Newhaven is a port town in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England, lying at the mouth of the River Ouse.

Over the centuries the river has migrated between Newhaven and Seaford in response to the growth and decay of a shingle spit (shoal) at its mouth.

[3] In about 480 AD,[4] the Saxon people established a village near where Newhaven now stands, which they named "Meeching" (variously known as "Myching" or "Mitching").

Therefore, a channel through the shingle spit was cut in the mid-16th century below Castle Hill, creating access to a sheltered harbour, better than that at Seaford.

Under the Ouse Navigation Act (1790), a western breakwater was constructed to arrest longshore drift and so cut off the supply of shingle to the spit.

[8] Although there are some signs of the derelict facilities that serviced the former train ferry operations, the port still sees a great deal of freight and passengers movement.

Between 22 September 1916 and 2 December 1918, the port and town of Newhaven were designated a 'Special Military Area' under the 'Defence of the Realm Regulations', and the Harbour station was closed to the public.

[18] The port and harbour facilities, rail sidings and warehousing were greatly enlarged at this time and electric lighting installed to allow for 24-hour operation.

The town established the rescue lifeboat in response to the wreck of HMS Brazen in January 1800, from which only one man of her crew of some 105 men could be saved.

[20] The town used a combination of funds raised locally and contributed by Lloyd's of London to purchase a lifeboat built to Henry Greathead's "Original" design.

A new waste incinerator, just across from Denton Island, was completed in late 2011 and is now in full operation, despite huge opposition by local residents from across the Lewes District.

Operating from there and the nearby airfield at Telscombe Cliffs, it was equipped with Short Type 184 seaplanes and carried out anti-submarine patrols over the English Channel until the end of the First World War.

Surveys carried out in 2006 have exposed part of the slipway, concrete aprons to both hangars with door tracks and several other slabs presumed to be workshops.

Sussex Archaeological Society started a dig in April 2006 to catalogue the entire East Beach site.

Army Cadet Force The main part of the town is located on the west side of the river, there is also a residential area at Denton and Mount Pleasant on the slopes of the Downs to the east.

Recent housing development has taken place at the West Quay, Harbour Heights, August Fields and the old Parker Pen site (Safford Park).

The new waste incinerator is a major landmark, the chimney being visible from the sea as well as from Firle Beacon and parts of Seaford.

[citation needed] The parish includes part of the Brighton to Newhaven Cliffs Site of Special Scientific Interest.

[28] The open land surrounding Newhaven to the west, north and east is part of the South Downs National Park, although the town itself is excluded from the boundaries.

A third, for all intents and purposes unused since its train ferry services ceased using it, was Newhaven Marine railway station.

The town is featured in Crime Is My Business by W. Howard Baker (Sexton Blake Library No 408, Amalgamated Press, 1958) and possibly based on an idea or material by Jack Trevor Story.