The Brangwyn Estate

There is some mystery about how the Brangwyn Estate between Withdean and Patcham Village was so named. It was built in the 1930s by developer W.H.Lee who, according to Carder, upset Sir Frank Brangwyn of Ditchling by using his name. However the London Road entrance to the estate was ultimately adorned by two massive lamp columns designed by Brangwyn which suggests a placatory gesture from Lee. It still leaves open the question as to why Lee chose the name in the first place. Was he a friend of Brangwyn or just an admirer of his impressive artistic oeuvre?

Although the estate is built in the ever popular Tudorbethan style Brangwyn, who had no architectural training, has looked to the fading Art Deco for inspiration and these rather grotesque creations are the result. The lamps themselves are graceful, but whereas they could have been adequately supported on cast-iron lamp standards, they are instead perched like "peas on a drum" on redundantly massive brickwork. Nevertheless the intricate decorative features are clever and must have posed a good test of the bricklayer's skill.

The lamps are never lit. In the 1930s the electrical supply will have used rubber-insulated cables which have limited life and no doubt were never renewed.

The columns are grade II listed by Historic England.

Mary Clarke statue - Sculptor Chosen

Denise Dutton MRSS

Denise Dutton MRSS has been chosen to create the maquette for the statue of the suffragette Mary Clarke. The cost will be met from the grant of £10,000 donated by BHCC to kick-start this project. It is hoped to place the statue in or near the Royal Pavilion estate which was the scene 100 years ago of much suffragette campaigning.

The Mary Clarke Statue Appeal

Denise's extensive oeuvre includes a statue to the working-class suffragette Annie Kenny in Oldham. Annie became a leading figure in the Women's Social and Political Union and co-founded its first branch in London with Minnie Baldock.

See also: The Mary Clarke Statue Appeal &

The Mary Clarke Statue Appeal at Local Giving

Restoration of the Corn Exchange's Goddess

An Art Deco statue depicting the Roman Goddess of Agriculture is being restored as part of the building refurbishment. Standing above the entrance to the Corn Exchange on Church Street, Ceres was sculpted in 1935 by renowned artist James Woodford OBE RA (1893-1976).

The statue was crafted by Woodford in a distinct ornamental style to compliment the architecture of the Royal Pavilion and Brighton Dome buildings. Specialist restoration work has been undertaken by local conservator, Sarah Mayfield.

See: https://brightondome.org/news_blog/ceres_restoration/

29½ New Road

Dome Studio Theatre

Mr. & Mrs. Brown outside the Dome Cottage

The Dome Studio Theatre, formerly the Pavilion Theatre, stands on the site of a coachman's cottage and Mrs Fitzherbert's stables. The cottage was built for the Prince Regent circa 1806 when New Road was being created. From 1867 to 69 it was occupied by the Inspector of the Brighton Volunteer Fire Brigade, but not given the number 29½ until 1888 when the town's Inspector of Gas Meters, later Inspector of Public Lamps, was stationed there. By then the number 30 had already been allocated to a property at the south end of New Road.

The Inspector of Public Lamps was replaced in 1897 by Frederick William Brown, the Works Supervisor of the Pavilion Estate.  His daughter Miss Annie Brown continued in residence until its demolition in 1932.

In 1937 the present building started life as a Supper Room for the Corn Exchange with kitchen below. It was erected to plans by Robert Atkinson, the Art Deco architect who also designed the much-lamented Regent Cinema. Thankfully the future of his surviving Brighton creation looks secure. Work has recently started on an extensive renovation/remodelling which will see a new cafe/bar on the ground floor opened up to New Road and the Pavilion Gardens, and a viewing gallery into the Corn Exchange created behind the shops in New Road

New cafe/bar

Viewing gallery into Corn Exchange.

See also: 

Arts Council Grant for Dome Complex
Restoration of the Corn Exchange and Studio Theatre           

Martin Battersby

Oedipus and the Sphinx, c1965

This oil-on-canvas hung for many years over the staircase in Brighton museum but has now disappeared, presumably into store. This is a pity since the painter, Martin Battersby, has  strong connections to Brighton, not only on account of residence at 36 Sussex Square 1964 -1973, but also the enthusiastic role he played with the then Pavilion curator John Morley in establishing the Museum's 20thC collection. The two travelled to France together and at relatively low cost built up the impressive collection of furniture and decorative items that is on display today.

Martin Battersby, collector, historian, designer, decorator and artist, played a crucial role through the 1960s and 1970s in promoting the reappraisal of Art Nouveau and the decorative art of the '20s and '30s. He was a gifted trompe-l'oeil artist with a particular fondness for the sphinx motif.  In 1959 he painted murals on this theme for the Sphinx Room of the Carlyle Hotel, New York and two years later showed paintings of sphinx subjects at the Arthur Jeffress Gallery, London.

While at 36 Sussex Square he lavishly furnished and decorated his flat in the art deco style and painted a magnificent mural of Brighton over the common staircase. He also opened his own 'Sphinx Studio' in Prince Albert Street, as a retail outlet for his silkscreen furnishing fabrics and papers.

