Archive for May, 2011
Whitehawk Inn
We may well have seen a proliferation of new bars on Western Road in recent years but this is not reflective of a much wider trend. Pubs have been closing for a number of years for a variety of reasons.
Just as the demise of the high street bank provided an opportunity for bars to move in, the fall in fortune of the suburban pub has presented hundreds of equally interesting conversion opportunities. With stone facades and high ceilings, the banks lent themselves well to most conversion opportunities but the pubs, often built on prominent sites overlooking busy road junctions, are a little trickier.
Take the Whitehawk Inn for example. It was built in 1934 and is a perfect example, on the outside anyway, of a typical 1930s community pub. The style is instantly recognisable and other examples locally include the Grenadier in Hangleton and Ladies Mile in Patcham, both dating from 1935.
In its dominant position on the corner of Whitehawk Road, the Whitehawk Inn stands out immediately, once serving as a beacon for the many travelling salesmen who once stayed in the rooms upstairs. Whereas the Grenadier and Ladies Mile continue as community pubs, the Whitehawk Inn has a different use entirely; still as a community hub fortunately.
The Whitehawk Inn today could be described in many ways. It has certainly evolved since it opened – reopened in fact – in 1999 as a community centre specialising in IT training. I was shown around by its Director, Frances Duncan, who explained to me that the focus now is much more on helping people to find work, though all sorts of exciting activities take place there.
Most interior features have been removed such as the long sweeping bar and built-in window seating. Ceiling height and room layout count as features and these still remain of course. The exterior has hardly been touched and all of the classic 1930s detailing remains such as the semi-circular holes through which water drains from the balcony into iron hoppers, and chimneys with a Modernist touch. The pub sign, which actually features a white hawk, has been removed but it is stored away safely in the adjoining garage.
Social trends evolve and it is inevitable that buildings are modified as a reaction to such changes. The Whitehawk Inn functions amazingly well in its current guise. I doubt that the pub sign will ever be needed again.
Western Pavilion Drawing
When my good friend Mike Robins, the well-renowned local tour guide, told me excitedly about his discovery, I knew straight away from the tone of his voice that he was onto something special.
To give some background, Western Terrace is the delightful cul-de-sac off Western Road opposite Waitrose in Brighton. There are not many buildings on the short road but each is noteworthy.
The first is Gothic House which was built by Charles Augustin Busby and Amon Henry Wilds in, as its name suggests, the Georgian Gothic style. Wilds was responsible for the composition of five classical houses on the west side of the road which feature his trademark Ammonite capital – a pun on his first name. The great condition of these five houses may be attributed to local builder John Regan who turned them back into residential dwellings following a spell as Debenhams storerooms. I don’t know who built the coach house but I suspect that it was Wilds also.
Wilds was certainly responsible for the Grade II* Listed Western Pavilion. A plaque bearing the date 1831 bears testament to the fact that he both designed and lived in the unique structure. Wilds was a prolific local architect and his distinctive work included Montpelier, Hanover and Park Crescents. He later lived in Gothic House.
Mike Robins called me to say that he had found in his possession an original pen sketch of the Western Pavilion, dating from the mid-nineteenth century. It features the distinctive residence alongside Gothic House prior to the addition of the Art Deco extensions which flank the entrance to Western Terrace. The artist must have worked from close to the spot now home to the recycling bins on the pavement outside Waitrose.
The Western Pavilion has fascinated many over the years including John Small whom I worked with during his time as the Regency Society’s Honorary Secretary. During the course of his architectural training nearly sixty years ago, John was assigned the task of putting together plans and elevational drawings of an interesting building. No doubt John and the artist responsible for Mike Robins’ drawing both wish they had picked an easier building to draw!
Mike’s drawing is now in the possession of Nick Tyson who runs the Regency Town House in Brunswick Square. Nick hopes to display the drawing in due course whilst Mike still holds out hope for its confirmation as a long-lost Constable.
