Judy Middleton 2002 (revised 2023)
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| copyright © G.Osborne With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph from his private collection. Carlton Terrace in the early 1900s |
A Variety of Names
In 1884 the road was known as Aldrington Drove
(formerly Aldrington Lane) or Red House Droveway after Red House Farm
situated south of the railway line.
The first buildings to be erected
were the pub on the corner and the adjacent building, which were both
there by the 1860s. However, in those days the pub rejoiced in the
name of the Builders’ Arms and only became The Victoria later on.
An Upmarket Address
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| copyright © G.Osborne With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph from his private collection. Carlton Terrace in the 1890s |
It may come as a surprise to present-day Portslade
residents but Carlton Terrace was once known as a posh place to live
and it began to be developed in the 1890s. In 1898, when it was
suggested that Carlton Terrace should be re-named Station Road it was
not surprising that the residents were outraged and a petition
against such an abomination was swiftly organised. Since the
well-heeled residents had some clout, the name Carlton Terrace
remained.
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| copyright © D.Sharp Carlton House 28/29 Carlton Terrace in 2018 |
The individual houses merited
their own names. Thus there was The Poplars (number 2) so-named
because of the lovely poplar trees in the garden and these remained
until the 1950s. Other names were Clive Villa (number 8, later number
11) Ingleside (number 10) Lyndale (number 18) and Sussex Villa
(number 22).
At some stage Carlton Terrace was
re-numbered. Whereas in 1899 Mr J.W. Wood was recorded as living at
number 27, by 1904 it had changed to number 35.
In May 1903 the residents were
busily drawing up another petition to present to Portslade Council.
This time they complained of the ‘offensive smells arising from
refuse and offal deposited in the course of husbandry on land situate
on the north side of the Portslade Railway Station.’
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| copyright © D.Sharp The Aldi supermarket now occupies the site on which house numbers 1 to 8 once stood |
House Notes
Number 1 – There are some
interesting details appertaining to this building because the house
deeds have survived in the record office. The first document includes
a little map showing the position of the house next door to the
Builders’ Arms.
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| copyright © G.Osborne With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph. Number 1 Carlton Terrace |
14 May 1867 – Robert Gramshaw sold the property to George White, lodging house keeper, who on 3 March 1868 took out a mortgage for £237 with the Brighton and South Coast Permanent Benefit Building Society.
23 March 1872 – George White wrote his will on this date leaving the property to his nephew James White, the younger, of Portslade, market gardener.
5 July 1882 – James White wrote his will on this date leaving the property (after the decease of his aunt Mary) to his trustees, being his brother Thomas White, Foreman of Woolwich Arsenal, and Sarah Jane Harwood of Portslade, widow. The proceeds were to go to his father James White and afterwards to his mother Frances Sophia White but the trustees had the option of selling the property if they wished.
14 May 1890 – Thomas White and Sarah Jane White sold the property to A.J. Gill, gentleman, of 56 Westbourne Street, Hove, who the following day took out a mortgage of £300 with John Pullen Burry and William Challen. Also in 1890 Gill entered into an insurance policy on the property with Sun Life Insurance for £300, premium 4/6d. Gill paid off this mortgage by 1892 but then took out another with William Joshua Smith, bookseller, which was cleared in 1898.
15 May 1890 – A.J. Gill and Thomas White sold a piece of land to Samuel Isger whose property was next door at number 2. A.J. Gill also owned a property in Trafalgar Road, Portslade, where the Southern Cross Mission was built.
15 November 1898 – A.J. Gill sold the Carlton Terrace property to Walter and Herbert Mews of Portslade Brewery who already owned the pub next door.
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| copyright © G.Osborne With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph. Numbers 2 & 3 Carlton Terrace |
HMS Victory
HMS London (1853-1856)
HMS Batterer (1856)
HMS Raleigh (1856)
HMS Alligator (1857)
HMS Nanking 1857-1859)
HMS Victory (1859)
HMS Hannibal (1859)
Perhaps his most notable experience was during the Crimean War (1854-1856) when he was aboard HMS London, a two-decker ship-of-the-line of 92 guns that took part in the bombardment of Fort Constantine at Sevastopol. Isger was awarded English and Turkish medals and collected another one after service in the First Chinese War. On 11 July 1859 Isger was invalided out of the Navy suffering from phthisis, after being treated in the Royal Hasler Hospital, Portsmouth.