 5 years ago 'Harlequin-Sphinx' fetched $4,630 at auction.

Aquarium Terraces development 2

The existing site

An earlier application BH2014/ 02654 for redevelopment of a near-derelict section of the Aquarium Terraces was withdrawn by the applicant, Brighton Seafront Regeneration Ltd., before the decision date. BSR Ltd. have now returned with a new application BH2015/02443 which addresses some of the criticisms levelled against the original design.

Block plan of new proposals showing existing buildings in orange,

Whereas in the first scheme the top storey of the new building presented an unbroken wall to passers-by in Marine Parade so obstructing views of the sea and seafront for 65 yards, in the new scheme this storey is now divided into two sections with a 10 metre gap between them.

View from Marine Parade of proposed new buildings.

The distance for which the passer-by is denied any glimpse of the sea is therefore halved by the new scheme.  The existing view of the seafront is hardly inspiring anyway. An additional bonus is that the new development will necessitate the removal of the existing unsightly roofs. The view of the seafront and sea through the 10 metre gap should therefore be an improvement on the present one.

The present view from Marine Parade.

For the design of the new buildings the architects have sought inspiration from the art deco De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill; classic seafront architecture which will harmonise with the Van Alen building just across Marine Parade.

S.elevation from Madeira Drive of proposed new buildings

Missing windows

202 Western Road

It is difficult to understand what is achieved by blanking out a window in this fashion that couldn't be equally well achieved with an internal blind or shutter. This would leave the window and frame exposed to view and so continue playing its part in the visual rhythm of the fenestration.

The Imperial Arcade building, designed in the 1920's by Brighton architects Clayton & Black, is an iconic and conspicuous example of the Art Deco in the very centre of the City. The only planning application submitted for this address in the last 15 years related to a new fascia and projecting sign. It seems strange that such transient alterations require planning approval yet the blanking out of windows, which affects the fundamental aesthetic integrity of the design, apparently does not.

The risk is that over the years the cumulative effect of small random changes to a building will so degrade the original design concept that it becomes easy to dismiss it as unworthy of preserving. 

See also: Please can we have the flagpole back?

Saltdean Lido - Conran letter

Paul Zara, Director, Conran & Partners writing to the Argus says:-

"COUNCILLOR Bowden claims the council is working “as quickly as the law allows” to get Saltdean Lido repaired and open to the public in good condition (Letters, March 2), and somehow implies that Rebecca Crook and the Save Saltdean Lido campaign are asking for a change in the law to speed things up – they are not."

Read complete letter.


Earlier posts:
Saltdean Lido - a nil valuation
Saltdean Lido - response from a Councillor

Saltdean Lido Campaign calls for Council Chief to get involved.

After constant lobbying and campaigning over nearly 2 years the group have taken the decision to demand personal involvement from John Barradell, the Chief Executive of Brighton & Hove Council.  The Council are the freeholders and owners of the iconic building and legally could seek enforcement action to take the site back from the leaseholder who holds a 125-year lease, if they chose to do so.  In a report released by the Council this week, it states that Compulsory Purchase Order would be a last resort, despite plea's from the campaign group acting on behalf of local residents.

In a letter which was sent to Mr Barradell today the campaign group talk about a ‘blockage in the Council’ and go on to say there is ‘no cohesive plan of action or exit strategy in place’.  It is thought that the letter contains information relating to concerns about any health and safety matters at the site, operational concerns and the disrepair to the listed building.

Ms Crook, Chair of Save Saltdean Lido Campaign says: ‘Whilst we are encouraged by the efforts of some at the Council, there are serious matters that we have raised that it would appear the Council have chosen to largely ignore.  We believe that members of the public could potentially be at risk if using the site and are now demanding  personal involvement from Mr Barradell to investigate fully all the concerns we have raised.’

Ms Crook, goes onto say that ‘This a building of national importance, in fact it is 1 of only 3 seaside lidos still remaining and if the Council continue to have a laissez-faire attitude we will end up losing the building forever.  The Council have an obligation to ensure it is maintained to a satisfactory standard which by the omission of the Council itself is not the case, with 80 pages of major disrepair outlined on the last schedule of works.’

The campaign group will be speaking and asking questions at next weeks Culture, Recreation & Tourism meeting due to take place at Hove Town Hall on the 6th March at 4pm.  The Council will be providing an update on the situation verbally and there is a public gallery for members of the public who wish to attend.

Saltdean Lido gets Grade II* listing

The Saltdean Lido Campaign's application to English Heritage for Grade II* listing, which was supported by all the major local conservation societies, has been successful. This substantially adds to the protection of the Lido from unsuitable or ill-conceived development which would detract from its historic architectural significance.

Earlier posts can be seen here, here, here, and here.

Please vote for the Lido Campaign in the Cooperative's "Join the Revolution" advertising campaign.