West Pier Update
“On the 19th March 1998, the Trustees of the Heritage Lottery Fund agreed, on certain conditions, to accept our application. Thus, on that date, the funding for the restoration of the West Pier, public and private, was secured. Now we can get down to the real work.”
That was back in 1998 just after a promise of £14.2 million had been made. Fred Gray was, indeed, right when he wrote the above in his book Walking on Water. But the work that he had in mind certainly wouldn’t have included fighting a legal challenge from the owners of the Palace pier and then dealing with the collapse of the famous concert hall (not to mention the two arson attacks which destroyed, well, pretty much everything but the iron frame). Years and years of hard work just went up in smoke.
The fires seem so long ago now and only remind me how much I wish that I’d taken one of those tours which allowed visitors a view of the derelict pavilion and concert hall up close. Perhaps the pier in its complete form seems such a distant memory because of the now iconic status of the bare skeletal frame which is said to be the most photographed building in Brighton.
I recently met up with Rachel Clark, the West Pier Trust’s Chief Executive, to find out what ‘real work’ is taking place at the moment. After all, the Brighton i360 viewing tower received planning permission back in 2006 so it’s reasonable to ask why construction has not yet commenced. To be fair, the task of removing the surrounding wreckage, which included the wrecked concert hall, has now been carried out. And this was highlighted (literally) in February when the pavilion was illuminated in a dramatic laser show organized by Tiger Beer to celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Tiger.
The i360 is indeed still set to be built and it’s just a question of a bank ticking a box. Bearing in mind that sections of the structure have already been fabricated, it shouldn’t be too long a job either.
Looking at the dates, 2016 will be the 150th anniversary of the opening of the West Pier. If the i360 can be up in two years, I see no real reason why a whole new pier cannot be in place for the big day – whatever form it takes.
See www.westpier.co.uk.
West Pier Fragments Sales
The story of the Dome’s chandelier has always intrigued me.
The huge glass chandelier was certainly removed during the 1930s when the building’s famous Art Deco interior was added. It is said though that pieces of the chandelier were divided up as souvenirs amongst the builders that were carrying out the work. I would think that the story is true but I have no idea of the whereabouts of any of the bits and whether or not they can easily be identified.
Another fascinating tale, not local this time, is that of the Baltic Exchange which was severely damaged by the IRA. For years, its marble and granite façade was strewn around the English countryside awaiting a buyer. It was eventually bought and shipped to Tallin by an Estonian businessman hoping to reconstruct the grand structure in its spiritual homeland.
A pile of pieces of West Pier steadily grew over a number of years in the compound beneath the shore end of the iconic structure. No doubt the plan was to reconstruct the pier one day but fires in 2003 and a storm in 2004 dashed all hopes of that ever happening. The compound will need to be cleared anyway in the event of the i360 being built so a decision was taken by the West Pier Trust last year to sell the many fragments.
I met the trust’s Chief Executive, Rachel Clark, in February at one of the sales. All sorts of treasures were being sold. Seat backs and kiosk windows from 1866 were available for £150. I would have loved to buy an iron arch but decided against it in the end, probably because I was on foot that day. Many smaller items were for sale too including pieces of gutter at £40. A staggering number of relics were on display in the cavernous compound and much still remains despite 65% having been sold already.
Some of the most important pieces have been set aside for the West Pier Heritage Centre which is planned as part of the i360 development. In the meantime, an impressive exhibition on the West Pier is being held at Brighton Fishing Museum.
So many of the pieces of the West Pier are instantly recognisable and I have no doubt that I will be spotting fragments in use as outdoor ornaments in Brighton gardens for the rest of my life. Now where’s that chandelier?
Toad Hall
I first came across Hove’s Toad Hall in 2004 when on official business. The current owner, Monsieur Francois Lavaud was at that time serving as French Honorary Consul and Toad Hall was the Consulate. The flag and plaque may now be gone – and it is now for sale with King & Chasemore – but a wealth of other clues and mysteries still invite curiosity.
