"The Court of Death"

This painting by the victorian symbolist G F Watts took him over 30 years to complete, and because, at 14 foot high, it was too large for his studio at Compton, Surrey he rented larger premises in Brighton. Over the period 1870 to completion of the painting in 1902 he must therefore have been a frequent visitor. He also employed the services of famous Brighton photographer Thomas Donovan who had a studio in St. James's Street..

The painting is to be seen in Tate Britain. The display caption reads:-

"This painting was intended for the chapel of a paupers’ cemetery. Death is shown as an enthroned angel, holding a baby which shows, according to Watts, that ‘even the germ of life is in the lap of Death’. Flanking Death are allegorical figures of Silence and Mystery, guarding what lies beyond the veil: sunrise and the star of hope.

In the foreground a warrior surrenders his sword and a duke his coronet, showing that worldly status offers no protection. But Death also offers refuge: a man with crutches finds relief from pain, while a pale, sick woman rests her head."

G F Watts lived from 1817 to 1904.

See also: G F Watts in Brighton

The curator's talk can be found here:- http://channel.tate.org.uk/media/40029067001

Is the Big Lemon facing unfair competition?

The Big Lemon says:-

"Some would say it’s poor taste to pass judgment on competitors’ services and pricing plans but we cannot sit idly by and watch our competitors flood our route with cheap buses whilst putting prices up everywhere else to pay for it all. Yesterday afternoon our competitors announced bus fare increases on all services… except the ones that compete with ours. And this is after prices on competing service were reduced substantially in January to match our cheap fares.

From 18th September a CitySaver bought on the bus on most city routes will be £4. However on the 23 and 25 services that compete with ours along the Lewes Road it’s just £2.50.  Brighton & Hove Bus Company’s website blames the rise on the price of diesel and the expiry of their fixed-price fuel deal. But is diesel cheaper on the Lewes Road than everywhere else? Of course not." . . . . . Read on.

The Brighton Society & The Level Enhancement Project

The Brighton Society has written to the Heritage Lottery Fund supporting the City Council's application for funding:-

25th August 2011

"The Brighton Society wish to support Brighton and Hove City Council’s application to the HLF for funding to restore and enhance The Level.


The formal gardens at The Level were designed and implemented by Captain Maclaren who was Superintendent of Brighton’s Parks and Garden’s in the 1920’s. He was an extremely dynamic character who designed and created a series of innovative gardens at many locations in the town. He was responsible for the Sunken Gardens that ran along the seafront either side of the West Pier. Images of these gardens were used extensively at the time to publicise the town as a holiday resort and they can be seen in the iconic 1930’s posters of Brighton’s sea front.


Other Maclaren projects were the Rockery opposite Preston Park; remodelling of Preston Park by the removal of boundary railings and the creation of a rose garden with fountains; the Peace Garden at Patcham. He prepared visionary designs for a lake with terraces along the London Road and a major new design for the Aquarium Terraces. The Sunken Gardens have now gone and other gardens have been altered over the years. To some extent, the legacy and importance of Captain Maclaren’s work has been forgotten.


The formal gardens at the Level were one his best designs. His use of pergolas covered in roses, surrounding the intricate bridges and ponds, created a very restful and atmospheric park. The photographs of the gardens in their heyday between the wars are stunning and the council again used these images to publicise the town as a holiday resort. Sadly the gardens have declined in recent years and many of the stone columns were toppled during repeated acts of vandalism.


Restoration of the gardens would provide a much needed public space in this area of the town and would highlight the importance of Captain Maclaren’s contribution to the development of the Parks and Gardens in Brighton.


The Level is adjacent to the London Road shopping area which has also suffered a decline with shop closures and major problems with the Open Market. The proposed redevelopment of The Level with the restored gardens and lighting, new catering and related facilities, new sunken skatepark and rearranged access paths would provide a high quality public space which would help to regenerate the area – perhaps the trigger to turn around the problems of the area.


We are very supportive of the proposal to surround the formal gardens with improved seating, a café and children’s play areas which will be of a scale to not detract from the appearance of the gardens. The provision of the children’s play areas will of course reflect the original aim of Captain Maclaren to include children’s play areas adjacent to the gardens. Moving the skatepark to the other side of the east-west rose walk removes the problem of accommodating the much larger scale of skatepark equipment next to the delicate scale of the formal park. Well designed skateparks built below ground level have been successfully created at many locations and they have the great advantage of being less obtrusive and with lower noise levels. The space allocated in the northern section of the level has the potential of providing a greatly enhanced facility and careful design and landscaping should minimize its visual impact.


The consultation process carried out by the council over the last year has been impressive. A considerable number of households in the immediate vicinity were provided with detailed information on alternative options. The project also received city-wide publicity and comments were welcomed from interested amenity societies, community groups and individuals. The resulting 2:1 ratio in support of the proposed scheme to move the skatepark into the northern section of The Level shows a significant level of support for this option. The Brighton Society is gratified with this outcome as we have always felt that the restored gardens needed to be surrounded by facilities sympathetic to the appearance and scale of the gardens.


The Brighton Society has been concerned for many years about the decline of The Level and the great need to bring the area back into use as a pleasant and well used public space. There is an obvious need to enhance the whole of The Level. In so doing the restoration of the formal gardens would also acknowledge the historic importance of the works of Captain Maclaren. We therefore fully endorse the application of Brighton and Hove City Council and would encourage the HLF to support this proposal that could be so vital to regenerating this area of the city."


Malcolm Dawes
Chair, Brighton Society


Previous post on the Level:- View of the Level

Brighton & Hove bits at Amberley

Hove Station ticket office

Tram shelter

These two relics of Brighton & Hove's transport history have found a new lease of life, splendidly refurbished, in the Amberley Chalkpits Museum.

The ticket office on its original site

See also:-

Mixed Messages at Hove Station

The Pepperpot

Brighton's Trams

The Church St./Portland St. development site

This site, below the Earth & Stars pub on Church St. and stretching along Portland St., must be the only remaining vacant plot in the City centre. It has been like this for at least 18 years, and during that period, through times of both boom and bust, the developers have had numerous attempts at producing a viable scheme.

A planning application for demolition of existing buildings and construction of a four storey building was approved in 1993 and some foundation work was started in 94.  Over the following years several amendments to the original plans were submitted and withdrawn until in 2006 plans for a seven floor development were rejected by the council. In 2007 plans for  six floors  were also rejected and an appeal was refused. 

The latest application BH2011/02401 by local architects Morgan Carn is for a development on four floors comprising two retail units and three floors of office space on Church Street, a terrace of six 3 bedroom houses on Portland Street, and a terrace of three 2 bedroom houses in the southwest corner of the site which will not have road frontage. The buildings form a U-shape around a central landscaped courtyard with parking for 25 cars in a basement level. The parking will be accessed via the existing private gated car-park on Portland Street.

Portland Street

Part of the west side of Portland Street was rebuilt in the 20th.C with terraced cottages in traditional style. The style of the proposed new terrace is modern-vernacular so, although harmonising materials and finishes are specified, the contrast with the rest of the street will be quite striking.

Proposed development - Portland St. elevation

See also:- Housing land in Brighton