Shoreham Airport - 100 years of flying

A hundred years ago today the first plane took off from the field that, a year later, was to be officially opened as the first airport in the UK. Ken Fines' book "A History of Brighton & Hove" contains a fascinating account of the early days of flying in the area. It was abandoned to grazing after WW1 but reopened in 1936 as the Brighton, Hove & Worthing Joint Municipal Airport, about the same time that this photo was taken.  It is actually in Lancing but has always been popularly referred to as 'Shoreham Airport'. On their website the present owners add "(Brighton City)", which sounds quite grand.

The Art Deco terminal building by Stavers H. Tilman is Grade II* listed and has appeared in "Tenko", as Singapore airport, in "Fortunes of War", (the excellent dramatisation of the Olivia Manning novels which featured Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh), and in "The DaVinci Code". The terminal is situated right alongside the coastal railway line and once had its own station. In 1937, 6000 passengers used the airport but, because of the short runway, which there is no prospect of lengthening, it cannot accomodate the size of aircraft now needed for commercially viable passenger business. Modern use is restricted to private aircraft, flying schools, sight-seeing flights and helicopter and light aircraft maintenance and sales. It is also the headquarters of the Sussex Police helicopter.

Positive news from the Saltdean Lido Campaign

The campaign has this week submitted an application to English Heritage for the listing category to be upgraded from Grade II to Grade II*. If granted, and should any planning application for the site be submitted, this would require the Council to give special consideration to the Lido as a "particularly important building of more than special interest".

It is also reported that Sir Terence Conran is supporting the Campaign, and his project architect, Paul Zara, who was also behind the refurbishment of Embassy Court in Hove, is working free of charge to draw up sympathetic plans to save the Lido.

Please can we have the flagpole back?

Imperial Arcade was originally built in 1923 on the site of the North Street Brewery, but was rebuilt in 1934 with the adjoining Arcade Buildings added in the style of the day, resembling the prow of a ship*. It has mounting brackets for 4 flagpoles, 3 on the Western Road side and another at this visually important elevation. The brackets appear to be made of bronze and in good condition except the upper mounts are missing the clamping piece. I wonder if they were safely stored or sold for scrap?

To my eye the whole design ethos of the building appears to have been woefully frustrated by the loss of its poles, with or without flags.

*From "the Encyclopaedia of Brighton" by Timothy Carder.

The "Save Saltdean Lido" Campaign

On the evening of the 11th March the prospective developer of the Saltdean Lido site held a public exhibition and consultation on its proposals. It was reported in the Argus here. This event seemed to be very poorly advertised. Saltdean, although outlying, is part of the City and many residents, still mourning the loss of the Blackrock and Rottingdean pools, would I am sure have liked the opportunity to attend. But no matter, Saltdean alone seemed well equal to the challenge. A Facebook group was immediately formed and the number of members has already reached the staggering total of 2327. This Campaign really has legs!

Such progress has been made that it already seems as if the developer will have to think again. Much more of the building and its anciliary features have been listed than appears to be the case from the City Council's 'Summary List of Historic Buildings'. One wonders if the architect was relying on this rather than checking with English Heritage for the full details.

The Mirage

The promised "9 superb ultra luxurious apartments set within an iconic boutique development" (named "The Mirage") became this:-

Not bad at all really and the detached house and garden it replaced had begun to look anachronistic for its busy seafront setting. Not sure about the name,"The Mirage", but the design harmonises without resorting to pastiche. Not too tall. Turns the corner of Kingsway & Vallence nicely and steps down to the height of the houses in Vallence. Traditional build wall along the pavement.

The Van Alen Building

The Van Alen building in Marine Parade, completed in 2001, occupies the site of a former garage & petrol station. Generally agreed to be one of the more successful of the City's modern buildings it harmonises with the seafront architecture without resorting to pastiche,  and pleases the eye from every angle: its roofline from the beach; its building line from Marine Parade.

Because of its location in a historic seafront, the design, by architect PRC Fewster, was the subject of  considerable discussion with both the Council and English Heritage. Plans for the building were also considered by the Royal Fine Arts Commission.  Early plans showed the balcony fronts as solid. The Council's Conservation Advisory Group (staffed by representatives of local amenity societies) felt this gave a much too ponderous effect and, as a result of their comments, the glass-fronted design seen today was adopted.  The building is named after William van Alen, the architect of New York's Chrysler Building.

What a shame the same amount of thought & care did not go into the design of the Bedford Hotel replacement. But that was 40 years ago when brutalism ruled.

Nice staircase . . . .

 . . . shame about the vandals.

This is the central art deco staircase in the Ocean Hotel, Saltdean. It spirals from top to bottom in a graceful swoop and one of its most remarkable features was the continuous handrail in solid brass.   This photo was taken in 2005 but  about 18 months later, shortly before the present developers took the premises over, some "Jack the lads" turned up with a lorry and ripped the handrail out. (Still lets give them the benefit of the doubt - perhaps they wanted to donate the scrap money to "Children in Need"!) Nearby residents saw it happening but assumed they "probably" had permission. The developers are committed to restoring period features but what's the betting the new handrail won't be in solid brass.