Isger lived at Hove from around 1862 and became a Hove Commissioner in 1881. He was well known for his independent views on a variety of public topics. He played a leading part in acquiring the land for Hove Recreation Ground, having battled on for this amenity for six arduous years when nobody else seemed to be much interested in the project. He was keen for local children to have somewhere to play in safety and when Hove Recreation Ground was eventually opened, it was generally acknowledged as being something of a feather in his cap. He took an interest in Hove Working Men’s Club and served as chairman of the Old People’s Dinner Fund. Isger served on the committee of Hove Regatta and the building of the footbridge over the railway line at Hove Station was largely due to his initiative. He also served on the Police Committee, the Finance Committee and the Education Committee. He became one of the first ten aldermen voted in at the first meeting of Hove Borough Council on 9 November 1898.
Isger’s lasting memorial is Hove Library because it was he who set in motion the negotiations that resulted in Andrew Carnegie donating the magnificent sum of £10,000 towards the building costs.
Isger was Mayor of Hove 1902-1903. He was painted wearing his mayoral robes on an enormous canvas measuring 6-ft by 5-ft. It hung in pride of place in his house until he decided it was far too large and presented it to Hove Council in 1905. In 1914 his colleagues recognised his years of hard work on behalf of Hove by presenting him with an illuminated address.
Isger moved house fairly often. By 1905 he was no longer at 2 Carlton Terrace and had moved to 73 Langdale Road, Hove. But when he died on 26 August 1924 he was living at 188A Church Road, Hove. His wife outlived him, dying on 1 November 1933. They are both buried on the north side of the old part of Hove Cemetery where their memorial takes the form of a rose-coloured marble column.
Number 3 –
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copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove |
Number 4 – Professor Charles Wells (1838-1917), Hon. M.A. (Oxon), PhD (Leipzig), lived in this house. He was an Oriental translator to the Foreign Office who lived for many years at 4 Carlton Terrace. He was author of numerous books in the Turkish language which became reference books for student interpreters and officers in Egypt, notably:- The Literature of the Turks: A Turkish Chrestomathy and Practical Grammar of the Turkish Language. (his books are still in print today)
Positions held by Prof Wells:-
Lecturer in Turkish at the University of Oxford.
War Correspondent for the Daily Telegraph in the Schleswig-Holstein War of 1864.
Professor of English at Imperial Naval College Constantinople, 1870-1874.
Private Secretary to General Kemball on
Turkish-Persian Frontier Commission 1875
and in Turkish-Serbian
War, 1876-1878.
Professor of Turkish at King’s College,
London from 1889-1915.
He succeeded Sir James Redhouse (lexicographer of Turkish) at the Foreign Office, a post he held for twenty-five years.
His German born wife, Emma Chardon, was the daughter of the Imperial
Rentmeister Louis Chardon.
He died on the 5 October 1917, his funeral
was held at Portslade Cemetery.
Number 9 – Russ Parker
owned the building in the 1980s. The Brighton & Hove Leader
(26 October 1989) carried an interesting report about an
underground building that had been discovered at the back of the
premises. Builders laying foundations for an extension found it and
steps leading down to it. There were double cavity walls that were
lime-washed and it seems probable a domed roof once covered the
structure. There was speculation about its use – most probably it
was an ice-house. It seemed too elaborate to be an air-raid shelter,
but the more romantic thought it might have something to do with the
eccentric James William Wood, alias ‘King Solomon’ who lived at
35 Carlton Terrace.
By 2002 number 9 housed the Castle
Furniture shop.
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| copyright © G.Osborne copyright © D.Sharp Alfred de Kantzow's house at number 11 in 1900 and Alfred's former home in 2018 |
Number 11 – This was
known as Clive Villa and Alfred de Kantzow lived in this house from the 1870s until at least 1916; his wife Mary Maria died in 1901.
Alfred became great friends with the famous author John Cowper Powys (1871-1963). It was a friendship that nearly did not happen. John Cowper Powys had arrived at Hove as a young graduate from Corpus Christi, Cambridge in 1894 and earned a living by teaching in two girls’ schools. While at Hove his first book of poetry was published. Powys lodged with Southwick grocer Mr Pollard, paying £1 a week for a room that smelt of sardines. It was Mr Pollard who suggested Powys might like to meet de Kantzow. But at first Powys was reluctant because he considered Portslade an unlikely place to produce the sort of person that would interest him. When they did meet, they hit it off immediately.
