Hastings (pronounced HAY-stingz) is a seaside town and district in East Sussex on the south coast of England. It is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) east of Lewes and 53 miles (85 kilometers) southeast of London. The town is named after the Battle of Hastings, which happened 8 miles (13 kilometers) to the northwest at Senlac Hill in the year 1066. Later, Hastings became one of the medieval Cinque Ports. In the 19th century, it became a popular seaside resort because the railway made it easier for tourists to visit. Today, Hastings is still a popular seaside resort and also serves as a fishing port, home to the United Kingdom's largest beach-based fishing fleet. The town's estimated population was 91,100 in 2021.

History

The first record of Hastings dates back to the late 8th century, when it was called Hastingas. This name comes from the Old English tribal name Hæstingas, which means "the followers of Hæsta." Symeon of Durham wrote about a battle in 771, where King Offa defeated the Hestingorum gens, or "the people of the Hastings tribe." A place called Hastingleigh in Kent was named after this tribe. The name Hæstingaceaster appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 1050, and it might have been another name for Hastings. However, there is no evidence of a Roman fort at Hastings, so Hæstingaceaster likely refers to a different settlement, possibly the one near Pevensey, where Roman ruins are found.

Archaeological findings show that people lived in Hastings long before the Roman era. Flint arrowheads and Bronze Age tools have been discovered in the area. Iron Age forts were found on the East and West Hills, suggesting that people moved to the valley between them for safety. When the Romans arrived in Britain in 55 BC, they used Hastings as a port. They mined iron from Wealden rocks and shipped it by boat. Iron was processed locally at Beauport Park, north of Hastings, which employed up to 1,000 workers and was one of the largest mines in the Roman Empire. Another possible iron-working site was near Blacklands Church. The old name "Ponbay Bridge" is thought to come from "Pond Bay," as noted by Thomas Ross, a 19th-century writer.

After the Romans left, Hastings faced challenges. The Beauport mine was abandoned, and the town suffered from natural disasters like storms and longshore drift, which caused the coastline to shift. The original Roman port is likely now underwater.

The word "hythe" or "hithe" in names like Bulverhythe means a port or small harbor. This suggests that Bulverhythe was used by Danish invaders.

From the 6th century AD until 771, the area around Hastings was part of the Haestingas tribe, a separate kingdom from Sussex and Kent. The tribe worked to keep its identity until the 11th century. It was likely a sub-kingdom under the control of either Kent or Sussex. In 694, King Wihtred of Kent may have given control of Haestingas to King Ine of Sussex and Wessex as part of a treaty.

In 771, King Offa of Mercia invaded southern England and took control of Sussex and Kent. A battle near Hastings in 771, recorded by Symeon of Durham, marked the end of the Haestingas tribe as a separate kingdom. By 790, Offa had granted land in Hastings to the Abbey of St Denis in Paris. However, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle from 1011 mentions that Vikings attacked "all Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Haestingas," showing that Hastings was still seen as a distinct region 240 years after Offa's conquest.

In 928, King Athelstan established a royal mint in Hastings.

The Battle of Hastings, which began the Norman Conquest of England, took place on October 14, 1066, though the actual battle occurred at Senlac Hill, 6 miles northwest of Hastings. William the Conqueror landed near Pevensey, between Hastings and Eastbourne. A Norman camp was likely near the town, where a new settlement called "New Burgh" was built in the valley to the east. This settlement was founded in 1069 and noted in the Domesday Book. William defeated Harold Godwinson, the last Saxon king, and took control of England.

William ordered a castle built at Hastings, possibly using the remains of the Saxon castle. By 1086, Hastings was listed as a borough in the Domesday Book and was the namesake of the Rape of Hastings, one of Sussex’s six administrative regions. As a borough, Hastings had a government led by a bailiff, jurats, and commonalty. In 1589, Elizabeth I replaced the bailiff with a mayor. In 1153, the Muslim scholar Muhammad al-Idrisi described Hastings as a large, prosperous town with markets and wealthy merchants.