Thick red carpets, grand reception rooms and a number of fascinating ornaments and antiques characterise the interior of this unique house. The building is spread across four floors which consist of a huge garage in the basement, generous entertaining space on the ground floor, master bedrooms on the first, and smaller bedrooms within the eaves. Whilst not a glamorous feature, the number of attic spaces within Toad Hall is quite astounding. I counted at least five different large storage spaces tucked into the various voids which result from an imaginative layout.
Toad Hall’s very existence tempts speculation. It is attached to one of Wilbury Road’s huge villas; a building that would be, had it not been for Toad Hall, identical to the neighbouring properties. So did Toad Hall, a grand house in its own right, actually begin as an extension to 9 Wilbury Road?
A difference in type and age of materials gives away most extensions immediately. Toad Hall, however, has been constructed using exactly the same catalogue of decorated bricks as its larger neighbour. This may well be explained by William Willett’s spell at No.9 in 1879. Willett built much of the area (it is known as the Willett Estate after all) so would have been in a perfect position to extend No. 9 just after it was built using exactly the right materials.
Further clues appear to confirm Toad Hall’s origins. On close inspection, the front door opening appears once to have once been a window and a join between the building at the rear really do confirm to me that the building was added as an integral piece of its larger neighbour.
Queen Mary sometimes visited Mrs Cecilia Mary Woodhouse and her husband, Major Robert Woodhouse, who owned No. 9. This is indeed interesting but the key year in my mind is 1951 – the year that Mrs Woodhouse passed away. It was at this time that No. 9 became flats and perhaps the time that Toad Hall became a house in its own right.
Swanbourne Lake
When I first saw the view across Swanbourne Lake in Arundel I was immediately reminded of the fabulous vista created by John Nash in St. James’s Park in London. Arundel’s history is equally regal.
The story of Arundel is impossible to separate from that of the Dukes of Norfolk, the occupants of Arundel Castle which towers above all else nearby. Swanbourne Lake began as a mill pond and was purchased, along with adjacent land, by the 11th Duke of Norfolk in 1787. The castle’s surroundings were tidied in 1892 and Mill Road was built to replace the old Mill Lane by the 15th Duke. It leads from Arundel town centre to Swanbourne Lake, the Arundel Wetland Centre and the Black Rabbit pub (hence my original visit for lunch one Sunday last year). Two rows of mature trees line each side and a small stream with a variety of waterfowl runs parallel to it. Judging by the size of the burrows in the bank, there are water voles too.
Swanbourne Lake itself is accessed via two large wooden gates which are held up by octagonal stone pillars. Immediately to the right is Swanbourne Lodge which is today used as tea rooms. The lodge was built in 1852 and is of flint construction with sandstone quoins. Its best features are prominent Dutch-style gables and oversized chimneys which rise from a lichen-covered slate roof.
Coots, swans, geese, several types of duck, and a number of naughty seagulls all call Swanbourne Lake home. It is possible to walk around its perimeter through woodland where there are owls, woodpeckers, bats and snakes. This is where my friends and I picnicked on a more recent visit. We then went on to hire a small rowing boat and managed to feed the cygnets up close.
In the early 2000s, Swanbourne was the subject of a large works programme. In times of drought, the lake would become a mud flat and Environment Agency investigations attributed incidents to low rainfall (obviously), increased siltation and the modern pressures of public water use on the water table. The problem was solved by dredging the lake in order to increase its depth which, in effect, put a more generous buffer in place for dry spells.
Swanbourne Lake’s beauty was recognised by both Constable and Turner. That acknowledgement continues today in the form of 100,000 visitors each year. I can certainly see why.