Alfred de Kantzow was a poet and had a deep interest in Eastern philosophy. Powys helped him to publish two volumes of poetry entitled Ultima Verba (1902) and Noctis Susurri (Sighs of the Night 1906). When Powys wrote his autobiography he mentioned his friend but identified him simply as a gentleman. He probably did not name him out of respect for his family.
It seems de Kantzow was an eccentric personality who liked to live frugally, eating modest scraps of food and dressing in rags. When the American version of Powys’s autobiography came out, the gentleman was named as de Kantzow. Together, Powys and de Kantzow enjoyed visiting all the shabbier and obscure taverns they could discover from Shoreham to Brighton. Alfred de Kantzow died in London in 1919. See Portslade Poet - Alfred de Kantzow page.
Alfred became great friends with the famous author John Cowper Powys (1871-1963). It was a friendship that nearly did not happen. John Cowper Powys had arrived at Hove as a young graduate from Corpus Christi, Cambridge in 1894 and earned a living by teaching in two girls’ schools. While at Hove his first book of poetry was published. Powys lodged with Southwick grocer Mr Pollard, paying £1 a week for a room that smelt of sardines. It was Mr Pollard who suggested Powys might like to meet de Kantzow. But at first Powys was reluctant because he considered Portslade an unlikely place to produce the sort of person that would interest him. When they did meet, they hit it off immediately.
Alfred de Kantzow was a poet and had a deep interest in Eastern philosophy. Powys helped him to publish two volumes of poetry entitled Ultima Verba (1902) and Noctis Susurri (Sighs of the Night 1906). When Powys wrote his autobiography he mentioned his friend but identified him simply as a gentleman. He probably did not name him out of respect for his family.
It seems de Kantzow was an eccentric personality who liked to live frugally, eating modest scraps of food and dressing in rags. When the American version of Powys’s autobiography came out, the gentleman was named as de Kantzow. Together, Powys and de Kantzow enjoyed visiting all the shabbier and obscure taverns they could discover from Shoreham to Brighton. Alfred de Kantzow died in London in 1919. See Portslade Poet - Alfred de Kantzow page.
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| copyright © J.Middleton Arthur Gates outside Number 17 |
Number 17 – Arthur Gates
once lived in this house. He was the second son of Henry Stephen
Gates, a well-known musician of his day, who was organist at St John’s Church, Hove from 1854 to 1894. Arthur had an astonishing
eight siblings. Perhaps that is why he was something of a restless
soul, trying his hand at many occupations. For example, when he first
left home, he earned a living by playing in a circus orchestra and
travelling all over Europe; later on he became a stationmaster.
Then
he decided to become a schoolteacher and joined the staff at St Nicolas School, Portslade in 1908; by 1913 he had become a
certificated teacher.
In August 1914 he joined the Territorials and
it was not long before he left for active service in France. Mr
Still, a Portslade resident, recalled being startled near the front
line when a dispatch rider skidded to a halt near him, and it turned
out to be none other than Arthur Gates. Gates rose through the ranks
to become a 2nd Lieutenant and was fortunate enough to
return home safely after the war. It is said that he enquired of his
mother about a certain Miss Gladys Austen, a fellow teacher at St
Nicolas, as to whether or not she had become engaged during his
absence.
His mother replied that she was still single but Arthur had
better get a move on! Gates re-joined the staff at St Nicolas but
could not settle and left in 1919. He married Gladys in January 1921
and, restless as ever, decided to take a post at Cologne, Germany.
But when Gladys became pregnant, they decided to return to England
and Muriel was born in 1922. Arthur took up teaching once more, only
this time it was at St Andrew’s School, Portslade.
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| copyright © D.Sharp Number 17 in January 2018 |
Former pupils
remember being taught woodwork by him, which he also carried out in
his leisure time, carving several hymn-boards for local churches, for
instance. He continued to enjoy playing his violin and harp. The
couple’s second child, Don, was born in 1924 but tragedy struck the
following year when Arthur became ill with pneumonia and did not
respond to treatment.
He died on 30 November 1925. It is more than
likely that his health had been undermined by his war service, but
since the government had set the cut-off point at 1921, there could
be no official recognition, no mention on the war memorial and no
money for the widow. She gave birth to their third child, Graham,
three months after his death, but she had no other option than to
return to teaching full-time to support them all.
Number 22 – In 1895 this
semi-detached house sold for £525. The property had been let for £30
a year and there was a large and well-stocked garden at the rear.
