International Brighton Bits.

"An Illustrated Guide to the Buildings of Brighton"

For anyone interested in the notable architecture of the city and its environs this paperback is a must have.

Its genesis is also of some interest. It was compiled by the students and staff of the School of Architecture and Design of Brighton Polytechnic. It was published in 1987 to mark the 16th World Congress of the International Union of Architects which was held in Brighton that year. The theme of the Congress was "Sheltered Cities - Building Tomorrow's World".

The book is well illustrated and comprehensively indexed. In many respects, as work of reference, it is superior to "Brighton & Hove" in the Pevsner Architectural Series.

It is, of course, long out of print but there are secondhand copies available on ABE Books starting at £6 including postage.

New Planning Policy newsletter

BHCC planners have published the first of a regular series of newsletters dealing with planning issues around the city. 

Click here to read and follow links.

Shelter Hall shapes up

For where we are now see: Shelter Hall taking shape

Eulogy to the Dome & Corn Exchange.

Save Madeira Terrace

Get involved with the Save Madeira Terrace campaign to help restore Brighton's iconic arches.




Look out for our posters and grab a raffle ticket or come along and help with the regular clean up. Find out more at: www.visitbrighton.com/save-madeira-terrace.

Thanks to everyone who has already supported the campaign.

The Fabrica Gallery

A 'Latest TV' video discussion on the past, present & future of this popular gallery.

Introducing Brighton Festival 2018

'Really Good' by David Shrigley in Trafalgar Square

     

The Corn Exchange - Winter 2107 timelapse

Regency Square 200

Do you know:

• how a schoolmaster managed to start developing Regency Square in 1818?
• the connection between Welsh coal and Regency Square?
• Who was the most famous person to live in the Square?
• What dire crimes were perpetrated in its houses?
• What is missing from the above photo?

Answers to these fascinating questions and much else will appear in an illustrated book now being researched and written by two long-term residents of the Square.

If you have any photos, letters or personal memories about the Square they would be most welcome. Please contact:

s@hinton.clara.net

01273 321 794

If you would like to receive a copy of the book and have your name listed in it as a subscriber send a minimum donation of £10 to 'RSAS Bicentenary Fund' to:

 Treasurer,
Nicola Floyd

1 Queensbury Mews
Brighton, BN1 2FE

Would you litter-pick?

Brighton Herald now online

1st. edition. 

Brighton Museum have  recently released over 4000 digitised copies of the Brighton Herald newspaper on their Digital Media Bank for free online browsing or download.

The Herald was the first newspaper dedicated to Brighton, publishing its first issue on 6 September 1806.  The name of the paper changed to the Brighton Herald and Hove Chronicle on 19 July 1902, and to the Brighton and Hove Herald on 4 November 1922. The final edition, after 165 years, was produced on 30 September 1972 when the Herald was absorbed by the Brighton and Hove Gazette. The digitised newspapers released cover the period from 1806 to 1920. There is intermittent coverage for the early years, but a complete run is available from 1832 onwards.

The newspapers are available as PDF files, which were scanned from microfilm copies. As a result, the quality of the text varies, but the text has been scanned with optical character recognition (OCR) software, so it is possible to search for keywords within the newspapers. The Search Tips page on the Digital Media Bank advises how to run searches by date and/or keyword.

Over the next two years the Museum will be releasing more historic Brighton newspapers online, and they will be made freely available to view online or download to computer.

Mister Adam in Rottingdean

FACT ME UP BRIGHTON #1

Simulated fly-through of the RSCH redevelopment

The video is derived from a virtual reality modelling of the new development which has been created to aid staff familiarisation and training.

The VR model reflects all the information in the redevelopment’s Building Information Modelling (BIM) database. The VR model will continue to be updated until the end of the hospital redevelopment as new equipment is bought and the interior design of the new buildings takes shape.

This work on VR has been short-listed for Building Magazine’s BIM initiative of the year.

The Legend of the Devil's Dyke

and in verse:-

Six hundred years ago or more or, if you please, in days of yore,
A wicked wight yclept 'Old Nick', renowned for many a wanton trick,
With envy from the Downs beheld the studded churches of the Weald.
Here Poyning's cruciform and there, Hurst, Albourne, Bolney, Newtimber.
Cuckfield and more with towering crest, quae nunc prae scribere longum est.
Oft heard the undulating chime, proclaim aloud 'twas service time.
While to the sacred house of prayer went many a pious worshipper.

"Can I with common patience see these churches and not one for me?"
"Shall I be cheated of my due by such a sanctimonius crew?"
He muttered twenty things beside and swore that night the foaming tide,
Led through a deep and wondrous trench, should give those pious souls a drench.

Adown the West the steeds of day, hasted merrily away,
And night in solemn pomp came on, her lamp a star, a cloud her throne.
So Nick began with much ado, to cut those lofty downs in two.
At every lift his spade threw out a thousand waggon-loads no doubt.
Oh! had he laboured to the morrow his envious work had wreaked much sorrow.
The Weald, a wide and beauteous place,  o'erwhelmed a sad and watery waste.

But so it chanced a good old dame, whose deed has long outlived her name,
Waked by the cramp at midnight's hour, or just escaped the nightmare's power.
Rose from her humble bed when lo, she heard Nick's terrible ado,
And by the starlight dimly spied that wicked wight and dyke so wide.

And, as with wonderment amazed, at workman and at work she gazed,
Swift cross her mind a thought there flew, that she by stratagem might do,
A deed which luckily would save, her county from a watery grave.

Forth from her casement in a minute, a sieve with flaming candle in it,
She held to view, and simple Nick, who ne'er suspected such a trick,
Scared at the sight of a new sun, fled, his work undone,
And muttering curses that the day should drive him from his work away.

Night after night our heedful dame, watched, but again Nick never came.
Who now dare call the action evil, to hold a candle to the Devil?

Anon.

West Pier - a Journey through Time

See also: Last days of the West Pier

Dispossession - The Great Social Housing Swindle.

An important documentary.



Coming to the Duke of Yorks on August 23, 2017 at 8.30 pm followed by Q & A with Caroline Lucas.

UK's Most Entrepreneurial City

According to a survey carried out by Instant Offices, Brighton takes the top spot for Most Entrepreneurial City in the UK with London only coming 12th.

John Williams, Head of Marketing at Instant Offices says “I can understand the appeal of Brighton and the south coast of England. It is a bit of an antidote to the hustle and bustle of the capital while possessing a strong, creative industry and really appealing to business owners and workers seeking a more relaxed alternative to London. We have seen record demand for office space in Brighton and also a large increase in the number of operators trying to set up space in the city to cater for its growing business community.”

Trial to restrict Sale & Letting boards

From now until next June the council is trialling a one year pilot scheme in the Coombe Road area of Brighton which features terraced streets of houses set close to the pavement with clear geographical boundaries. There has been a high proliferation of residential sales and letting boards in the area, creating an unsightly environment for residents.

The council has consulted the Brighton & Hove Estate Agents Association and Southern Landlords Association in drawing up the scheme to promote alternative ways to advertise properties for sale or rent. Estate agent boards are already banned in certain Conservation Areas in the city.

Planning officers have drawn up guidance for agents to encourage a move towards the display of a single internal window sign or smaller wall-mounted sign attached flush to the front wall of the property.

Approval to set up a voluntary scheme was given by the Economic Development & Culture committee last November.

If successful, the trial may be extended to other affected areas of the city. The new Tourism, Development & Culture Committee will review the effects of the scheme next year.

The pilot has support from local groups and organisations such as Rent Smart Brighton and Hove, the Coombe Road Area Local Action Team and the Universities of Brighton and Sussex.