Beachy Head is located within the administrative area ofEastbourne Borough Council which owns the land, forming part of theEastbourne Downland Estate. The cliff is the highestchalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 m (531 ft) above sea level. The peak allows views of the south east coast towardsDungeness in the east, and to theIsle of Wight in the west.
LB&SCR H2 class4-4-2 steam locomotive number 424 (later B424, 2424, and 32424) was namedBeachy Head after this landmark.
The chalk was formed in theLate Cretaceous epoch, between 66 and 100 million years ago, when the area was under the sea. During theCenozoic Era, the chalk wasuplifted (seeCenozoic Era). When thelast ice age ended, sea levels rose and theEnglish Channel formed, cutting into the chalk to form the dramatic cliffs along the Sussex coast.
Wave action contributes to the erosion of cliffs around Beachy Head, which experience frequent small rock falls. Since chalk forms in layers separated by contiguous bands of flints, the physical structure affects how the cliffs erode. Wave action undermines the lower cliffs, causing frequent slab failures – slabs from layers of chalk break off, undermining the upper parts of the cliffs, which eventually collapse.[1] In contrast to small rock falls, mass movements are less common. A mass movement happened in 2001 when, after a winter of heavy rain, the water had begun to seep into the cracks which had frozen and caused the cracks to widen. This then made the cliff edge erode and collapse into the sea, destroying a well-known chalk stack called the Devil's Chimney.[2]
The name Beachy Head appears as 'Beauchef' in 1274, becoming 'Beaucheif' by 1317, and it has nothing to do with the word "beach". Instead, it is a corruption of the original French words meaning "beautiful headland" (beau chef). It was regularly called Beachy Head by 1724.[3][4]
The ashes of German social scientist and philosopherFriedrich Engels, one of the fathers of communism, were scattered off the cliffs at Beachy Head into theChannel, as he had requested.[3]
Human remains discovered in the1950s were subjected toforensic reconstruction,carbon dating, andradioisotype analysis, and it was concluded that they were those of aRomanwoman ofSub-Saharan African origin who grew up in the Eastbourne area in about 200–250CE. She became known asBeachy Head Lady.[7][8][9] However, in 2021, DNA testing indicated she was of "southern European lineage, most likely from Cyprus";[10] the parish later ordered the removal of a plaque erected by theBBC "to commemorate the first black Briton."[11]
The headland has been considered a danger to shipping. In 1831, construction began on theBelle Tout Lighthouse on the next headland west from Beachy Head. Because mist and low clouds could hide the light of Belle Tout, it was decommissioned in 1902, after theBeachy Head Lighthouse had been built in the sea below Beachy Head as a replacement.
During theSecond World War, theRoyal Air Force (RAF) established a forward relay station at Beachy Head to improve radio communications with aircraft. In 1942, signals were picked up at Beachy Head which were identified as TV transmissions from theEiffel Tower. The Germans had reactivated the pre-war TV transmitter and instituted a Franco-German service for military hospitals and VIPs in the Paris region. The RAF monitored these programmes, hoping (in vain) to gather intelligence from newsreels.[13] The area had an important wartimeradar station. During theCold War, a radar control centre was operational in an underground bunker from 1953 to 1957.[3]On 20 May 1942, aMesserschmitt Bf 109 of JG26 piloted by Uffz. Oswald Fischer belly-landed on the beach due to flak damage. Fischer was taken prisoner, and the relatively undamaged plane was sent to RAE Farnborough for examination and evaluation. The plane was probably scrapped at the end of the war.[14]
West from Belle Tout, the cliffs drop down toBirling Gap, then ascend through theSeven Sisters chalk cliffs to Haven Brow, overlooking theCuckmere valley. The area is a popular tourist attraction. Birling Gap has a restaurant and, in the summer, multipleice cream vans serve the area. There are many choices of walking routes.
Phone box and sign advertising theSamaritans at Beachy Head.
