The Eastbourne Aviation Company was established by Major Bernard Fowler in 1909 on land between Eastbourne and Pevensey Bay. His original airfield lies under the present day industrial estate below St Anthony's Mount. In nearby Leeds Avenue an original Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) guardhouse is the sole surviving building from this enterprise, and is now converted to a bungalow. A seaplane factory was also constructed on the Crumbles shingle beach where the Sovereign Centre swimming pool now stands.