| Summary : Dyke Hotel, built c1817, became the hub of an adventure park occupying much of the interior of Devil's Dyke hillfort (TQ 21 SE 3), which attracted daytrippers from Brighton in enormous numbers throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Historic Ordnance Survey maps and numerous Edwardian postcards and other documents show that the hotel itself was much larger than it is at present, and testify to the presence of two bandstands, lawns, tea pavilions and a series of fairground adventure rides, including a rollercoaster known as the 'switchback railway' (TQ 21 SE 106), a 'bicycle railway' (TQ 21 SE 107) and an aerial ropeway (TQ 21 SE 108). The complex could be accessed by road from the south, and from the foot of the Downs on the north-west by a funicular railway (TQ 21 SE 109), presumably allowing those who could afford it to complete a full circuit.
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| More information : (TQ 2584 1103) Dyke Hotel.
The hotel, built c1817, became the hub of an adventure park occupying much of the interior of Devil's Dyke hillfort (TQ 21 SE 3), which attracted daytrippers from Brighton in enormous numbers throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Historic Ordnance Survey maps and numerous Edwardian postcards and other documents show that the hotel itself was much larger than it is at present, and testify to the presence of two bandstands, lawns, tea pavilions and a series of fairground adventure rides, including a rollercoaster known as the 'switchback railway' (TQ 21 SE 106), a 'bicycle railway' (TQ 21 SE 107) and an aerial ropeway (TQ 21 SE 108). The complex could be accessed by road from the south, and from the foot of the Downs on the north-west by a funicular railway (TQ 21 SE 109), presumably allowing those who could afford it to complete a full circuit. (1)
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