minutes ere it returned at a rapid speed, and in the distance the curling smoke, of another engine was descried when, in an instant, the cry was raised, "They come, they come!” In this, however, disappointment had again to be submitted to. The Sampson, with three second-class carriages attached, had piloted the road, but could give no account of the voyageurs, they not having -
- ↑ An explanation of old currency and coinage may be found at the following website Pre-decimal currency, accessdate: 16 June 2022
- ↑ An explanation of old currency and coinage may be found at the following website Pre-decimal currency, accessdate: 16 June 2022
