Tide Mills: From Thriving Town to Abandoned Ruins

In 2025, the seaside town of Tide Mills in Sussex is a mere shadow of its former self. Less than a century ago, this tiny part of the south coast was filled with industry and village life, centered around a tidal mill that began operating in 1761.

The town's prosperity was short-lived, however. In 1864, the railway network extended to Seaford, making it cheaper and easier for farmers to send their grain to London to be milled. Just over a decade later, a huge storm caused significant damage to the mill, and it never regained full capacity. By 1883, the mill had stopped working, and the "beating heart of the village fell silent."

Slowly, the community cornerstones began to disappear, and the people struggled to survive. In 1936, a headline in the Daily Mail described the "squalor" in which the residents lived, with a lack of running water, sewage facilities, and electricity. The following year, Seaford council deemed the village unfit for habitation and issued an eviction order, giving the residents just nine months to move out.