On Thursday, 12th February 2026, Bexhill Heritage’s Civic Pride Awards took place at St. Barnabas Church to showcase places in Bexhill that best represented ‘civic pride’.
Meeting Places
The Crafty Norman Brasserie, 25 St. Leonards Road
Popular brasserie; heritage features retained and enhanced; stimulating and welcoming interior.
The Town House, 1 London Road
Purpose-built as a hotel in 1886; one of the first buildings in the ‘new town’; heritage features have been retained or replicated by the owners.
The Pelham, Holliers Hill
Once a Victorian railway hotel, now a vital community facility; heritage features retained inside and out.
Open Spaces
West Indies Gardens, West Parade
Davey Gardening maintain this exposed garden in immaculate condition; one of very few companies to use traditional cylinder mowers.
Marina Court Gardens, Marina
One of the least promising sites in Bexhill; the border gardens have been expertly planted and maintained by Rob Bury of Smart Homes and Gardens.
St. Barnabas Church Garden, Cantelupe Road
Sandy Walker lovingly maintains and improves the gardens in all weathers; she enlists the help of others to obtain supplies and for some of the bigger jobs; Sandy’s contribution surprises, delights and inspires all who see the gardens; her work helps to draw people into the church.
Bexhill Beach Garden, West Parade
A transformational team effort to fire the imagination; a project by the community for the community.
Shops
La Collina Gardens, 18 St. Leonards Road
The original Victorian shop-front has been lovingly conserved in this outstanding example of Bexhill’s shopping past; Sharon, together with a great team of talented staff, enjoy serving the people of Bexhill, many of whom have become friends.
Hearts, 46 Devonshire Road
Hugely attractive interior to draw customers in and hold their attention; Dionne and her team make the most of their shop-front and delight customers with the displays inside.
C. Wells & Sons, 30 Sackville Road
One of Bexhill’s oldest family-run businesses, trading since 1904; the classic 1950s shop-front has a surprise inside, an extraordinarily intact example of a traditional shoe shop with a fine stained-glass window.
Services
Sailor Jenny’s, 4 Buckhurst Place
A stand-out retail renovation and conversion; heritage features outside reveal an intriguing and pristine interior.
Heringtons Solicitors, 19-21 Eversley Road
A pair of Victorian semis sympathetically restored and repurposed; sash windows, stained glass, pargeting, chimneys, and decorated fascia boards are just a few of the original features that stand out in this inspiring renovation.
