Portslade in the Past

Judy Middleton (2003 revised 2024)

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
Early 1900s view of Station Road with the Railway Inn on the right

Early Days

Until the nineteenth century this road was no more than a farm track known variously as Aldrington Drove, Aldrington Lane or Red House Drove. The Aldrington no doubt referred to mediaeval times when West Aldrington was located in what later became known as Copperas Gap and then as Portslade-by-Sea; Red House Farmhouse was located on the site now occupied by the United Reformed Church.

The Railway Arrives

The railway arrived in 1840 and a small station was erected at the north end of the road to serve Copperas Gap. The census of 1861 simply referred to the few dwellings as being situated in The Drove; there was a blacksmith and four brick-makers, including the well-known James Clayton, living there.

Some Fine Villas

There were some substantial villas at the south end, north of the junction with North Street. In 1889 the houses were called (from north to south) Hope Villa, Russell House and Havelock House. These villas were built in the 1860s before there was such an amenity as main drainage. In April 1995 Tony Fines, a 34-year old hospital worker, was digging in the garden of the property formerly known as Havelock House when the earth caved in revealing a brick-built cavern around 6 feet in diameter; this may well have been the cess-pit.

Between Havelock House and the junction with North Street, there was a small terrace that was marked on the 1873 Ordnance Survey Map. It is interesting to note the 1878 Directory only lists twelve private residents living in Portslade-by-Sea, including the vicar of St Andrew’s Church and the residents of Havelock House, Russell House and Hope Villa.

Houses not Numbered

copyright © J.Middleton
In this lovely old postcard the Railway Inn can be glimpsed behind the tree but the west side was still occupied by private houses while there were some shops on the east side.

Although by 1889 the title Station Road was in use the houses were not numbered but defined by group names. Thus in the 1889 Directory were Courtney Terrace, Fuller’s Place, Garden Cottages, Eastern Terrace plus Stanley House and Stanley Cottage. There were only three indications of commercial activity; there was R. Goble, baker, somewhere between Halfway House and Blue Anchor, further up the road was a chicken dealer, and a market gardener and florist.

Stanley Cottage

Joseph Philip Donne (1844-1919) was born in London, but in around 1869 his father came to live in this cottage in Portslade. His son used to visit and spend weekends with him, and this proved to be an added bonus for him because one Sunday at church he met the young lady who would be his future wife. She was Sarah Ann Hudson, known as Annie, and the couple married on 23 April 1870 – they lived in London. J. P. Donne earned his living as an engraver, and it is interesting to note that he engraved many of the stall plates for the Knights of the Garter in St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Hove Museum holds some of his drawings, paintings and engravings. Donne also had a passionate interest in Elizabethan and post-Elizabethan literature, and in particular, the works of John Donne (1573-1631) poet and Divine, although it is not known whether or not he was a descendant of the great writer. His daughter Miss Marian Donne lived at 28 Denmark Villas, Hove, and in the same year that he died, she began to donate much of his collection to Hove Library. It started in 1919 with 290 volumes, followed in 1920 by by 223 volumes, and finally in 1927 she presented the Donne Collection of 41 volumes consisting chiefly of rare and valuable editions relating to John Donne.

Providence Place

These four houses were once known as Providence Place

and were built on Brick Kiln Field.

This was a group of four houses situated between Wellington Road and North Street and they were built on what was formerly known as Brick Kiln Field or Drove Field containing 6 acres, 1 rood and 38 perches and marked 114 on the 1840 Tithe Map. When Station Road was re-numbered in 1901 numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 Providence Place became 75,76,77 and 78 Station Road. It is interesting to note that in 1911 William Samuel Parnacott, auctioneer, valued number 76 at £260.

This postcard dates back to 1906 and shows a wonderful old bus with open top and open staircase trundling up Station Road

Some Residents

In the 1890s Grune & Duncker, surgeons, occupied Havelock House but by 1904 Dr Duncker lived in a newly-built house called St Neotts on the corner of St Andrew’s Road. It is interesting to note how long this house was the preserve of the medical profession; for instance in 1974 Wilfrid Williams, physician and surgeon was the occupant.

