Editing Bexhill-on-Sea (section)

==Landmarks==
[[File:De La Warr Pavilion from promenade.JPG|thumb|De La Warr Pavilion from promenade]]
[[File:Flag and gazebo, Bexhill.JPG|thumb|One of the two gazebos at The Colonnade]]

The most notable landmark in Bexhill-on-Sea is the [[De La Warr Pavilion]]. The De La Warr Pavilion is a Grade I listed building, located on the seafront at Bexhill-on-Sea. The seafront building was the result of an architectural competition initiated by Herbrand Sackville, 9th [[Earl De La Warr]], after whom the building was named.
The 9th Earl, a committed socialist and Mayor of Bexhill, persuaded Bexhill council to develop the site as a public building. The competition was announced in ''[[Architects' Journal|The Architects' Journal]]'' in February 1934, with a programme that specified an entertainment hall to seat at least 1500 people; a 200-seat restaurant; a reading room; and a lounge. Initially, the budget for the project was limited to £50,000, although this was later raised to £80,000. Run by the [[Royal Institute of British Architects]], this competition attracted over 230 entrants, many of them practising in the Modernist style.
Shapes tend towards streamlined, industrially-influenced designs. The architects selected for the project, [[Erich Mendelsohn]] and [[Serge Chermayeff]], were leading figures in the Modern Movement.

The aesthetics employed in the International Style proved especially suited to the building, tending towards streamlined, industrially-influenced designs, often with expansive metal-framed windows, and eschewing traditional brick and stonework in favour of concrete and steel construction. Among the building's most innovative features was its use of a welded steel frame construction, pioneered by structural engineer Felix Samuely. Construction of the De La Warr Pavilion began in January 1935.

The building was opened on 12 December of the same year by the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth).
During World War II, the De La Warr Pavilion was used by the military. Bexhill and Sussex in general were vulnerable if the Germans decided to mount an invasion (Operation Sea Lion). Among those who served at the Pavilion during the War was [[Spike Milligan]], later a noted comedian. The building suffered minor damage to its foundations when the Metropole hotel adjacent to the building's western side was destroyed by German bombers.
After the War, management of the Pavilion was taken over by Bexhill Corporation (which later became Rother District Council). Changes were made to the building, many of which were inconsistent with the original design and aesthetic of the building. Lack of funds also resulted in an ongoing degradation of the building's fabric.

[[File:High Woods Nr Little Common East Sussex - geograph.org.uk - 111197.jpg|thumb|High Woods, Little Common, Bexhill-on-Sea]]
In 1986, the De La Warr Pavilion was granted a Grade I listed building status, essentially protecting the building from further inappropriate alteration. 1989 saw the formation of the Pavilion Trust, a group dedicated to protecting and restoring the building.

Playwright David Hare notioned that the site be used as an art gallery as opposed to an expected privatised redevelopment. In 2002, after a long application process the De La Warr Pavilion was granted £6&nbsp;Million by the Heritage Lottery Fund & the Arts Council, to restore the building and turn it into a contemporary arts centre. Work began in 2004 on the De La Warr Pavilion's regeneration and a transfer of the buildings ownership from Rother District Council to the De La Warr Pavilion Charitable Trust.
[[File:VOC Amsterdam wreck at low tide (aerial) 02.jpg|thumb|Wreck of the ''[[Amsterdam (1748)|VOC Amsterdam]]'', visible at low tide between Bexhill-on-Sea and St Leonards-on-Sea]]

In 2005, after an extensive programme of restoration and regeneration, the De La Warr Pavilion reopened as a contemporary arts centre, encompassing one of the largest galleries on the south coast of England. A small collection of archival materials related to the De La Warr Pavilion is collected in the Serge Chermayeff Papers held by the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University in New York City.
The Art Deco and International Style building was designed by the architects Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff and constructed in 1935. Although sometimes claimed to be the first major Modernist public building in Britain, it was in fact preceded by some months by the Dutch-influenced [[Hornsey Town Hall]].

A [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] lies within the Bexhill district&mdash;[[High Woods]]. It is of biological importance because it is the only known sessile oak ''[[Quercus petraea]]'' woodland in East Sussex.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/special/sssi/sssi_details.cfm?sssi_id=1001606|title=Natural England - SSSI|access-date=27 September 2008|publisher=English Nature|archive-date=25 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525101540/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/special/sssi/sssi_details.cfm?sssi_id=1001606|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Fossils]] are also commonly found in Bexhill. In 2009 the world's oldest [[spider web]] was found encased in [[amber]] in the town. It was 140&nbsp;million years old.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/8335719.stm |title=Spider web confirmed as 'oldest' |work=BBC News |access-date=3 November 2009 |archive-date=3 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091103073110/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/8335719.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> In June 2011 it was reported that the world's smallest [[dinosaur]] had been discovered at Ashdown Brickworks near the town. A single [[vertebra]] was found.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/new-dinosaur-found-at-brickworks-in-east-sussex-2297639.html|title=New dinosaur found at brickworks in east Sussex|newspaper=The Independent|location=London|first=Ben|last=Mitchell|date=15 June 2011|access-date=19 September 2017|archive-date=20 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820063813/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/new-dinosaur-found-at-brickworks-in-east-sussex-2297639.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Beeches Farm]] is a Grade II listed building.

The wreck of the ''[[Amsterdam (1748)|VOC Amsterdam]]'', an eighteenth century cargo ship that ran aground between Bexhill and St Leonards, can be seen at low tide.