Archive for November, 2008
Osborne Villas Renovation Project
Several months ago, I wrote about my new home on Osborne Villas. The plan was to live there at least until I had a proper plan in place for my next step.
The place was bought as a damp, badly carved-up wreck and proper renovation was always going to be expensive. It was a toss-up between a simple paint-job (with a view to retention and a quick jump on to the next project) and complete refurbishment. I lasted one week before snapping one evening and ripping out all of the carpets and, shortly afterwards, all of the plasterboard walls. The following weekend, having removed the bathroom and kitchen too, I had to move back out.
Osborne has been reduced to its shell. It has no internal doors, no ceilings, no gas, a couple of dangling bulbs, one or two working sockets, one tap and no plaster on the walls. At least it has some walls left, I suppose. It has been a tough but fulfilling few months and there’s little more in the way of demolition for me to do. The layout now closely resembles its original format save for some lintels that I had installed between the principle front and back rooms. Non-structural refurbishment is to commence soon.
Although there was little in the way of original interior features to preserve, I have tried to work in the spirit of the building where appropriate. Interior design is one of those things that almost everybody thinks that they can do – but many really can’t. I’m acutely aware of my limitations so have been scouring as many books and magazines as possible to find the exact look that I want – so that I can blatantly copy it.
Outside, I have taken the opportunity to remove all superfluous junk (such as a lean-to extension, overbearing plants, cabling and a satellite dish) to return the building to its clean and calming Italianate state. The greatest – but most expensive – addition will be the new roof. Cheap but heavy clay tiles replaced the original material which led to several important beams buckling. The new slate will be stunning though.
Osborne Villas was built in around 1850 and takes both its name and style from Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s official residence on the Isle of Wight. Osborne House was designed by Thomas Cubitt and Prince Albert. I wonder what they would make of my new place.
54 Waterloo Street
Waterloo Street was named after the Battle of Waterloo that still would have been fresh in people’s minds when the road was laid out prior to 1825 as part of Brunswick Town.
No. 54 was once the home of the Robins family including Mike Robins, Brighton & Hove’s much-loved tour guide and former Custodian of St. Andrew’s Church. On one of his tours, Mike once pointed out to me the tombstone in St. Nicholas Churchyard of Ebenezer Robins who founded his successful brewing business in about 1820. The house is today the home of Paris and Meg Stone.
The five storey Regency building was commissioned in 1832 by Ebenezer as a wedding present for his son, also called Ebenezer. It was completed in 1833, in time for the wedding. The Robins offices and shop were in fact several doors down and the brewery was behind between Waterloo Street and Western Street (with entrances off each). When Paris and Meg bought the building in 2003, it was an absolute wreck as photos of the renovation project on the walls of the house now clearly attest. Channel 4′s Grand Designs programme was so impressed with the Stones’ home that it picked it as 13th best in the country.
The Stones always knew that the project would be large; it was bought as a wreck after all. Major work along the way included, well, pretty much everything possible. On top, is a roof terrace accessed via a delightful spiral staircase. The terrace provides a unique view of Embassy Court from behind; one that shows the parallel lines of the open walkways at the rear; something that is particularly striking at night when illuminated. Inside, the Stones’ furniture has been carefully chosen to respect the Regency pedigree of it surroundings. A fine Art Deco drinks cabinet is the exception to the rule though.
Old Steine War Memorials
"THE CITIZENS OF BRIGHTON, HOVE AND PORTSLADE REMEMBER ALL THOSE WHO HAVE DIED SERVING THEIR COUNTRY SINCE THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN CONFLICT OR IN PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS AROUND THE WORLD."
Three war memorials grace the northern enclosure of Brighton’s Old Steine – the Egyptian Memorial, the Brighton War Memorial and a new one that is yet to be named officially (from which the above wording is taken).
To mark the 25th anniversary of the Falklands War, a local campaign was run calling for the addition of Corporal Steve Prior’s name to the Brighton War Memorial. Corporal Prior died in the Falklands aged 29 in 1982 while serving with the 2ND Battalion of the Parachute Regiment. Although a plaque on the Brighton War Memorial does in fact commemorate those who died in conflicts after the First World War, the structure is specifically Listed as a World War I monument so adding extra names was simply not feasible.
A new memorial was proposed by Councillors Brian Oxley (the then Council Leader of the Council) and Steve Harmer-Strange (a Falklands veteran himself) as a tribute to all of those who have died in conflicts since the Second World War. It was made by a local stonemason, Jeremy Tilley, who sourced an appropriate single piece of pink granite to match the adjacent Egyptian Memorial. The unveiling on Veterans’ Day this year (27th June) was made extra special by the presence of Bob Prior (pictured with Cllr Harmer-Strange), the brother of Corporal Prior.
The Egyptian Memorial of the 1ST Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, is a pink granite obelisk with a list of the names of those who died in the Egyptian campaign of 1882 and the Nile Expedition of 1884-5. It was erected in 1888 and is now Grade II Listed.
The Brighton War Memorial was unveiled in 1922 and specifically commemorates those who died in the First World War. The statue of George IV that is now outside the Royal Pavilion’s North Gate was relocated to make way for it. It was designed by Sir John Simpson and takes the form of a tranquil Roman water garden. Although its pylons record the names of 3 women and over 2,000 men, it is known to be the case that not all of those who fell are listed.
This year’s Remembrance Sunday fell on 9th November and Armistice Day – always on 11th November – saw its 90th anniversary.