St Peter’s Church
“Keep clear! Risk of falling masonry”
St. Peter’s may not be as elegant as St. Michael’s, as historic as St. Nicholas’s or as lofty as St. Bartholomew’s yet it is seen as by residents and visitors alike as Brighton’s flagship ecclesiastical structure. Though a great deal of goodwill exists towards the building, it has been underutilised for a number of years.
St. Peter’s was built at what was once the town entrance but is today the city centre. Its island location adds grandeur but the flip-side is inaccessibility which can only be solved by the unification of the Valley Gardens. With public finances already at breaking point, now certainly isn’t an appropriate time for such a project.
St. Peter’s was designed by Charles Barry (later Sir Charles) in the Late Gothic style and built from 1824-8. During the same period, Barry proved his versatility by building both the Sussex County Hospital and St. Andrew’s Church (on Waterloo Street in Hove) in the Classical style. He went on to build the Houses of Parliament. The north end of Barry’s original Portland stone building was removed in 1898 so that it could be enlarged in a different style using a contrasting Sussex sandstone. One half of the building is a dirty grey; the other is a dirty beige.
Some want to see St. Peter’s made a cathedral but it doesn’t even have its own parish currently, let alone its own diocese. A cathedral doesn’t always make a city and not all cities have cathedrals but Brighton would certainly benefit if it did have one. Guildford, for example, has a cathedral but isn’t a city, and Leeds is a city without its own cathedral. City status is purely an honour granted by the Sovereign.
The likelihood of St. Peter’s becoming a cathedral and Brighton a diocese in its own right is unrealistic but there may be a compromise. In the case of Leeds, this was resolved by changing the name of the diocese in which it is situated – hence the Diocese of Ripon became the Diocese of Ripon & Leeds. In the case of Brighton, the Diocese of Chichester would become the Diocese of Chichester & Brighton. Any change would have huge administrative consequences though.
Holy Trinity Brompton wants to bring its Alpha Course to St. Peter’s which would lead to its own parish being formed – the first step towards proper recognition perhaps?
St Michael’s Annual Lecture
Last year’s snow provided the Friends of St. Michael’s with an excuse to have two launch events after their first got cancelled following one particularly bad downpour. As one of the few who traipsed up Clifton Hill to brave the blizzard, I was treated to a personal tour of the Grade I Listed church.
It’s no secret that St. Michael’s is special. Indeed, it made it into the top one hundred in England’s Thousand Best Churches by Simon Jenkins. It’s no secret either that repairs to churches are expensive and that’s why I particularly welcome the news that a measured campaign is underway to raise the funds which are quite clearly needed to maintain this gem.
I wish that I could have attended a recent talk at the church given by John Wells-Thorpe OBE (the architect of Hove Town Hall) but I certainly will not be missing the Friends’ annual lecture. It is due to be held at St. Michael’s on Saturday 9th October. The afternoon begins with a concert at 1:15 followed by a talk on ‘Oxford and the Pre-Raphaelites’ at 2:45 by Dr Jon Whiteley from the Ashmolean Museum. The very reasonable entrance fee of £7 includes cream tea.
The Pre-Raphaelites and their associates are particularly relevant in the case of St. Michael’s as William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, Ford Madox-Brown, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and others provided a number of the building’s delightful decorative elements. The painted paper murals, thought to have been created by local artists, are in need of urgent repair so will be the focus of the Friends’ first restoration project. They seem as fragile as they are uplifting, making swift action all the more important.
St. Michael’s began as a much smaller church in 1860. Indeed, the original structure today serves as the south aisle of large 1893 addition. Different architects, George Frederick Bodley and William Burges respectively, were responsible for each section. Externally, they share the common features of red bricks, stone dressings, huge gables and circular windows. The interior is a joy to behold and includes the best views of the building’s famous stained glass, which of course vary throughout the day.
The Friends of St. Michael’s have a new website, www.friendsofsaintmichaels.co.uk, which includes a growing collection of photographs of this rather special church and details of forthcoming events. The lecture on Saturday 9th October promises to be a real cracker – snow permitting.
