In 27 pictures: Restored historic Bexhill seafront shelter reopens

The shelter, restored by the group from Bexhill Heritage, is now home to a gallery illustrating the heritage buildings that have been lost to Bexhill and what, if anything, has replaced them.

Alexis Markwick, vice-chairman of Bexhill Heritage, said: “This joint project with Bexhill Museum shows how important it is to protect, conserve and restore the town’s important heritage assets. They help us develop a sense of place and community, encouraging pride in our town and its history. Where change takes place, new designs should be at least as good as those our ancestors have left in our care.”

Reopening ‘Shelter 4’, Cllr Richard Thomas, chairman of Rother District Council, outlined the building’s history.

He said: “It was built in 1921 by Frederick William Parker a prominent local undertaker who also built ‘Shelter 3’ further west down the promenade.

“The prefabricated Georgian-style lattice window panels would have been built in Parker’s workshop, with the help of his apprentices, and transported to the site for assembly.

“The construction quality is outstanding and it’s possible that Parker wished to ‘show off’ his firm’s woodworking skills to potential customers. Parker’s apprentices would have developed a huge range of practical woodworking skills. But I’m told that they might have been careless by installing one of the six compartment panels back to front.”

He said the restoration had been the result of a ‘fruitful partnership’ between the district council and Bexhill Heritage with the ‘enthusiastic support of local people’.

Bexhill mayor Paul Wilson said: “This fine restoration underlines the significance of charities and community organisations in Bexhill. The town council is determined to encourage such important community initiatives. With the support of the town council, we should be optimistic about our town’s future.”

Steve Johnson, chairman of Bexhill Heritage, paid tribute to the charity’s restoration team.

He said: “Our enthusiastic team of men and women have brought the shelter’s damp and damaged woodwork back to life through meticulous preparation and the use of use of high-quality paint in Bexhill’s town colours.

“Over 300 windows have been re-glazed using 1,240 hand-cut pieces of beading and almost 5,000 brass tacks. With the help of the Men’s Shed, all six original benches have been dismantled and fully restored. It’s been a mammoth effort of over 3,000 hours of voluntary labour but we’ve all felt it to be hugely worthwhile.”

For more information visit Bexhill Heritage’s website at bexhillheritage.com.