By the end of the Saxon period, the port of Hastings had moved to the Priory Stream valley, protected by the White Rock headland (now gone). However, Danish attacks and floods in 1011 and 1014 led to the town’s relocation to New Burgh.

During the Middle Ages, Hastings became one of the Cinque Ports, a group of coastal towns that included Sandwich, Dover, New Romney, Hastings, Hythe, Rye, and Winchelsea. At one time, 42 towns were part of this group.

In 1287, a flood destroyed much of Hastings and part of Hastings Castle. The town was later attacked and burned by the French in 1339 and 1377, leading to its decline as a seaport.

Hastings struggled without a natural harbor, and efforts to build one, like during Elizabeth I’s reign, failed due to storms. Fishing boats still launch from the beach.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Hastings became a smuggling hub because of its location. Smugglers carved caves into the West Hill, called St Clement’s Caves, to hide their goods. This changed when the town became a popular seaside resort after the Napoleonic Wars, due to its health benefits and Roman baths. The town expanded westward, leading to the construction of areas like Pelham Crescent and Wellington Square.

The development of Hastings required a large workforce, many of whom settled on the America Ground, a piece of land cleared in the 1820s.

The population of Hastings grew significantly with the arrival of the railway, connecting the town to other parts of the country.

Governance

From the 14th century until 1885, Hastings elected two Members of Parliament (MPs). Since 1885, it has elected one MP. Since 1983, Hastings has been part of the parliamentary constituency called Hastings and Rye. The current MP, since July 2024, is Helena Dollimore from the Labour and Co-operative Party. Before 1983, Hastings was its own separate parliamentary constituency.

Hastings is believed to have been a Saxon town before the Normans arrived. The Domesday Book, a record from the 11th century, mentions Hastings as a new Borough. As a borough, Hastings had a local government made up of a "bailiff, jurats, and commonalty." Its importance was so great that it gave its name to one of the six Rapes, which were administrative areas in Sussex.

In 1589, a charter from Queen Elizabeth I changed Hastings’ local government by replacing the bailiff with a mayor. By this time, the town’s importance was decreasing. During the Georgian era, seaside towns like nearby Brighton gained popularity, which helped Hastings recover. When local government in England was reformed in 1888, Hastings became a county borough, meaning it managed its own local services independently of the surrounding county, then Sussex (East). This status ended in 1974.

Today, Hastings Borough Council is part of the second level of local government, below East Sussex County Council.

Geography and climate

Hastings is located where sandstone layers, known geologically as the Hastings Sands, meet the English Channel. This meeting forms tall cliffs to the east of the town. Hastings Old Town is in a valley between East Hill and West Hill, where the remains of a castle stand. Over time, the town has expanded westward and northward, connecting with the suburban area of St Leonards-on-Sea to the west. Roads from the Old Town valley lead to the Victorian area of Clive Vale and the former village of Ore. From Ore, "The Ridge" marks the boundary of Hastings, extending toward Battle. To the west, the town ends at Glyne Gap, a low-lying area that separates Hastings from Bexhill-on-Sea.

The sandstone cliffs have experienced significant erosion in recent years. Much of the castle was lost to the sea before modern sea defenses and promenades were built. Some cliff-top houses near Fairlight are now at risk of being lost.

The beach is mostly made of shingle, though wide areas of sand appear at low tide. The town is built on low hills that rise to 500 feet (150 meters) at "The Ridge" before dropping into a river valley to the north.

Three areas within Hastings are designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Marline Valley Woods, located in the Ashdown ward, is an ancient forest with rare Pedunculate oak and hornbeam trees. Part of the site is owned by the Sussex Wildlife Trust. Combe Haven, in the West St Leonards ward, includes alluvial meadows and the largest reed bed in the county, providing habitat for birds. Hastings Cliffs to Pett Beach, in the Ore ward, is a coastal area with both biological and geological importance. It includes fossil-rich cliffs, ancient woodlands, and shingle beaches.