St Mary & St Abraam Church
Readers are unlikely to have heard of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Yet Brighton & Hove is home to a huge Coptic community based in what was once the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle on Davigdor Road.
St. Thomas’s was completed in stages but the key year in my mind is 1907 when two bays of the main building opened beneath a temporary flat roof. The red-brick structure was to consist of eight bays but five were actually built. This intention is quite apparent both internally and externally even now if you look closely. The architects were Clayton & Black, who were also responsible for Gwydyr Mansions, the Duke of York’s Cinema, the French Convalescent Home on the Kemp Town seafront, and the pink granite Leeds Permanent Building Society offices on North Street.
As St. Thomas’s, the building faced demolition and the last Anglican service was held there in 1993. But in 1994, the building was consecrated under a new name, St. Mary & St. Abraam, by the leader of the Coptic Orthodix Church, Pope Shenouda III. Prior to that point, services were held at All Saints on The Drive. The growth of the community, today numbering around 5,000 mainly from Sudan and Egypt, would not have taken place without the support of its enigmatic founder, Gamal Khalil.
St. Mary & St. Abraam is today used every day of the week. Services tend to be held in Arabic but there is an English service on Saturdays. Contrary to my preconceptions, the priests are surprisingly modern and use laptops and i-Pods to get the message across! A vicarage was built on Nizell’ s Avenue behind in 1929 but was separated from the church at some point. It is now reunited with the main building and is home to a thriving Sunday school.
A particular architectural treat within the church is a huge iconostasis which separates the sanctuary from the rest of the interior. It was carved in Cairo from American oak and French mahogany and then shipped over in sections. A crypt exists beneath the basement but this is currently sealed off.
This year, Easter will be celebrated on Sunday 4th April by the Coptic Orthodox Church, the same date as the Church of England. I am not religious nor can I speak Arabic, but I will certainly be in attendance to support this immensely welcoming community which I respect deeply.
St John the Baptist’s Church
Perhaps a more appropriate topic to accompany an introduction to a book about our distinctive seafront would have been the King Alfred Leisure Centre.
The book in question, Ambles along the Promenade by Hove-based mathematician and photographer, Richard Sayer, does feature the King Alfred after all. Unfortunately, a quite bizarre exchange with the King Alfred’s general manager left me looking for something else to write about. It also left me wondering how bad it must be there for me to be refused access. And that leads me onto St John the Baptist’s Church which is located just to the west of Palmeira Square in Hove.
St John’s was built on land straddling the Goldsmid and Stanford Estates and plots were donated by Isaac Lyon Goldsmid and William Stanford for its construction. Most people don’t look up of course but it’s very easy in fact to spot the junctions between the old estates where the types of building change at several points along the seafront, on Church Road and on Eaton Road.
The Bishop of Chichester laid the building’s foundation stone in 1852 and then returned in 1854 to consecrate the flint and Caen stone structure. A different type of stone, Bath stone, was the material used for the tower and spire which were added in 1870. All Saints and St John’s nearby, built on Stanford and Goldsmid land respectively, weren’t so lucky and their spires were never built.
The St John’s Centre opened at the church in 1982 and caters specifically for the over 60s. The Cornerstone Community Centre was developed during the 1990s and is an excellent example of a sensitive conversion of part of a church building for community use.
The Cornerstone Community Market takes place on the first Saturday of every month where all sorts of local designers, artists and craftsmen exhibit and sell their work. The next event takes place on Saturday 6th November and Richard will be there promoting Ambles along the Promenade. I’ve never seen a book like it. His attention to the details which can brighten and enliven our days really is second to none.
The first photograph, one of Richard’s, is easily identified as St John’s but the second is a little harder. It’s only fair then that the two readers who let me know the whereabouts of this popular seafront spot the quickest will each win a copy of the book.
