HASTINGS, a borough and market-town, the principal of the cinque-ports, having separate jurisdiction, locally in the rape of Hastings, county of SUSSEX, 69 miles (E.) from Chichester, and 64 (S.E.) from London, containing, exclusively of that part of the parish of St. Mary in the Castle which is in the hundred of Baldslow, 6085 inhabitants. This place, which is of great antiquity, attained considerable importance during the Saxon Heptarchy, and is generally supposed to have derived its name from Hastings, a noted Danish pirate, contemporary with Alfred the Great, who erected a fortress hereto secure the retreat of his party after having pillaged the neighbouring country. In 924, Athelstan established a mint at this place, of which some notice occurs in Domesday-book; and "William the Conqueror, on his landing at Pevensey, repaired the castle and took up his station in this town, whence he marched to meet Harold, whom he defeated in that decisive battle to which Hastings has given name, but which was fought at the distance of eight miles from the town, on a spot on which he subsequently built the abbey of Battel. Of the castle, which was erected on a high hill to the west of the present town, there are still extensive remains, consisting of a considerable portion of the outer wall, in which are parts of two towers and gateways of Norman architecture, and the foundation of the keep, surrounded by a broad and deep fosse, with vestiges of a draw-bridge and other fortifications. Within, the walls have been cleared from the rubbish, which for more than two centuries had nearly concealed them, and thus have been discovered the remains of the church and conventual buildings of a free college, for a dean arid seven prebendaries, probably founded by Henry de Eu, in the reign of Henry I., and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin; at the dissolution, the revenue of the deanery was rated at £20 per annum, and that of the prebends, collectively, at £41. 13. 5. The collegiate church is one hundred and ten feet in length, and adjoining it are the remains of the parish church of St.Mary in the Castle, the chapter- house, and the prebendal buildings, forming an interesting mass of ruins, which have been recently enclosed by the Earl of Chichester. Numerous Saxon coins, fragments of columns, pottery, and other relics of antiquity, have been discovered on the spot. In the reign of Richard I., a priory of Black canons was founded here by Walter Bricet, of which the church and other buildings having been destroyed by the encroachments of the sea, Sir John Pelham, in the reign of Henry IV., gave the brethren lands at Warbilton, for the foundation of a church and monastery, which were finally erected near the town, and of which, at the dissolution, the revenue was £57. 19. By charter of William the Conqueror, this town, together with Hythe, was added to the three previously incorporated ports of Sandwich, Dovor, and Romney, being invested with, peculiar privileges; and in the time of Edward I. it was rated at twenty-one ships, with twenty-one mariners in each, for .the service of the king for fourteen days, at its own charge: it soon became, and has ever since been considered, the principal of the cinque-ports. In 1377, Hastings was burnt by the French, who made a descent upon this part of the coast j but it was soon afterwards rebuilt. The town is pleasantly situated in a vale formed into an amphitheatre, open to the sea on the south, by two lofty cliffs, of which one extends to the sea, and the other towards the land, and consists of two principal streets parallel with, each other, which, from their declivity towards the sea, are always clean and dry: it is well paved and lighted by act of parliament, the expense being defrayed by a duty of three shillings per chaldron on. all coal brought into the port: the houses are in general well built, and the inhabitants are supplied with water from the Bourne, which divides the town into two parts. The salubrity and mildness of the air, arising from the sheltered situation of the town, by which it is defended from the north and east winds, render it peculiarly eligible as a place of residence for invalids, and these advantages concurring with the openness of the coast, and the smoothness of its beach, have long made it a fashionable and well-frequented place for sea-bathing. At low water, the fine level sands afford a healthy and fashionable promenade, and from the high grounds the prospects are richly diversified with scenery of luxuriant cultivation, and of boldly romantic character. Among the more recent improvements are the erection of Pelham-place and crescent, the Bazaar, Wellingtonsquare, and numerous handsome lodging-houses near the sea for the accommodation of visitors: the Pelham baths are well fitted up with hot, cold, vapour, and showerbaths, with every convenience for their use, and numerous bathing-machines are in constant attendance on the beach. There are some good libraries; assemblies and concerts take place during the season at the Swan Inn. A small theatre has been recently erected; and races, established in 1827, which have been highly patronised, are annually held in September. A fine terrace-walk has been formed on the east side of the Castle-hill, where are the ruins already noticed. The town is defended by a strong fort, and the coast by additional batteries and martello towers. The harbour, now called the Stade, formerly afforded safe anchorage for ships, but has fallen into disuse since the reign of Elizabeth, when the pier was destroyed by a storm, since which time the harbour has been inconsiderable, and