Hastings has a maritime climate, with mild summers and mild winters. It is on the eastern edge of the sunniest part of the UK. Between 1911 and 1911, Hastings and Eastbourne recorded the highest monthly sunshine in the UK—384 hours in July. Since 1960, temperatures in Hastings have ranged from 34.7°C (94.5°F) in July 2022 to −9.8°C (14.4°F) in January 1987. The Köppen climate classification for this area is "Cfb," meaning a Marine West Coast Climate.

Hastings includes areas and suburbs such as Ore, St Leonards, Silverhill, West St Leonards, and Hollington. Ore, Silverhill, and Hollington were once separate villages that became part of Hastings as the town grew. St Leonards was originally designed by James Burton and his son, Decimus Burton, as a town for wealthy residents. It featured elegant homes, a public garden, a hotel, and a church. Today, St Leonards has expanded beyond its original design, though the original area still exists within it.

Demography

In 2001, the town had a population of 85,029. By 2009, the estimated population was 86,900. Hastings has difficulties growing because it is located near the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to the north, which limits development options. The area’s redevelopment is also affected by the fact that Hastings and Bexhill are managed by two different councils: Hastings and Rother District councils. There is little space inside Hastings for large-scale housing or job growth. Growth on the edges of Hastings is opposed by Rother council, which controls the surrounding area. Rother plans to expand north of Bexhill, but this requires improvements to roads and other infrastructure from the central government. These improvements have been discussed for many years and are now being considered by Parliament.

Economy

Until tourism grew, fishing was Hastings' main industry. The fishing fleet, located at Stade, is still Europe's largest beach-launched fishing fleet and has recently received recognition for using sustainable fishing methods. This fleet has operated from the same beach, near Hastings' cliffs, for at least 400 years, possibly as long as 600 years. The long history of the fleet is due to the rich fishing area of Rye Bay nearby. Hastings fishing boats are registered in Rye, so they have the letters "RX" on them (Rye, Sussex).

Today, there are several industrial areas around Hastings, mostly on the town's edges, which include industries like engineering, catering, motoring, and construction. However, most jobs in the Borough are in health care, public services, retail, and education. In 2005, 85% of businesses had fewer than 10 employees, which led to a 3.3% unemployment rate (compared to 1.7% in East Sussex). Education levels in Hastings are similar to the national average: 8.2% of working-age people have no qualifications, and 28% have degrees or higher, compared to 11% and 31% in England.

Hastings' main shopping center is Priory Meadow Shopping Centre, built on the site of the old Central Recreation Ground. This area once hosted first-class cricket matches, including games played by famous cricketers like Dr. W. G. Grace and Sir Don Bradman. The shopping center has 56 stores and covers about 420,000 square feet. Other retail areas in the town include Queens Road, Wellington Place, and Robertson Street.

Plans are underway to expand Hastings' retail areas, including growing Priory Meadow and creating more retail space as part of the Priory Quarter development. A second floor was originally planned for part of the retail area, but this has not been completed yet. So far, only office space has been built as part of the Priory Quarter.

In 2002, the Hastings and Bexhill task force was created by the South East England Development Agency to improve the local economy. This 10-year program aimed to reduce the town's dependence on public sector jobs. The project included building the University Centre Hastings (now called the University of Brighton in Hastings), a new campus for Sussex Coast College, and the Priory Quarter. The Priory Quarter is still not fully completed but now houses Saga offices, providing 800 new jobs in the area.

Culture and community

Hastings has an Army Cadet Force (ACF) detachment that is part of the Sussex ACF. This detachment is located in the old Territorial Army Unit Building on Cinque Ports Way and is connected to the PWRR. Hastings also has a Royal Air Force Air Cadet Squadron, 304 (Hastings) Squadron of the Sussex Wing RAFAC, which is based in the same building. The town has a Sea Cadet squadron called T.S. Hastings, which is next to the Army and Air Cadet building on the seafront. The site includes a climbing wall and other training areas.

