Hastings

Hastings is a Sussex coastal town whose castle overlooks the English Channel. One of the Cinque Ports, it owed ships to the Crown and took part in the maritime defence of England. The town's fortunes were vulnerable both to the sea and to warfare across the Channel. In 1337 Hastings contributed ten ships to a fleet assembled at Sandwich. Yet coastal erosion and storms damaged the port and its castle, while French raids brought further destruction. Hastings was attacked and burned in 1339 and again in 1377, during the Hundred Years' War. Once an important member of the port confederation, it declined as a harbour after these repeated blows.