Three quarters of LSOAs in the town (45 LSOAs or 76%) had a worse ranking for deprivation in 2010 than in 2007. All are part of the Wealden District. The pier is an obvious place to visit and is sometimes used to hold events, such as the international birdman competition held annually, although this was cancelled in 2005 due to a lack of competitors. Devonshire Park, home to the pre-Wimbledon ladies tennis championships, is located just off the seafront in the towns cultural district. [79] Productivity, measured by gross value added per employee, was recorded as £31,390 per year. Unlike standard geographic postcodes, which cover up to 80 addresses, a large user postcode is unique to a single address. In 1926, the Eastbourne Corporation Act enabled the creation of the Eastbourne Downland Estate. There is an annual extreme sports festival held at the eastern end of the seafront. The event takes in the town's major landmarks, including the promenade and local South Downs National Park. Grove Road is the location of two independent record shops and a venue called Printer's Playhouse (which hosts performances of live music and new plays). [37], In the summer of 1956, the town came to national and worldwide attention,[38] when Dr John Bodkin Adams, a general practitioner serving the town's wealthier patients, was arrested for the murder of an elderly widow. It became a private residence, but was severely damaged in the Second World War by Canadian artillery. Along with its pier and bandstand, this serves to preserve the front in a somewhat timeless manner. Eastbourne Bandstand lies on the seafront, between the Wish Tower and the pier. This manor house is currently owned by the Duke of Devonshire and was extensively remodelled in the early Georgian era when it was renamed Compton Place. Statistics are not officially published to reduce suicidal mimicry,[124] but unofficial statistics show it to be the third most common suicide spot.[125]. [8] Evidence of Eastbourne's medieval past can seen in the 12th century Church of St Mary,[16] and the manor house called Bourne Place. Although originally manned by two keepers, it has been remotely monitored by Trinity House via a landline since June 1983. Eastbourne has an RNLI lifeboat station. This compared unfavourably with the South East overall, where GVA was £40,460 per employee per year. It stages 1812 Firework Concerts, Rock N Roll nights, Big Band concerts, Promenade concerts and tribute bands. Postcodes: BN20-23. [86], The town is home to the UK's largest book wholesalers, who have a 350,000 sq ft warehouse facility there. In 2016–19 extensive remodelling work was undertaken to the prominent Arndale Centre, which takes up most of the town centre, and was originally built by Legal & General Assurance in the 1980s. Eastbourne has residents from a diverse range of international backgrounds, including notable groups of people from recent Polish, Portuguese, Chinese, Turkish, Italian and Greek origin. This page combines information for the address Elms Avenue, Eastbourne, BN21 3DL, and the neighbourhood in which it resides. Rumours had been circulating since 1935[38] regarding the frequency of his being named in patients' wills (132 times between 1946 and 1956[38]) and the gifts he was given (including two Rolls Royces). [181], Frederick Soddy, radiochemist and economist, was born in Eastbourne and studied at Eastbourne College. A domed 400-seater pavilion was constructed at a cost of £250 at the seaward end in 1888. It opened in 1954 but ceased operation in 1970, relocating to Seaton in Devon after the owners had fallen out with the council;[166] it is now the Seaton Tramway. This was then renamed The Beacon. Containing over 1,500 articles about the history of Eastbourne, the Society's indexed journal, The Eastbourne Local Historian, is the major historical resource for the town and has been published quarterly since its inception in 1970. At present the constituency includes all of the borough as well as the suburb of Willingdon. Eastbourne has three council-owned theatres: the Grade II* listed[93] Congress Theatre, the Grade II listed Devonshire Park Theatre and the Grade II listed Winter Garden. The leading evangelist Canon Stephen Warner was the vicar of Holy Trinity between 1919 and 1947. [103] A sequence of a rainy day at the seaside for the Doel family has as its backdrop the Wish Tower, the bandstand, the Cavendish Hotel and the pier in the 1987 British/American drama film 84 Charing Cross Road directed by David Jones.[104]. [128], On 30 July 2014, a fire broke out in the middle building of the pier. Princes Park obtained its name during a visit by the Duke of Windsor as Prince of Wales in 1931. Eastbourne is a marginal seat currently represented by the Conservatives but with recent representation by the Liberal Democrats. [115] They now compete in the National League. [2], As a seaside resort, Eastbourne derives a large and increasing income from tourism, with revenue from traditional seaside attractions augmented by conferences, public events and cultural sightseeing. One third of the pier was badly damaged. [170], The novelist and children's writer Annie Keary died in the town in 1879.[171]. According to Scotland Yard's archives, he is thought to have killed up to 163 patients in the Eastbourne area.[38]. Henry Allingham, briefly the world's oldest man when he died in 2009, aged 113, was a resident. [127] The structure may need to be moved again to safeguard it from cliff erosion. Eastbourne's Devonshire Park is the venue for the Eastbourne International, a tennis tournament held in the town since 1974 and serving as a warm-up to Wimbledon. [28][41] Most of the expansion took place on the northern and eastern margins of the town, gradually swallowing surrounding villages. For more information about a particular postcode or street in Eastbourne, Browse through a postcode district to find more details about Eastbourne postcodes. (ed.) This area, now known as Sovereign Harbour, containing a marina, shops and several thousand houses, along with luxury flats, was formerly home to many rare plants. Novelist Angela Carter was born in Eastbourne in 1940 before moving to South Yorkshire as a child. [22], In 1793, following a survey of coastal defences in the southeast, approval was given for the positioning of infantry and artillery to defend the bay between Beachy Head and Hastings from attack by the French. Local conservationists also failed to prevent the construction of the glass-plated TGWU conference and holiday centre (the building now operating as The View Hotel), but were successful in purchasing Polegate Windmill, thus saving it from demolition and redevelopment. [161] Eastbourne Buses had been formed in 1903 by the County Borough of Eastbourne, who were the first local authority in the world authorised to run motor buses. [69] Eastbourne is the second largest district or borough in East Sussex with an official resident population of 101,133 in 2014.