HOD TOUR: The Alley and the Commons
Gotham Alley sits behind Claremont, overlooked by the massive Observer Building. This feels like a secret corner, a crack in the White Rock, exposing layers of history reaching back to the time of the America Ground and millions of years before.
It is a genuine urban commons at the heart of Hastings Commons.
As part of the national Heritage Open Day festival, come for a look around the Alley and the Commons: Rose Cottage, an old stables now serving as a hub for community empowerment; 12 Claremont, a dynamic and inclusive space for the arts; and the iconic Observer Building - a multi-use, multi-storey building rescued after 35 years of dereliction. Hear how the people of the America Ground were displaced and why the Alley was never claimed by the Crown.
Hosted by Hastings Commons: a collection of 11 community-owned buildings in the White Rock neighbourhood of Hastings. This event has been organised in conjunction with the Hastings Heritage Forum.
Rose Cottage was a tumbledown stables and the oldest building in the quarter. It is restored and now home to Common Treasury CIC, who support community builders across the country. It is currently displaying a photo series by Enrico X exploring Hasting Commons CLT and the challenges it faces, and the severe problems of housing and dereliction it works to tackle. Drop in to Rose Cottage any time between 11am and 4pm. The official tour will begin at Rose Cottage at 12 noon, and will include the Observer Building, former home to the Hastings and St Leonards Observer, gradually being restored by Hastings Commons.
We’ll drop into 12 Claremont too, a historic building that now serves as an inclusive creative hub. Here Project Art Works are hosting In Residence, a brand-new gallery, workshop space, and shop in the heart of Hastings. Located next door to the Hastings Library, 12 Claremont has been beautifully renovated by Hastings Commons. As part of a longstanding alliance with Project Art Works the building serves as a vibrant, central hub of creativity, inclusion, and community engagement, with many other fascinating tenants (Amici Studios, shedkm, and many more).
For a more in depth look at 12 Claremont, the building is hosting its own tour on Wednesday 16th September.
TIMINGS
12 Claremont: open 11am-4pm
Rose Cottage: open 11am-4pm
Alley: open all day, everyday!
Tour leaves from Rose Cottage: 12 noon
Tucked behind Hastings Library and Claremont Street, you can find the Alley and Rose Cottage by heading towards the back entrance of the Observer Building and following the alley round to the left.
Rose Cottage has limited wheelchair access - there is a slight step to enter. The rest of the tour is accessible with lift access throughout the Observer Building and a Changing Places toilet in the basement of 12 Claremont.