Throughout the year, Hastings hosts many events. The largest event is the May Day bank holiday weekend, which includes a Jack-in-the-Green festival (revived since 1983) and usually happens around 1–3 May. This event also marks the end of the Maydayrun, where tens of thousands of motorcyclists ride the A21 to Hastings. In August, the yearly carnival during Old Town Week takes place, featuring a Seaboot race, bike race, street party, and pram race around Hastings Old Town. In September, there is a month-long arts festival called "Coastal Currents" and a Seafood and Wine Festival. In October, Hastings Week includes a traditional Sussex Bonfire organized by the Hastings Bonfire Society, with a torchlight procession, beach bonfire, and fireworks. Hastings Pirate Day happens every July. As of November 2017, Hastings still holds the Guinness World Record for the most pirates in one place.

Other events include the Hastings Beer and Music Festival in July, the Hastings Musical Festival in March at the White Rock Theatre, the International Composers Festival in August between Hastings and Bexhill, and the Hastings International Chess Congress. A small Wildman event happens in late January.

There are two main theatres in Hastings: the White Rock Theatre and the Stables Theatre. The White Rock Theatre hosts the yearly pantomime and other performances like comedy, dance, and music. The Stables Theatre focuses on local productions and also serves as an arts exhibition center. Another theatre is the Henry Ward Hall on Cambridge Road, which shares space with His Place church in what was once the Robertson Street United Reformed Church.

Hastings has a small four-screen Odeon cinema near the town hall. Plans are in place to build a new multiplex cinema as part of the Priory Quarter development in the town center. The town also has an independent cinema called the Electric Palace in the Old Town and a restored cinema in St Leonards called the Kino Teatr. A new luxury cinema, the Sussex Exchange, is located in St. Leonards.

The Regal cinema and the Cinema de Luxe in Hastings, and the Elite Cinema in St. Leonards, were involved in a 1942 legal case, Regal (Hastings) Ltd v Gulliver, which was decided in the House of Lords. The case addressed the duty of loyalty of company directors to their companies.

Hastings has three museums: the Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, the Hastings Fishermen's Museum, and the Shipwreck Museum. The Hastings Museum and Art Gallery and the Fishermen's Museum are open all year, while the Shipwreck Museum is open only on weekends during winter and daily at other times. The Hastings Museum and Art Gallery focuses on local history and includes exhibits about Grey Owl and John Logie Baird. It also has a Durbar Hall donated by Lord Brassey, which displays items related to the Indian subcontinent and the Brassey family. The Fishermen's Museum, located in a former church, highlights the fishing industry and maritime history of Hastings. The Shipwreck Museum shows artifacts from shipwrecks in the area.

The Hastings Contemporary (formerly the Jerwood Gallery until July 2019) is located in the Stade area of Hastings Old Town. It houses the Jerwood Collection of 20th and 21st century art and hosts changing contemporary exhibitions. The project faced opposition from some locals who believed the gallery should be located elsewhere. In 2019, the gallery was renamed Hastings Contemporary after a funding dispute with its sponsor, the Jerwood Foundation.

Hastings has many parks and open spaces. One of the most popular is Alexandra Park, opened in 1882 by the Prince and Princess of Wales. The park includes gardens, open spaces, woods, a bandstand, tennis courts, and a café. Other open spaces include White Rock Gardens, West Marina Gardens, St Leonards Gardens, Gensing Gardens, Markwick Gardens, Summerfields Woods, Linton Gardens, Hollington Woods, Filsham Valley, Warrior Square, Castle Hill, St Helens Woods, and Hastings Country Park.

Local news and television programs are provided by BBC South East and ITV Meridian. Television signals are received from a local TV transmitter.

Local radio stations include BBC Radio Sussex on 104.5 FM, Heart South on 102.0 FM, and More Radio Hastings on 107.8 FM.

Local newspapers are the Hastings Observer and the Hastings Independent Press.

