From Winchelsea the next large seaside resort is Hastings, which together with St Leonards-on-Sea, forms a municipal area with some 75,000 inhabitants. A popular seaside resort, the town is famed for sporting and cultural events as well as the site of the Battle of Hastings in 1066, which in fact took place at Battle 6mi/10km away. Its
importance as one of the Cinque Ports ended with a series of destructive floods and repeated arson attacks by the French at the end of the 14th century. The town experienced another heyday in the 19th century when it became a seaside resort, taking Brighton as its model.