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Hastings is a town and local government district in South East England, in the county of East Sussex. The population is about 84,000 in 2000. Now known as a seaside resort and for the Battle of Hastings 1066, which actually occured at the nearby town of Battle. Hastings was one of the Cinque Ports, but its significance as a port declined after the Middle Ages and its main industry became fishing. It still has the largest beach-based fishing fleet in England. The town enjoyed some modest expansion in the latter part of the 20th century. Hastings was not a Roman settlement, although there are traces of Iron Age or Romano-British earthworks. The town of Hæstingas (probably referring to the followers of an Anglo-Saxon leader called Hæsta), is mentioned in documents from the eighth century, and a royal mint was established there in the reign of Athelstan. William the Conqueror made his headquarters here on his arrival in England, and the Battle of Hastings was fought a few miles a way near the present town of Battle. In this battle, William defeated and killed Harold Godwinson, the last Saxon King of England, and destroyed his army, opening England to the Norman conquest. After the conquest, William built a castle at Hastings, as depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry - probably the earthworks of the existing castle. In the early middle ages Hastings was one of the Cinque Ports - it claims to be the "Premier Cinque Port". In the thirteenth century much of the town was washed away by the sea. In 1339 and 1377 the town was raided and burnt by the French, and seems then to have gone into a decline. As a port, Hastings suffered over the years from the lack of a natural harbour. There were many attempts to create a sheltered harbour, and in 1897 the foundation stone was laid of a large concrete structure; however there was insufficient money to complete the work, and the "Harbour arm" remains uncompleted. It was partially blown up to discourage possible use by German invasion forces during World War II. The fishing boats are still stored on and launched from the beach. Hastings returned two Members of Parliament from the fourteenth century to 1885 since when it has returned one.The fortunes of Hastings revived with the coming of the railways and the growth of seaside holidays in the nineteenth century.