Landmarks

Hastings Castle was built in 1070 by the Normans, four years after the Norman invasion. It is located on West Hill, looking over the town center, and is a Grade I listed building. Very little of the castle remains today, except for the arch from the chapel, parts of the walls, and the dungeons. Nearby, the St. Clements Caves house the Smugglers Adventure, an exhibit with interactive displays about the history of smuggling on England’s south coast.

Hastings Pier can be seen from anywhere along the town’s seafront. The old pier opened in 1872 but closed in 2006 because of safety concerns. In October 2010, a serious fire damaged most of the pier’s buildings and structure. After a £14.2m renovation, the pier reopened on April 27, 2016, with modern designs. It won the Stirling Prize from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 2017.

Many church buildings in the town are Grade II listed, including Church in the Wood, Blacklands Parish Church, Ebenezer Particular Baptist Chapel, Fishermen’s Museum, and St. Mary Magdalene’s Church.

On the seafront in St. Leonards, Marine Court is a 1938 block of flats built in the Art Deco style. It was originally named “The Ship” because its design was inspired by the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary. On a clear day, this building can be seen from up to 20 miles (32 kilometers) away, such as from Holywell in the Meads area of Eastbourne.

An important former landmark was “the Memorial,” a clock tower that honored Albert the Prince Consort. It stood for many years at the town center’s traffic junction but was destroyed in the 1970s after an arson attack.

Transport

Hastings urban area (2011 census: includes Bexhill) is significantly the most populous area in Britain without a direct two-lane highway connection to the national motorway network. Two major roads serve Hastings: the A21 trunk road to London and the A259 coastal road. Both roads face traffic issues. The London road, which crosses difficult terrain, has had several sections widened over decades, but delays still occur. Plans for a greatly improved A259 east–west route, including a Hastings bypass, were not completed in the 1990s. A new Hastings-Bexhill Link Road, called the A2690, opened in April 2016 to help reduce traffic congestion on the A259 Bexhill Road. This new road connects Queensway in northern Hastings to the A259 in Bexhill. Hastings is also linked to Battle via the A2100, the original London road.

Stagecoach South East operates bus routes that serve Hastings and extend to Bexhill, Eastbourne, and Dover as part of The Wave route. Stagecoach also runs long-distance buses to Northiam, Hawkhurst, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Ashford, and Canterbury.

National Express previously operated service 023 to London, but as of May 2025, this service is no longer listed in National Express schedules.

Hastings has four rail links: two to London, one to Brighton, and one to Ashford. The shorter London route is the Hastings Line, the former South Eastern Railway (SER) route to Charing Cross via Battle and Tunbridge Wells, which opened in 1852. The longer London route is the East Coastway Line, the former London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (LBSCR) route to Victoria via Bexhill, Eastbourne, and Lewes. Trains to Brighton also use the East Coastway Line. The Marshlink Line connects Hastings to Ashford via Rye and is not electrified, except for the Hastings to Ore segment.

A historic British Rail Class 201 "Thumper" train occasionally runs on special trips to and from Hastings.

Two rail companies serve Hastings: Southeastern and Southern. Southeastern operates trains on the Hastings Line, which usually end at Hastings, with some peak services extending to Ore. Southern operates trains on the other lines, which end at Ore or Ashford.

Hastings has four railway stations, from west to east: West St Leonards, St Leonards Warrior Square, Hastings, and Ore (which may be renamed Ore Valley). There is also one closed station, West Marina, which was on the LBSCR line and closed in 1967. A new station is planned at Glyne Gap in Bexhill to serve residents from western Hastings.

Two funicular railways, called the West Hill and East Hill Lifts, operate in Hastings.

The Hastings Miniature Railway runs along the beach from Rock-a-Nore to Marine Parade and has provided tourist transport since 1948. It was restored and reopened in 2010.

The Saxon Shore Way is a long-distance footpath (163 miles or 262 kilometers) that runs from Gravesend, Kent, to Hastings, tracing the Kent and Sussex coast as it was in Roman times. The National Cycle Network route NCR2 connects Dover to St Austell along the south coast and passes through Hastings.

