Description

Summary: map of Milford-on-Sea estate, the property of Colonel Cornwallis West. No date, but c. 1890? 1900? Paper on linen, coloured. Architect C. Evans Vaughan, London. Includes enlarged black and white drawing of Hotel Victoria: on inserted key plan of proposed railway to Milford: and a plan shows new roads, a few houses already built and the hotel: the golf links: site reserved for railway station etc.

Identification note: paper is in bad condition, but map is to be conserved by Jackie. A few bits missing at bottom edge. Has been nailed to a bar of wood at the top. (Both owners returning to Amsterdam).

Identification note: In the 1880s William Cornwallis-West of Newlands Manor decided to try to develop Milford into a high-class seaside resort in order to exploit the property he owned on the cliff top with its magnificent views. He wanted to emulate what his friend, the Duke of Westminster, had done at Eastbourne and thereby get himself out of financial difficulties. Plans were made for houses, a hotel, gardens, and a hydropathic establishment, and in preparation roads were laid out and named after the family (Whitby, West, De la Warr, Pless). He placed restrictions on the development to ensure its quality – each plot was ½ - 1 acre and each house should cost at least £1,200. However, the plan never attracted the finance it needed and his vision was never realised. The roads remain though, paying homage to the Cornwallis-West family.