Coastguards' Cottages

About Coastguards' Cottages

These houses were the Coastguards' Cottages until the present Coastguard Station was built at the top of the cliff behind the houses. Where the private house stands to the north of these cottages stood a building commonly known as the ‘Barracks'. which seems to have been used for housing militia men in the Napoleonic war of 1803- 14.
During a cholera epidemic in 1849, when more than 100 people out of the town's population of 1400 died, the ‘Barracks' was used as a temporary hospital. The building was demolished early in the 20th century, though the remains of the gable-end wall now serve as a sea wall. This can be seen on the way along the beach to the cliff walk and where you may be able to spot the blocked up door.