East Sussex Coast Defences – 2,000 Years of Invasions скачать в хорошем качестве

East Sussex Coast Defences – 2,000 Years of Invasions

From prehistoric hillforts on the South Downs to World War Two pillboxes on the beach, this film follows 2,000 years of coastal defences along the East Sussex shoreline. One coast, many enemies, and a narrow strip of water that keeps attracting trouble. We start on the high ground at Mount Caburn and Ditchling Beacon, where Iron Age communities cut banks and ditches to watch the routes below. From there the story drops into the Roman Empire at Pevensey, with the Saxon Shore fort of Anderitum guarding a vulnerable harbour on the edge of Roman Britain. The Norman conquest shifts the focus to Hastings Castle on the headland, locking down the shoreline after 1066. In the medieval period, ports like Winchelsea and Rye fortify themselves with stone walls, gates and towers, facing repeated French raids across the Channel. Under Henry VIII, Camber Castle appears between Rye and Winchelsea – a purpose-built gun fort designed to command the anchorage. Beacons on the Downs stand ready to warn of the Spanish Armada, and later the Napoleonic scare brings chains of Martello towers and the Eastbourne Redoubt, turning the beaches into a line of artillery. The Victorian era and the run-up to the World Wars add Newhaven Fort, experimental sound mirrors on Romney Marsh and, finally, Second World War pillboxes, stop lines and coast batteries at places like Pett Level and Toot Rock – the last time this coast was fully prepared for a seaborne invasion. Today the defences are less about castles and concrete and more about patrols, sensors and laws. But the pattern is familiar. The same East Sussex coastline, the same English Channel, and the same uneasy horizon that has shaped local life for centuries. If you enjoy this kind of local history and coastal exploration, please consider subscribing, leaving a comment, and sharing the video. It really helps the channel grow. Chapters & locations: 0:00 Coast Built for Invasion – East Sussex coastline, Seaford & Newhaven 1:31 Iron Age Hillforts – Mount Caburn & South Downs ridge 3:02 Pevensey Castle – Roman Saxon Shore fort 4:29 Hastings Castle – Norman stronghold on the headland 5:24 Winchelsea Gatehouses – medieval walls and Cinque Port defences 6:39 Camber Castle – Tudor artillery fort between Rye and Winchelsea 7:51 South Downs Beacons – Ditchling Beacon and Armada signal line 8:58 Martello Towers & Redoubt – Napoleonic defences at Eastbourne and Seaford 10:13 Newhaven Fort – Victorian Palmerston fort guarding the harbour 11:21 WW2 Toot Rock – Pett Level coast battery and pillboxes 12:41 Small Boats & Refugees – a modern kind of “invasion” 13:37 Conclusion – closing the loop along the East Sussex coast #EastSussex #SussexCoast #CoastalDefences #UKHistory #SussexHistory #PevenseyCastle #HastingsCastle #Winchelsea #Rye #CamberCastle #MartelloTowers #NewhavenFort #RomneyMarsh #EnglishChannel #HistoryDocumentary #LandscapePhotography