Tourism
The town is an ideal place for a base when exploring the flood plain of the River Ouse and the rambling South Downs.
Attractions
Paradise Family Leisure Park – including Planet Earth Museum.
Newhaven Fort
Newhaven Local & Maritime Museum
Transport
Road - The A259 road passes through Newhaven and is an alternative to the A27. The town is the southern starting point of the A26 which runs up to Maidstone in Kent.
Rail – Newhaven is served by the branch line stretching from Lewes to Seaford. It has two stations, Newhaven Town and Newhaven Harbour.
Brief History
There is evidence of an Iron Age hill fort on Castle Hill. The Saxons on their invasion of England in 480AD settled in the area now occupied by the town. They named their village Meeching or Myching. The railway was brought to Newhaven in the mid 1800’s where the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway constructed a wharf. This made the town an important port for the shipping of freight. The harbour was dredged and made deeper around 1870 and so making suitable for cross-channel ferries to berth in the port. Newhaven was the major embarkation point for troops and equipment going to the Flanders battlefields during World War I. A large number of Canadian soldiers were stationed in the town before they were sent on the ill-fated World War II “Dieppe Raid” in 1942.
Famous People
Charles Deville Wells – The “Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo.” – Made famous in a song of that name.
Lord Lucan – Thought to have stayed in the town whilst escaping from the police following the murder of his children’s’ nanny.
Approximate Population
The population of Newhaven in 2007 was 12,026
Nearest Tourist Information Centre
Lewes
187 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 2DE
Tel: +44 (0) 1273 483448
Email: lewestic@lewes.go.uk
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