Eastbourne is a large borough on the South coast, in the county of East Sussex. The town grew from a collection of small hamlets in the early 19th century to a large town wit a population of around 100,000.

The name comes from Anglo-Saxon bourne meaning a chalk stream. It is not clear whether East refers to the settlement to the East of the stream, or if the settlement grew up beside the easternmost stream. The actual stream rises as a spring in what is now a public park called Motcombe Gardens. The stream today now largely runs underground, joining other drainage channels and draining into Princes Park Lake.

Eastbourne pier is one of a few surviving Victorian piers designed by Eugenius Birch, officially opened in 1872. It was recently upgraded to a grade II* listed building in 2009.