The manor of Stone was one of several medieval land divisions in
the area now covered by Hastings. Much of the land in the manor was
part of a single farm.
Originally named Cildetona (farm of the heirs or children), the
name became modernised to Childerton and later Chillington Farm,
before being recorded as High Ridge Farm in 1714. Yeakell and
Gardner's Sussex map of 1778-1783 shows the extent of farmland in
this area.
The name had been changed to Salver Hill Farm by 1785 and by
1815 it was known as Silver Hill Farm. The tenant farmer was John
Standen, and the farm remained with his family until 1842, when it
was bought by Francis Smith. Around this time, Hastings and the
high-class neighbouring St Leonards-on-Sea had begun to develop
rapidly as fashionable seaside resorts, helped by better transport
connections and royal patronage. New turnpikes were built
northwards to Sedlescombe in 1837 and Battle the following year to
reduce the road distance from Hastings and St Leonards-on-Sea to
London; the roads met at Silver Hill Farm, and the area began to
develop as a suburb.
Despite this development, by 1853 Silver Hill Farm was still a
working farm. Francis Smith owned it and a local shopkeeper, George
Street, was its tenant. By 1856, Francis Smith was in some
financial difficulties and started selling his land for housing and
other development. He donated part of the proceeds towards building
the chapel that is now St. Luke's Church.
From 1860, the pace of development increased in Silverhill (by
now established as the name of the suburb). New terraced houses,
villas and inns were built, and more of the farmland was sold. In
the 1870s, the new farmer was George Burry Clement, with 502 acres
of land remaining. Incidentally, George Clement was on the Board of
Directors of the company that first employed Eugenius Birch to
design a Pier for Hastings in 1869. He also had a residence at 4
Pelham Place. During George Clement’s time, some cottages
were built along the turnpike, to house farm labourers. They were
called Clement Cottages or Villas and two of these cottages
survived until fairly recently – numbers 135 and 137
Sedlescombe Road North, just north or Briers Avenue. They have now
been replaced by modern town houses. Just one former farm building
remains – it is faced with boards, on the other side of the
road. It was also a Clement property, the home of the family
coachman.
Silverhill Farm eventually disappeared before and just after the
First War, gobbled up almost without trace by speculative
builders.