In the Heart of the 1066 Country ...

Just 5 miles east of Eastbourne and a mile inland from Pevensey bay, lays the old ancient town of Pevensey. Seeped in history since being the roman fort and port of anderida ,and the landing place of William the conqueror, Pevensey is home to a castle with roman ,Norman and world war II fortifications and , nestling halfway along its old high street ,is the Tudor court hall or ( house ) ,once the smallest working town hall and Jail in England.

Pevensey Courthouse & Jail, now a museum, dates from the thirteenth century and was the old town hall. Courts met there until the dissolution of the borough in 1866. The Courthouse is a step back in time to Medieval England. Bailiff and Jurats were holding "the queens majesties court" at Pevensey in 1590 and we also know that the Court House was built by 1595. By this time the Cinque Ports organisation was the only one in the Borough capable of initiating a project of this kind.

By early Tudor times the Castle had fallen into disrepair and was no longer inhabited, but Pevensey, like the rest of England, was recovering from the series of disasters which befell it during the 14th and 15th centuries, The Black Death, the Peasant's Revolt, the Hundred Years War, and the Wars of the Roses and sea trade was making the country prosperous.

If you have any interesting storey regarding the Pevensey courthouse, we at the courthouse would love to hear from you, for posting onto the website,