The seaside town where residents were driven out overnight and never returned
- UK Hidden Gems
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Once a lively seaside community, this place in Sussex now stands as a shadow of what it used to be after its residents were forced out overnight.
Today, all that remains are scattered piles of brick and broken walls. You could easily walk past without realising that a busy little village once stood on this quiet stretch of marshland.
Yet less than 100 years ago, this part of the south coast was full of life, work and neighbours who all knew each other.
As the name hints, the village grew around a tidal mill that began working in 1761. At first it was very simple. Local men loaded barges with corn and wheat, while women repaired flour sacks. A small cluster of cottages surrounded the mill.
In 1795, Tide Mills saw shocking drama when starving English soldiers fighting in the Napoleonic Wars stole 200 sacks of flour. They were quickly caught and executed.
Ten years later, the village grew when William Catt bought the mill. Fascinated by unusual fruit, he built a huge greenhouse to grow pineapples and figs, according to the Tide Mills Project.
But life under Catt was far from perfect. He controlled the village tightly, building high walls and enforcing a strict curfew at 10:10 pm.
Anyone returning just ten minutes late from the pub had their beer tokens taken away and was banned from leaving the village for a month.
Two major changes marked the start of Tide Mills’ decline. In 1864, the railway reached Seaford, making it cheaper for farmers to send their grain to London instead.
Then, in 1875, a huge storm badly damaged the mill and filled its pond with stones. It never fully recovered.
“The way people lived changed a lot over the life of Tide Mills, especially when the Mill stopped working for good in 1883. The beating heart of the village fell silent. The Mill buildings became warehouses where some men stayed on,” explains the Tide Mills Project.
Slowly, the school, blacksmith and carpenters vanished, but the villagers stayed put, doing what they could to survive.
In the early 1900s, Tide Mills had a short burst of activity. A massive radio mast was built to guide ships, and in 1917 a seaplane base opened, bringing soldiers, aircraft noise and two large hangars to the shore.
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Litter tends to spread, so if you see any and are able to pick it up and dispose of it outside the hidden gem, it will help keep the area tidy.
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