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| copyright © J.Middleton Drove Crescent |
Drove Crescent is in a unique position because part of it is divided by a steep, grass bank, so that the houses on the west side look down on those situated on the east side.
It was not until after the Second
World War that Drove Crescent was developed, and construction work
did not start until 1951 – the year in which the Festival of
Britain was being celebrated in London. One of the men involved in
the work was Charles Pulling. Obviously, he must have been satisfied
with the standard of house-building because soon Pulling’s daughter
and son-in-law moved into a brand new house. Work was still on-going
in Drove Crescent at the time, and residents remember a steam-roller
parked outside the house.
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| photo copyright © J.Middleton Festival of Britain |
The Ring family were also early occupants of Drove Crescent. George William Ring worked on building sites, and there is a marvellous photo of him and his mates in the 1920s on a building site in Fishersgate at a time when the scaffolding poles were still made of wood.
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| copyright © B. Ring William George Ring is standing on the extreme left in this photograph from the 1920s |
There was a memorable occasion at the Ring house when a thunderbolt hit the roof, split the chimney, fused the lights, and the blast sent George William Ring reeling backwards down the stairs. His son, Bill Ring was in bed at the time, and he was intrigued to discover that his blanket was peppered with little holes. In addition, the noise made young Bill deaf for a week. The Fire Brigade was soon on hand to tackle the fire in the roof, and they also removed the thunderbolt. It would be interesting to know what happened to that.
In March 1998 it was stated that
the rent office in Drove Crescent would be closed, along with those
in Burwash Road, Conway Court, and Isabel Crescent.
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| copyright © D. Sharp A view of a section of Drove Crescent from the east - the row of white painted houses with the opposite side of the road above a steep grass bank. |
Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
Middleton, J. Brighton & Hove in Old Photographs (1988)
Copyright © J.Middleton 2021
page layout by D.Sharp