With old Winchelsea at the bottom of the sea, King Edward I gave orders that a site for its replacement be found. In 1282, it was found; the hill of Iham, three miles from the sea and with suitable access for a port in the estuary of the River Brede. Above the port would be the new Winchelsea.
There was already a small village on part of the hill, with its own church dedicated to St. Leonard. In addition, there was a manor house surrounded by fields for growing crops and grazing animals. There were a number of different landowners involved, including the great abbeys of Battle and Fecamp in Normandy. After some negotiations the king owned 150 acres and proclaimed that a new Winchelsea would rise, ‘in lieu of our town of Winchelsea, which is in great part submersed by the innundations of the sea.’ Sites for important buildings were chosen, and a grid plan for the streets decided upon. Everyone was happy except, so it seems, the people of the existing village. They complained that they would be surrounded by the noise and dirt that always accompany a major building project.
There is a document still surviving from 1292, called the Foundation Rental List. Its main section is headed, ‘Rental of burgage plots 1292.’ It states, ‘the following are the plots allocated, handed over, and rented out in the newly built town of Winchelsea.’ It then names the tenants, the size of their plot of land, the rent and where it was on the plan. The hill was divided up into 39 quarters, holding 802 plots. Seventy nine of these comprised the land by the harbour; the remaining 723 were up on the hill of Iham.
Why did the king decide on a grid system for his new town? We know that the ancient Greeks and Romans used this practical style. Even some of the early Saxon towns utilised them, sometimes building over Roman sites. However, most towns just grew piecemeal, with new buildings added as and when the need arose, perhaps like the ribbon development that affected our towns from the 1930s. The Winchelsea grid was most likely chosen because King Edward already owned towns in the Duchy of Gascony, called bastides, derived from the French word bastier, to build. They were built on the grid system. It is believed that Winchelsea was modelled on the town of Monsegur, near Bordeaux – the name means hill of safety. This was the idea behind the new town on the hill – safe from the sea. One of the men responsible for building the new Winchelsea was an experienced bastide builder from Gascony. There were a variety of houses on the hill. The Alard family, famous for one of its members being Mayor of Winchelsea, and for piracy, built a very grand, stone house named Firebrand. Coveted sites were on the corners of the grid system, allowing for two grand facades.
We know the names of some of these first citizens, and many were unusual names, which possibly no longer exist in the town. They included William Half-Herring, Richard Blobbere, John Death and the euphonious Dionysus Mares. Records show that by about 1300, several thousand people were comfortably settled in the new town.
King Edward visited, and was inspecting his fleet at anchor in the harbour. He was seated on his horse, looking down from the wall. It is said that his horse, unnerved by the sound of the sails of a windmill, panicked and, to escape, jumped over the wall. Everyone present, ‘stood completely thunderstruck, with no one believing anything other than that the king, not appearing on the steep slope, had perished.’ To the amazement of the crowd, shortly after, the king’s horse trotted through the gate, with a muddy but otherwise unharmed king in the saddle. By chance they had fallen into a pool of mud. Unsurprisingly the area became known as King’s Leap.
Winchelsea is well-known for its abundance of large cellars, for the storage of barrels of wine – but not just for storage. It seems that some were also used as wine shops. Most of the cellars, it comes as no surprise to learn, were in the best parts of town. We know that the Alard family owned eight such cellars, out of a total of 70. Winchelsea was a real oenophile’s dream. Between 1306 – 07, the records show that in 21 shipments, just Winchelsea’s own ships brought in 737,000 gallons of wine. Wine was the lifeblood of the town, used, not just for pleasure and entertainment – ‘the creator of the world’s happiness,’ as one writer described it or, according to another, for ‘the delicious flavour that lingers sweetly on the tongue.’ (Flowery language is nothing new when describing wine.) Wine was also medicinal (and don’t we still hear that today?) Ox-tongue wine ‘heals the insane and the demented.’ Sage wine cured lung disease, ‘eyebright’ wine helped the memory – and do we really believe that?
Winchelsea is so different to the bustling town it once was. When I was there in July it was almost deserted. Just 17 of the great cellars have survived, sometimes available to visit. One pub, the New Inn, one rather good shop and a museum. But the peace and tranquility really are the magnet, a haven in an increasingly busy world.
Image Credits: Nick Forman .
I no no longer live in Winchelsea , but, when I was a child, we lived at no. 8 Barrack Square, which had oak beamed walls and ceilings. There were cast iron fireplaces, and in the corner of the kitchen a “copper” for boiling up the laundry. It had a copper washtub encased in a stone construction which included a fireplace underneath. The fire was lit and the water would heat up.
Underneath the house was an amazing cellar, with what I now believe, is called barrel vaulting. I used to love to play down there, although I wasn’t really supposed to! This is where I think wine must originally have been stored.
Does anyone know any more about the history of these houses?
Many thanks for your interesting comment. In the mid 18th century it was called Bear Square, and was home to a cloth manufactury. During the Napoleonic Wars, the Duke of Wellington’s soldiers were billeted in the square, hence the change of name. MM