Next door to his residence on the south side were two more white-brick villas called Maycroft and Casa Roja. These houses boasted beautiful plasterwork and St Neotts featured a figure playing a harp. There is a pathway of fine tiles leading up to the front door, just like the many Victorian houses built in Hove with a similar pattern of tiles.

copyright © J.Middleton
These fine houses are near St Andrew’s Road. The one on the corner with the dome was once called St Neotts and
for over 70 years was occupied by members of the medical profession.

In 1861 43-year old builder James Bayley lived in Hope Villa while in 1891 55-year old Robert Powell lived there with his two daughters, Amelia aged 28, and Augusta aged 23. Mr Powell did not follow a profession because he was able to live on his own means.

In 1891 John Blaker lived in Stanley House with his 40-year old wife Ann and 13-year old servant girl Lily.

copyright © J.Middleton
Photo left:- This imposing doorway with its fine plasterwork is the entrance to St Neotts, now 59 Station Road and no longer a single residence. Photo right:- Next door to St Neotts was a house of similar style called Maycroft.

At the south end, south of the Blue Anchor there is a terrace with the word ‘The Market’ at either end and an ornamentation of plaster drapes in the middle plus the date 1898.

copyright © J.Middleton
Photo left:- Next door to where Halfway House once stood is St George’s Laundry Services. There is no doubt about when these houses were built because the date ‘1898’ is proudly displayed above the plasterwork.
Photo right:- This close-up shows the lovely plasterwork, which looks in remarkably good condition after 116 years.
The photograph was taken in 2003. Unfortunately in recent times half of the elegant plasterwork has been painted grey.

Courtney Terrace and Revd R.W. Enraght (1837-1898)

The most notable resident of Courtney Terrace (now 5 Station Road) was Revd Richard William Enraght. He became famous internationally for the courageous stand he made on behalf of his religious beliefs, which ultimately led to him becoming a prisoner of conscience. Father Enraght arrived in Portslade in 1872 with his wife Dorothea and their children. In total the Enraghts had seven children and their fifth child, a daughter called Grace, was born while they lived at Portslade.

Father Enraght was appointed curate-in-charge of the newly created parish of St Andrews Portslade-by-Sea and St Helen's Hangleton. Although the Hangleton church was a venerable structure, the Portslade church was brand new, having been built in 1864. The latter was also unusual in never charging pew-rents. Pew-rents had been a standard practice in the Church of England for many years but Father Enraght was greatly opposed to it because he thought it was unfair to poorer folk.

Father Enraght had been greatly inspired by the Oxford Movement. It is difficult for us to understand the passions aroused by attempts to introduce some Catholic practices. The Protestant wing was very powerful and some newspapers like the Brighton Gazette vilified the Anglo-Catholic movement. This antipathy was not confined to letter-writing or pamphlets either. At Brighton, both Father Wagner and Father Thomas Perry were beaten up while Father John Purchas was prosecuted for using vestments. It is interesting to note that Father Enraght served as a curate to Father Wagner at St Paul’s, West Street, Brighton from 1867 to 1872.

In 1870 Father Enraght published a powerful pamphlet entitled Who are True Churchmen and Who are Conspirators? He argued that the Anglo-Catholics were in fact true heirs of the universal Catholic Church as it was laid down in the Church Settlement of 1662 and that it was the Protestants who had strayed from the true path. However, this did not mean that Anglo-Catholics embraced later Roman Catholic doctrines. In 1872 when he was still living in Courtney Terrace Father Enraght produced two well-argued pamphlets entitled Catholic Worship and The Real Presence and Holy Scripture. It is a relief to know that his writings were well regarded in some quarters.

Father Enraght and his family left Portslade in 1874 and moved to Birmingham where he became vicar of Holy Trinity, Bordesley. While he was in charge, his church attracted large congregation but his stance on Anglo-Catholic topics caused alarm to those in positions of authority. The culmination was that Father Enraght was accused of breaking the law. He refused to attend the court because his conscience would not allow him to accept its authority and so it was in his absence that on 12 July 1879 he was convicted. It became a celebrated case and was known as the Bordesley Wafer Case. Lord Penzance, the presiding judge at the court, sought to have Father Enraght arrested but he did not succeed until November 1880. Father Enraght served 49 days inside Warwick Prison where even the official in charge stated he should never have been sent there. Father Enraght’s woes were not over when he was released because he lost his position and he, his wife and family were evicted from the vicarage. The Enraghts came to Brighton to recover and lodged near the church of St Michael and All Angels.