will not admit vessels of more than one hundred tons' burden. A cxistom-house, with an establishment of twelve riding officers, is maintained here. The trade of the port is principally in lime, which is burnt near the town; in corn, iron, timber, and coal, which are sent coastwise, and in which not more than fifteen vessels are employed; and in the herring and mackerel fishery, which employs about eighty boats for the supply of the London market. The market days are Wednesday and Saturday, the latter for corn: the fairs are on Whit- Tuesday, July 26th and 27th, and November 23rd. The government, by charter of incorporation granted by Elizabeth in 1588, and confirmed and enlarged by Charles II., is vested in a mayor, recorder, and twelve jurats, who are called barons, assisted by a townclerk, chamberlain, and other officers, of whom one -js pier-warden, and regulates the port, collecting 10s. from every vessel not in ballast which enters it. - The mayor is elected from among the jurats by the freemen, on the third Sunday after Easter, and is liable to fine or imprisonment for refusing to serve the office; and the jurats are appointed by the mayor as vacancies occur. The mayor and jurats are justices of the peace, with whom, in respect to the custom and excise laws, the county magistrates have concurrent jurisdiction. The freedom of the borough is inherited by the eldest son of a freeman born within the borough, or obtained by gift from the corporation: the inhabitants are exempt from serving on juries at the assizes or sessions for the county. The corporation hold quarterly courts "of session, at which the mayor presides, for determining on offences committed within the borough; but though invested with power to try capital offenders, these are generally tried at the assizes for the county, held at Lewes. They also hold a court of record, for the recovery of debts to any amount, every alternate week, at which the mayor presides. Guestlings and brotherhoods are courts held at uncertain intervals by the corporations of the cinque-ports; a guestling consists of a full assembly, composed of five or six deputies from each port,with plenary powers; the mayor of every port in turn issuing notices for the meetings; a brotherhood consists of one or two deputies from each port, convened to deliberate on affairs of inferior importance. The town-hall, under which the market is held, is a neat edifice, rebuilt in 1823, at the expense of the corporation. The common gaol is a small building divided into two departments, and capable of receiving only eight prisoners. The elective franchise "was conferred in the 42nd of Edward III., since which time Hastings has continued to return two members to parliament: the right of election is vested in the mayor, jurats, and freemen resident in the borough, and not receiving alms; the mayor is the returning, officer. The town comprises the united parishes of All Samts and. St. Clement, both rectories, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Chichester, the former rated m tne king's books at £19. 12. 9., and the latter at £23. 6. 10., each endowed with £200 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Rev. G. G. Stonestreet. The churches of All Saints and St. Clement's have been both handsome structures of flint and stone, in the later style of English architecture, but have suffered greatly from mutilation, and repeated repairs and alterations. An episcopal chapel, situated in the centre of Pelham-crescent, a chaste and elegant edifice, was begun by the late, and has been recently completed by the present, Earl of Chichester. There are places of worship for Baptists, Bryanites, Huntingtonians, Independents, and Wesleyan Methodists. A school for the instruction of boys in reading, writing, arithmetic, and navigation, was founded in 1619, by the Rev. William Parker, who endowed it with property producing upwards of £210 per annum; it is open to all the children of the town, A school was founded in 1708, by James Saunders, Esq., who endowed it with estates producing nearly £240 per annum, for teaching seventy boys reading, writing, and the English and Latin languages, and for the payment of £ 10 per annum to two mistresses, for teaching thirty younger children of each of the parishes of All Saints and St. Clement to r6ad: the schools are under the direction of the cor poration. The fourth part of an estate of one hundred and ninety-two acres of land, belonging to the dissolved priory, and producing £ 270 per annum, was bequeathed, in 1714, by Mr. Richard Ellsworth, for teaching poor children; but the benefaction has not been carried into effect, owing to the property being involved in a suit in Chancery. Mr. J. Spencer Milward, who died intestate in 1760, directed that £ 10 per annum should be paid for the instruction of poor children; and in consequence of this recommendation a larger sum is now applied by his representative to that purpose. The Magdalene charity, of which the corporation are trustees, was endowed by some unknown benefactor with an estate producing more than £150 per annum. About two miles frofti Hastings is a large stone, on which it is said that William the Conqueror dined on his landing on this coast. Titus Gates, the ministerial informer in the reign of Charles II., was the officiating clergyman of All Saints' parish, and lived in a house which is still in existence; and Edward Capel, Esq., one of Shakspeare's commentators, resided in a house now called East Cliffe House, in the garden of which is a mulberry tree planted by Garrick, Hastings gives the title of marquis to the noble family of Rawdon-Hastings.