In 1753, prominent Hastings figures, including landowners Edward Milward and John Collier, obtained the Hastings-Flimwell Turnpike Act, allowing control of the existing Hastings-London trackway via Battle and Whatlington as far north as Flimwell. The first properly recognized turnpike developed in St. Leonards in 1837 when builder James Burton constructed his new town. The road’s route is now the A21.

Hastings had a tram network from 1905 to 1929. Trams ran as far as Bexhill and were powered by overhead electric wires, except for the seafront section from Bo-Peep to the Memorial, which initially used the Dolter stud contact system. This system was replaced by petrol-electric trams in 1914 due to safety concerns, but overhead electrification was extended to this section in 1921. Trolleybuses were used on the narrow High Street section, and the entire tram network was replaced by the Hastings trolleybus system in 1928–1929.

Maidstone & District purchased the Hastings Tramway Company in 1935, but trolleybuses still carried the "Hastings Tramways" logo until shortly before they were replaced by diesel buses in 1959, following the failure of the "Save our trolleys" campaign.

Education

Hastings has 18 primary schools, 4 secondary schools, 1 further education college, and 1 higher education institution.

The University of Brighton in Hastings provides higher education courses in many subjects and has more than 800 students. In 2012, the university's Hastings campus grew to twice its original size with the addition of the Priory Square building, designed by Proctor and Matthews Architects. This building is in the town center, near the railway station.

Sussex Coast College, which was previously called Hastings College, is the town's further education college. It is located at Station Plaza, next to the railway station.

The secondary schools in Hastings include Ark Alexandra Academy, Hastings Academy, and The St Leonards Academy. East Sussex County Council closed three mixed comprehensive schools—Filsham Valley, The Grove, and Hillcrest—and replaced them with two academy schools: The St Leonards Academy and The Hastings Academy. The sponsors of these academies are the University of Brighton (lead sponsor), British Telecom, and East Sussex County Council.

Religious buildings

The most important buildings from the late medieval period are two churches in the Old Town: St Clement's, which may have been built after 1377, and All Saints, which was built in the early 15th century. There is also a mosque that was once called the "Mercatoria School" before being bought by the East Sussex Islamic Association. A former Ebenezer Particular Baptist Chapel in the Old Town was built in 1817 and is listed at Grade II. Christ Church in Blacklands, built in 1876, has a complete decorative scheme including murals, stained glass, mosaics, and wrought iron from the firm of Hardman's, which gives it a ll listing. When St. Andrew's was demolished in 1970 to build a supermarket, a piece of its decorative design, painted by Robert Noonan (also known as Robert Tressell, the author of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists*), was saved and is now displayed in the Hastings Museum. The Parish and title were later added to Blacklands Church.

Healthcare

During the 19th and 20th centuries, hospitals and other healthcare centers provided care in places such as the Royal East Sussex Hospital in Hastings, St Leonards and East Sussex Hospital, the Buchanan Hospital, and St Helen's Hospital. In 1993, these hospitals were combined into one main hospital called the Conquest Hospital.

Sport

The Hastings Half Marathon is held each year in the town, except for 2020 and 2021. The race, which is 13.1 miles (21.1 kilometers) long, began in 1984. Runners from across the country participate in the event, which follows a route that goes around the town. The race starts and ends at the West Marina Gardens in St Leonards.

Hastings United F.C. is the oldest football team in the town. It was founded in 1894 and plays in the Premier Division of the Isthmian League. The team's home games are held at The Pilot Field, a location that was once used by two other senior clubs, St Leonards and the original Hastings United, which closed in 1985. Other football clubs in Hastings, such as Hollington United, St Leonards Social, and Rock-a-Nore, compete in the East Sussex League. These teams play their matches at local parks and recreation areas. In 2013, Hastings United made headlines when it reached the third round of the FA Cup for the first time in its history. It was the least highly ranked team remaining in the competition before losing 4–1 to Middlesbrough.

