Intended as "a high-class watering place by the sea, along the best lines [and] for the best people",[2] St Leonards-on-Sea was overshadowed by its larger neighbour Hastings and was merged into that town before the end of the 19th century, but Burton's venture was initially successful—particularly after a Royal visit in 1834–35 when the Duchess of Kent and the future Queen Victoria stayed at Crown House throughout the winter.

[3] By the 1820s he was in his 60s and very rich, but rather than retiring from property development he decided to undertake a major speculative project on the East Sussex coast west of the ancient town of Hastings.

[4] Although it is not known for certain why he chose this location, Hastings had grown rapidly in popularity in the early 19th century—prompted in part by the beauty of its undeveloped surroundings—and Burton is known to have visited the area in 1815, the year in which an influential guidebook to "watering-places" was republished.

[4][5] Land belonging to the former manor of Gensing, between Hastings and the former Cinque Port of Bulverhythe, became available in 1827, and Burton purchased a large site from the Eversfield baronets.

[7] Work began on the new town in early 1828, when proposals for a crescent of "commodious residences for large respectable families" were announced, as well as a new road which would reduce the length of the journey from London to the coast by 2 miles (3.2 km).

[9][10] The building contractor was "Yorky" Smith, who had built several Martello towers on the East Sussex coast before moving to Hastings and "play[ing] an important part in the physical development" of the area.

At the ceremony he described "the delights of his father's new town" and encouraged them to spend the winter in St Leonards-on-Sea;[12] and James Burton followed this up with an invitation for them to stay at Crown House.

Demolition was proposed in 1950 because of its poor condition:[14] Hastings Borough Council voted against it being statutorily listed, describing it as "a redundant building with an out-of-date design" and "fake Greek architecture".

[23] "Much smaller and more elegant" than the adjacent terraces and the "crass" postwar block immediately to its west,[24] it is a Classical-style building of two storeys with a symmetrical three-bay façade.