This is the collapsing UK seaside town that every resident had to leave behind

Despite what many people think, the UK has plenty of eerie, abandoned places, perfect for exploring during spooky season.

One such spot is a once-thriving seaside village that became completely deserted after its residents were forced to leave.

Now, it stands in ruins, surrounded by the quiet marshlands of Sussex.

Photo © PAUL FARMER (cc-by-sa/2.0)

Less than a hundred years ago, Tide Mills was a well-known settlement along the south coast.

It grew around a tidal mill built in 1761, where a small community worked together to grind corn, wheat and flour. Life was simple and hardworking until 1795, when English troops attacked their own people, attempting to strip the village bare.

The soldiers, exhausted and starving from the Napoleonic Wars, tried to steal around 200 sacks of flour.

Luckily, they were caught before they could carry out their plan.

A decade later, businessman William Catt bought the mill and transformed the village by adding a huge greenhouse where he grew exotic fruits such as pineapples and figs, according to the Tide Mills Project.

But life under Catt’s rule was far from idyllic. High walls were built around the village, and a strict curfew was enforced every night at 10.10 pm. Anyone who missed the deadline faced harsh punishment.

The Mirror reported that Catt would take away beer tokens for the local pub and put latecomers under “village arrest” for a whole month.

Photo © Ian Capper (cc-by-sa/2.0)

These strict rules were only the beginning of the end for Tide Mills. When the railway line was extended to nearby Seaford in 1864, farmers began using trains to transport goods to London more quickly and cheaply.

Then, ten years later, a violent storm struck and badly damaged the mill. Being so close to the sea made repairs difficult, and the business never recovered.

According to the Tide Mills Project, the mill finally shut down in 1883. They wrote: “The Mill, which provided work for so many men, had stopped and the beating heart of the village fell silent.

The Mill buildings were converted into warehouses where a few men continued to work.” Over time, the village’s other trades disappeared too, including the blacksmith, carpenter and school, leaving Tide Mills to crumble into history.

Remember - LeaveNoTrace!

As with anywhere outdoors, kindly keep these areas pristine and wild by taking all trash with you. The amount of complaints we have seen since the pandemic is crazy. It's really not that hard to take your rubbish with you!

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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