The Central Recreation Ground was one of England's oldest and most famous cricket grounds. The first match there was played in 1864, and the last match occurred in 1989. After that, the site was changed into a shopping center, which opened in 1996. Australian teams played 18 matches there during their visits. Hastings Priory is the town's largest cricket club, with four competitive teams and a large junior section. The club plays at Horntye Park but also uses facilities at Ark Alexandra Academy.

ARK Alexandra Academy serves as a base for several clubs, including Hastings & Bexhill Rugby Football Club, Hastings Athletic Club, and Hastings Priory Cricket Club's third and fourth teams.

South Saxons Hockey Club, founded in 1895, is one of the largest sports clubs in Hastings. Locally known as "Saxons," the team plays its home games on the artificial turf pitch at Horntye Park Sports Complex.

Hastings Conquerors is an American Football Club established in March 2013 by local resident Chris Chillingworth. The team trains at William Parker Sports College and became the UK's first Co-Operative run not-for-profit American Football club in June 2013.

There are many bowling greens in the town's parks and gardens. The Hastings Open Bowls Tournament has been held every June since 1911 and draws participants from across the country.

Since 1920, Hastings has hosted the Hastings International Chess Congress. The event takes place over the Christmas period at Horntye Park Sports Complex. All World Champions before Garry Kasparov, except Bobby Fischer, have played at Hastings, including Emanuel Lasker (1895), José Raúl Capablanca (1919, 1929/30, 1930/1, and 1934/5), Alexander Alekhine (1922, 1925/6, 1933/4, and 1936/7), Max Euwe (1923/4, 1930/1, 1931/2, 1934/5, 1945/6, and 1949/50), Mikhail Botvinnik (1934/5, 1961/2, and 1966/7), Vasily Smyslov (1954/5, 1962/3, and 1968/9), Mikhail Tal (1963/4), Tigran Petrosian (1977/8), Boris Spassky (1965/6), and Anatoly Karpov (1971/2).

Hastings & St Leonards/Hastings Downs Golf Club, now defunct, was founded in 1893. The club stopped operating in the 1950s.

Hastings has hosted the World Crazy Golf Championships since 2003.

Notable people

• John Logie Baird lived in Hastings during the 1920s. He did experiments that helped create the first television image.
• Robert Tressell wrote The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists in Hastings between 1906 and 1910.
• Novelist Catherine Cookson lived in Hastings for many years. She started her writing career after joining a local writing group. A blue plaque marks her former home at 9–10 Exmouth Place.
• Many famous people were born, grew up, or lived in Hastings. These include computer scientist Alan Turing, poet Fiona Pitt-Kethley, actress Gwen Watford, comedian Jo Brand, Madness singer Suggs, biologist Thomas H. Jukes, Premier League player Gareth Barry (who has the most appearances in the league), and author Archibald Belaney, who used the name Grey Owl. He was born in Hastings and lived there for several years.
• Harry H Corbett, an actor known for playing Harold Steptoe in the BBC sitcom Steptoe and Son, lived in Hastings until his death in 1982.
• Mark Edwards, a popular British fiction writer, grew up in Hastings.
• Anna Brassey, a collector and early pioneer of photography, lived in Hastings until her death in 1887. She was buried at sea.
• Tom Chaplin was born in Hastings.
• The punk rock band Maid of Ace, which is all-female, is from Hastings.
• The punk rock band Kid Kapichi, which is all-male, is from Hastings.
• Martin Honeysett (1943–2015), a cartoonist known for his shocking and sharp sketches, lived in Hastings for many years.
• Roger Lewis (born 1960), a journalist, writer, and biographer who wrote The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, lives in Hastings.

Twin towns

Hastings has sister city relationships with:

• Béthune, France
• Oudenaarde, Belgium
• Schwerte, Germany
• Dordrecht, Netherlands
• Hastings, Sierra Leone