Remember the Allchorn Pleasure Boats?

The guest speaker is Lloyd Stebbings who is restoring the old pleasure boats which used to be operated by William Allchorn from a base just west of the pier.

The business was established in 1861 by Edward Allchorn offering pleasure boat rides along the coast.

Many others set up as rivals to his company but by the early 1960s, partly due to the increasing popularity of foreign holidays, only two remained - Allchorn and Sayers Brothers.

In 1964, the latter gave up and sold the boat, the Southern Queen, to the Allchorns.

In 1990, Brian Allchorn, the great grandson of the founder, decided to retire and the business was sold to a third party.

In 2001 it was acquired by Maritime Ltd which continued until 2006 when ownership passed to James Foster of Eastbourne Marine.

The two vessels, William Allchorn and Southern Queen, still exist and are being restored.

Lloyd will give a more detailed history and an update on how the restorations are progressing.

Non members are welcome for an entrance fee of £2. Light refreshments will be available.