Estimates of the number of annual deaths at Beachy Head vary from 20 a year to many more.[15] In 2010, it was the third most commonsuicide spot in the world, after theGolden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and theAokigahara Woods in Japan, according toThe Wall Street Journal.[16]
The Beachy Head Chaplaincy Team conducts regular day and evening patrols of the area in attempts to locate and stop potential cliffjumpers. Workers at the pub and taxi drivers are also on the lookout for people contemplating suicide and there are signs with the telephone number of theSamaritans urging potential jumpers to call them.[17]
Deaths at the site are often covered by the media,[18] and Ross Hardy, the founder of the chaplaincy team, has said that this encourages suicidal people to choose the site.[17]Eastbourne Borough Council drew media coverage in 2018 for its policy of removing shrines and crosses left at Beachy Head by families of suicide victims.[19]
The earliest reports of deaths by suicide at Beachy Head come from the 7th century. Between 1965 and 1979, there were 124 deaths at the location. Of these, S. J. Surtees wrote that 115 of them were "almost certainly" suicides (although acoroner's verdict of suicide was recorded in only 58 cases), and that 61 percent of the victims were from outside East Sussex.[18] After a steady increase in deaths between 2002 and 2005, there were only seven fatalities in 2006, a marked decrease.[20] TheMaritime and Coastguard Agency, whose Coastguard Rescue Teams are responsible for the rescue of injured jumpers and the recovery of the dead, attributed the reduction to the work of the Chaplaincy Team and good coverage of services by the local media.[20][21] At least 26 people died at the site in 2008.[22]
The location Beachy Head has appeared in numerous films:
It is featured in the climax of the 1931 filmThe Flying Fool, in which the villain's car is chased by the hero's plane over the cliffs. The car driven by the villain for the long chase sequence is a 4 1/2 litre Bentley belonging toSir Henry (Tim) Birkin, whose private motor works was across the street fromthe studio in Welwyn Garden City that made the film. Captain Birkin's Motor Works, set up to developthe "blower" Bentley, built a dummy car from spare parts to be filmed falling from the cliffs.
In the final scene of the 1947 filmThe Upturned Glass, the murderer, an eminent surgeon played byJames Mason, commits suicide by stepping off the cliff.
It appears briefly in the 1968 filmChitty Chitty Bang Bang, when Chitty falls from it and then flies for the first time.
The area is visible in aerial scenes of the 1969 filmBattle of Britain when RAF Spitfires of Squadron Leader Canfield (Michael Caine) intercept German Stuka bombers.
In the 1979 filmQuadrophenia, the final scene showsPhil Daniels jumping off ascooter just before it goes over the top of Beachy Head.
The 1980 filmHopscotch with Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson has a flying scene that includes a mid-air explosion over the cliffs with the lighthouse in view below.
The area was used as a backdrop in many key scenes in Jenny Downham's 2007 young adult novelBefore I Die and in its 2012 film adaptation directed byOl ParkerNow Is Good.
The 2010 remake of Graham Greene'sBrighton Rock was filmed extensively at Beachy Head as well as in nearby Eastbourne, which was preferred to Brighton.
It appears in the 2017 filmThe Hitman's Bodyguard in the scene driving to Amsterdam. It shows both Beachy Head lighthouse and Bell Tout lighthouse, although Bell Tout had red and white stripes added by CGI.
Romantic poetCharlotte Smith's poemBeachy Head, published in 1807, uses the geography of Beachy Head to reflect on the history of England and human nature.
Eastbourne born poet Andrew Franks includes a number of references to Beachy Head in his work, includingBelle Tout in his collection,The Last of the Great British Traitors.
InRichard Jefferies' fine essay 'The Breeze on Beachy Head', first published in the 'Standard' on 6 September 1881 and collected in 'Nature Near London' in 1883.[25]
The cover photo of English avant-garde quartetThrobbing Gristle's 1979 record20 Jazz Funk Greats was taken at Beachy Head. There is also a track named "Beachy Head" on the album.
In 1980, the beach was used as a location forDavid Bowie's music video to promote his single "Ashes to Ashes".
The Cure used the location for the music video of their 1985 single "Close to Me".
The location is referenced in the song "Running Wild" on the albumUndertow by the British bandDrenge.
Progressive Celtic rock bandIona included a song titled "Beachy Head" on their 1993 album,Beyond These Shores.
Beachy Head was used as a film location for the video of 'Quello Che Faro', an operatic cover of Bryan Adams' "Everything I Do, I Do It For You", recorded by classical-crossover artist,Katherine Jenkins on her 2006 album,Serenade.
Alternative rock bandNada Surf mentions Beachy Head in "The Fox", a song from their 2008 albumLucky.[26]
Beachy Head was used as the location for aMonty Python sketch.
Jeremy Clarkson performed a 50th birthday tribute for the Jaguar E Type on Beachy Head during an episode ofTop Gear
In the 17th December 2021 release of The Grand Tour, Beachy Head was filmed during the end of the episode of "Carnage a Trois" whilst Clarkson and Hammond were driving the Citroën SM
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