In September 2006, Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company honoured Revd Richard Enraght’s memory by naming one of their new fleet buses after this former Priest of St. Andrew's Church Portslade. His name joins the extensive list of locally and nationally famous people who have contributed to the City's life in some way over the past few hundred years with a Brighton and Hove Bus named after them.

To read more information on Fr Enraght’s life - his biography and the transcriptions of the two religious pamphlets he wrote while living in Portslade, see the Revd Richard Enraght website.

Re-numbering

It seems Station Road was re-numbered in 1901 and in 1902 the houses were listed from north to south, instead of south to north, and the numbering was reversed. This meant that Havelock House, once number 8, became number 67; the Blue Anchor, once number 4 became number 81; while A. Lewry, who ran a greengrocer’s shop at 1 Providence Place now found himself located at 75 Station Road.

Hove Chooses a New Name

Both sides of the street were once called Station Road but in 1903 Hove Council decided to rename their portion on the east side, Boundary Road. This was to end the confusion of people who expected Hove Station to be situated at the top of the road named Station Road, Hove. Portslade Council decided to stay with the name Station Road.

The division between the two authorities ran down the centre of the road. It is amusing to note that for many years the lamp-posts were painted in Cambridge blue (Portslade, west side) and leaf green (Hove, east side).

copyright © G. Osborne
Station Road from the centre facing north
With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph from his private collection.

Some Incidents

In August 1910 there was considerable excitement when a runaway carthorse galloped down Station Road while still attached to Mr J. Wrapson’s empty tip-cart. Alfred Grinyer was the driver and Mr Wrapson was a contractor with premises in Richardson Road, Hove. The horse took fright near Portslade Railway Station and galloped southwards, colliding with and demolishing a lamp-post on the corner of Franklin Road, nearly running into the window of Mr T.W. Tubb, the well-known photographer, at number 39, and knocking over greengrocery boxes outside Mr E.W. Kippen’s shop at number 40. Police Sergeant Gilham and others eventually succeeded in pulling up the horse. The lamp-post was replaced and the bill presented to Mr Wrapson.

On another occasion, a bull on his way to the slaughterhouse in North Street broke away and charged into a nearby estate agent’s office, bellowing at the staff cowering behind the counter.

Digging for Bodies

There was a great deal of interest in Portslade when police descended on the former Havelock House in July 2010 and began to dig up the garden searching for bodies of young girls.

It transpired that a convicted serial killer had lived at six different addresses in the Brighton and Hove area between 1969 and 1989. They were Dyke Road, Regency Square, Chadborn Close, Eastern Street, Grand Parade and Station Road. In 1994 Peter Tobin was convicted of drugging and raping two 14-year old girls and later on he was convicted of murdering three girls – Angelika Kluck aged 23, Vicky Hamilton aged 15 and Dinah McNicol aged 18. Sussex detectives believed he had killed more women and Professor David Wilson quite expected there to be some clues at Portslade.

The police dug 14-inch deep test trenches in the garden, searched the brick cavern, which they said was a well, drilled through a breezeblock extension and drilled through a concrete floor in the basement but nothing was found. The search at Portslade lasted for nine days and ended on 20 July 2010. It had covered both shops in Havelock House with Essential Hair and Beauty being in the south shop. A tent screened the site in the garden from curious viewers.

When Peter Tobin was at Portslade, he lived with 16-year old Cathy whom he met at the Hungry Years at Brighton in 1986. The following year they had a son and later married. Cathy ran a tea-shop but Tobin did not like the enterprise because it made her too independent for his taste and the venture only lasted nine months. Then the couple moved to a council house in Brighton. In 2011 Cathy commented that she really did not know how she got out of the relationship alive because he beat her, threw plates at her and at times drugged her. A 17-year old girl who worked in the hairdresser’s shop below Tobin’s flat said she always found him weird.

(Argus 4/12/08 - 15/7/10 - 17/7/10 - 19/7/10 - 21/7/10)

Twitten

In the 1936 and 1951 Directories the twitten running north west from Station Road to Gordon Road was named as Station Road Pass. In 1936 there was a boot repairer there and you could reach the Quaker Hall from the twitten. At one time it seems the twitten was called Dyer’s Drove.