Number 25 – Thomas Girling (1858-1949) was born at King’s Lynn, but he moved to Sussex as a young man where he cashed in on the cycling craze. As a youth he had learned how to ride a ‘Boneshaker’ and later on a ‘Penny-Farthing’. By the time he was a grown man he had become a veteran cyclist with an impressive personal best of a cycle ride of 156 miles in twelve hours on a machine with solid tyres. He wrote a sixpenny booklet entitled The Cycle, Cycling, and the Cycle Trade. Not surprisingly, all this experience came at a cost in terms of numerous cuts, bruises, and a broken arm on one occasion. For example, the ‘Penny Farthing’ was such an awkward machine to ride and trying to dismount was even worse; in fact Girling found the easiest way was to launch himself at the nearest lamp-post and hope for the best.
Number 25 – Thomas Girling (1858-1949) was born at King’s Lynn, but he moved to Sussex as a young man where he cashed in on the cycling craze. As a youth he had learned how to ride a ‘Boneshaker’ and later on a ‘Penny-Farthing’. By the time he was a grown man he had become a veteran cyclist with an impressive personal best of a cycle ride of 156 miles in twelve hours on a machine with solid tyres. He wrote a sixpenny booklet entitled The Cycle, Cycling, and the Cycle Trade. Not surprisingly, all this experience came at a cost in terms of numerous cuts, bruises, and a broken arm on one occasion. For example, the ‘Penny Farthing’ was such an awkward machine to ride and trying to dismount was even worse; in fact Girling found the easiest way was to launch himself at the nearest lamp-post and hope for the best.
Girling opened a cycle shop in Brighton, and he claimed to have sold 1,400 machines in one year, but then he was willing to work a 15-hour stint. He built up his business until he had three shops, at 156 Western Road, Brighton, Queen’s Road Brighton and Lower Road, Shoreham.
In
1885 his first wife died tragically giving birth to a baby boy. The
following year Girling married his second wife, Elizabeth, and the
couple produced an astonishing sixteen children – the youngest one
still being alive in 2000. Girling claimed that Elizabeth was the
first young woman to ride a cycle in southern England. But it was not
all roses because he lost his savings in a bad investment, and was
obliged to carry on with his working life, and business was also
patchy during the First World War. Girling lived at 55 Hove Park
Villas from 1899 until 1902, when he then moved to Carlton Terrace and lived there until 1916. The
1911
census
records
Thomas Girling, his wife Elizabeth and ten of
his children plus one servant
living at 25 Carlton Terrace. (numbers 24 and 25 were demolished many years ago, to make way for a road to a small industrial estate behind Carlton Terrace)
Number 35 – This house
was formerly numbered at 27. It became celebrated in the annals of
Portslade because it was home to James William Wood, known to his
devotees as ‘King Solomon’.
see Portslade's 'King Solomon' page.
Sources see Portslade's 'King Solomon' page.
A Fire
On 24 April 1974 there was a fire at a two-storey building in Carlton Terrace occupied by five chartered accountancy firms. The drama began at 3 a.m. when two fire crews arrived from Hove. Firemen David Marsh and David Foster were the first to enter the blazing building and just seconds later the ceiling collapsed on top of them. Fortunately, their colleagues were able to pull them clear, and they were taken to hospital. It was indeed a relief that the duo only suffered from shock and bruising, and were discharged later that day.
Two more fire crews arrived from Shoreham because the fire was spreading. There was a total of 23 firemen at the scene led by Station Officer Malcolm Graham. The fire was then brought under control. The building had been undergoing renovation for two years, and Mr Dudley James, a partner in one of the firms, said that all the recent decoration works was ruined.
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| copyright © D.Sharp House numbers 22 to 35. The red brick flats now occupy the site of James Wood's (King Soloman) house. |
Brighton and Hove Leader (26 October 1989)
Directories
Middleton, J Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
Powys, John Cowper Autobiography (1993)
The Keep
DO/A35/1 Portslade UDC
1898-1900
SO/A35//2 Portslade
UDC 1900-1903
DO/A35/3 Portslade UDC
1903-1906
HOW113/4 Re. 1
Carlton Terrace conveyance and mortgages 1867-1898
Thanks are due to Mr G. Osborne for allowing me to reproduce five of his wonderful photographs
Thanks are due to Mr G. Osborne for allowing me to reproduce five of his wonderful photographs
Copyright © J.Middleton 2018
page layout an addtional research by D.Sharp