In 1858, the second Earl of Burlington became the 7th Duke of Devonshire. He fell out with Berry, andin1859 the Duke sacked him and immediately appointed Henry Currey, a relative of his solicitor, to draw up a development plan. This amazing plan included Berry s original promenade and what is now Devonshire Place, and had a sense of spaciousness which is still hailed as a masterpiece of town planning. Currey had been a student of Decimus Burton and was associated with the building of the Great Conservatory at Chatsworth with Joseph Paxton, an event that was to influence the design of the Winter Garden at Eastbourne. Early in the 1860s the Pier Company was set up, but bickering impeded the erection of the pier for nearly ten years. Residents were now beginning to enjoy the fruits of the Gas and Water Companies that had been set up in the 1850s.

Also during the 1860s other architects were turning to Eastbourne. T. E. Knightly designed the Cavendish Hotel which was opened in 1873 and G. E. Street's St. Saviors Church in South Street was consecrated in 1872. On completion at a thanksgiving service, the vicar, the Rev. H. R. Whelpton, climbed the spire and set a cock atop, while the congregation below sang Pleasant are thy courts above! Eastbourne College was also founded in 1867 and added to by Currey in 1877.

George Ambrose Wallis, M.I.C.E., 1840-1895

Development continued with renewed vigor. The last dynamic figure to join the oligarchy was the brilliant George Ambrose Wallis in 1864, who together with Currey and the Duke forged ahead apace. In the early 1870s, the Duke saw good prospects, as it appeared that the corner had been turned. Eighteen hundred houses were inhabited, and the population had risen by nearly 7,000 in 20 years.

In 1872 Currey revealed his plan for a modern Meads with tree-lined streets and large villas that, by the end of the 1880s, were to stretch from the western parade to Compton Place itself and form Eastbourne's 'Belgravia'.

With all this building activity the Gilberts had been moved to produce similar plans at the beginning of the decade. Nicholas Whitley drew up the first fully comprehensive development plan for the Gilbert land, including the Upperton area and Hartfield Square, which came to fruition a decade later.

William Cavendish,
7th Duke of Devonshire, 1808-1891

By the seventies the flood of development was overwhelming, with one new building being opened after another. The Grand, Queen s and Cavendish Hotels were all opened in this decade. In 1872, the Devonshire Club was founded for the benefit of visitors and residents, and in 1874 Devonshire Park was opened for "High Class Recreation". In the next year Henry Currey s Floral Hall was opened and the following year the first concert was played in his new Pavilion. Devonshire Baths, the brainchild of G. A. Wallis, was opened in 1874, with its ingenious facility for naturally replenishing the seawater as the tide rose and fell.

Building continued into the 1880s, and between 1880 and 1884 the Local Board spent £50,000 on the construction of Royal Parade. The Duke simultaneously funded the creation of the western parades - a colossal undertaking, necessitating the removal of 400,000 cubic yards of chalk.

Built in the 1770s, this house became the Gilbert
Manor House. It is now the Towner Art Gallery.
Insert: Carew Davies Gilbert