36 Church Street: then & now

10 months ago:-

August 2012:-

See also:- 36 Church Street

19 Old Steine

19 Old Steine on the corner of Steine St. acts as a 'bookend' to the terrace of regency houses on the right. These date from 1786 when they were known as South Parade. Most are listed, but no.19 in victorian Queen Anne style is not. The condition of its characteristic terracotta panelling is not good.

To the left of no.19 the view down Steine St. is attractively terminated by Steine Mansions 1899. This was designed  by the same architect, Clayton Botham, as the Seven Stars 1897 in Ship Street. And it shows. Steine Mansions is also unlisted.






See also 67 East Street

The Drove Cottages, Patcham: then & now

Ladies Mile Road 2012

The Drove Cottages were built in 1815 for the poor of Patcham. This location would then have been rather isolated being a quarter of a mile from the village itself and with a steep hill in between.

Later in the 19th century, with the wealthy of Brighton moving to expensive properties in the Preston area, the Drove Road became part of a popular circular ride taking in Patcham, Stanmer, and back to Preston (or vice versa) and hence acquired the name Ladies Mile. It is actually slightly more than a mile between Patcham and the Ditchling Road at Old Boat Corner, and the present metalled section of the road is slightly less than a mile long.

Following the incorporation of Patcham in Greater Brighton in 1928 the developers moved in, and by the end of the 1930's the whole of the Ladies Mile estate had been developed. The cottages were heavily-restored and now seem almost part of a separate village with a pub, methodist church (in a converted barn), a parade of shops and a clock tower.  

The grassy bank on the right of the photos fronts allotments and appears to have been largely undisturbed, a relic of the original countryside.

Macbeth

If you like Macbeth, the current production by the Brighton Little Theatre is definitely worth seeing.  They made sense of the words, even the well-known ones (tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. . .).  It was well acted, although Macduff was a wee bit stolid.

They kept the set minimalist, always a good idea with Macbeth, which transcends time and place.  I liked the witches, and found the scene where MacDuff’s family gets murdered, quite moving, with the tiniest hint of potential sexual violence, which is not mentioned in the play but would have happened in reality.  They managed to convey sexual chemistry between Macbeth and Lady M earlier on, which tends to confirm my take on the Macduff family slaughter.

In the small theatre, there was a bit too much coming and going of the soldiers doing the battle at the end, e.g., one lot leaving the stage from the front and up the aisle, the opposing lot coming in the door at the back of the stage, and so on, which verged on the farcical.  However, I imagine this will be easier and more convincing to stage at Lewes Castle.

Review by Fleur Baladine

Performances at Lewes Castle at 7.30 pm, Wed 22nd August - Saturday 25th August.

Brunswick Festival 2012

Saturday 18th August. A selection of photographs:-