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The entrance was formed in the l6th century, prior thereto the river flowed eastward for near three miles towards Seaford, thus forming the Harbour,—and there is little doubt but that its present entrance is the same as when occupied by the Romans, from the fact that whilst excavations were in progress recently near the mouth of the Harbour, for the purposes of a new fort on the west hill of the same, the remains of a Roman encampment were discovered. This encampment, it is supposed, protected the town from invasion.
In the year 1718, an Act of Parliament was obtained empowering the authorities to repair the piers and keep the Harbour in good and safe condition, and the effect of carrying out the object has been a rapid increase in trade. A new quay has been erected on the east side of the Harbour; and a few years since Government built a fort of great magnitude, its cost being upwards of £150,000.
The Parish Church stands on a hill to the west of the town, and is a rectory, formerly in the patronage of the Queen. Its construction varies from accustomed Church architecture, the tower being placed at the eastern end of the edifice, a very rare occurrence ; and it has circular-headed windows, which denote its antiquity.
In the Churchyard there is a very neat obelisk, commemorative of the fate of His Majesty's ship "Brazen." It is surmounted by an iron railing, and is an attractive object. There are tablets on the monument which tell its history, and here are copies of the inscriptions :—
" Sacred to the memory of Captain James Hanson, the Officers and company of his Majesty's ship "Brazen," who were wrecked in a violent storm under the cliff, bearing from this place S.W. at five o'clock a.m., Jan. 26, a.d., 1800; one of the crew only surviving to tell the melancholy tale. By this fatal event, the country, alas ! was deprived of 105 bravo defenders, at a time it most |
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