The twitten is part of an ancient footpath running through Portslade and up to the Downs and parts are still extant. In recent times Tesco ran into difficulties when they wanted to build their store and needed to deviate the footpath slightly on its way to Gordon Road. It was because the twitten was a legal right-of-way and not to be tampered with unless the correct legal procedures was followed.

Street Lighting

present day person might have some difficulty in recognising this image as Station Road in the past

With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph from his private collection.

Until the 1930s Station Road was lit by gaslight at night, which meant the ministrations of a lamplighter were necessary. He turned the gas on and off by means of a long pole with a tip at the end and he became very skilled at performing the feat without having to dismount his bicycle. In 1911 lamplighter George Alfred Steele lived at 79 Station Road.

This old view was posted on 24 April 1905 and gives us a glimpse of the old gas street lights

On 30 July 1935 Portslade Council took the decision to install electric lighting to replace the old gas lamps.

House, Pub and Shop Notes

Athena B Fish Bar

copyright © J.Middleton
Athena B, Fish & Chips is located next to a shop occupied by the British Heart Foundation charity shop. The latter is in an extraordinary building and so out-of-scale. It was once home to Sainsbury’s in the days when you had to form separate queues to buy butter, bacon and cheese.

The business was named after a famous cargo ship that ran aground on Brighton beach on 20 January 1980 and became a major tourist attraction. The Greek-registered ship was actually spelt Athina B.

In February 1998 there was a fire at the fish bar that started at 10.30 a.m. as Makram Galdas prepared to open. Police were obliged to close the road and divert traffic while fire-fighters tackled the blaze.

In September 2009 Oakley Commercial were instructed to sell the Athena B of 27 Station Road because the owner was retiring; they sought offers in the region of £385,000. The fish bar has been trading for 20 years and there was a self-contained flat above the shop.

In 2021 it was stated that a mother-and-son team were running the restaurant. They are Mary Goznan and Matthew Konen. Matthew grew up on the premises and says that he has been peeling potatoes since he was eight years old. Trading has been difficult during the pandemic, but they hope that with the recent refurbishment better times lie ahead. They are also in the running for the Best Fish and Chip Award. (Argus 24/9/21)

By January 2022 there was a large notice in the window announcing that the cafe was the winner in a competition organised by the Argus, and thus had been voted the best fish and chip shop in Brighton and Hove, and Portslade of course. The following month a smart, outside eating area was created.

However, in January 2023 prospects were looking anything but rosy. This was because of rising costs, and people having to tighten their belts while facing the escalating cost of living. Indeed, Matthew Coren and his mother Mary, who have been running the establishment since 1996, have had to reduce opening hours from seven days a week to five. They have also stopped opening at lunch time because of many people still working from home. Mr Coren said that the price of fish had doubled, potatoes were more expensive while oil costs had tripled. Whereas a standard piece of cod used to be sold for £4-80, it now costs £6.80. Some of the time they have to live off their savings just to keep going. Mr Coren has a neat phrase for the situation ‘It’s the most imperfect perfect storm.’ Their experience is not unique, and it is feared that many traditional ‘chippies’, mostly small family businesses, will be forced to close down, and with them the end of a long tradition of the nation’s favourite dish. (Argus 16/1/23)

Gateway Women’s Centre – This new venture is situated at number 52 and opened on 1 December 2022. People might be familiar with the name because there is another Off the Fence / Gateway at 37 Portland Road, Hove. The Portslade Gateway can be seen as a beacon of hope because funds for the project were raised in under two years from a multitude of sources when times have been very difficult to say the least. The building in Station Road was purchased and re-designed and the amount of money expended was an incredible £540,000. The centre is intended for women who might be going through a difficult time or in need of friendship or help of some kind, and it is promoted as a welcoming safe space run by women.

Blue Anchor – There are some interesting theories regarding the name. The spare anchor carried aboard a ship was called the hope anchor while blue was the colour of hope. An anchor was also a Christian symbol as St Paul in Hebrews wrote ‘which hope we have as an anchor of the soul’. Some pubs have been given the name Hope and Anchor while there is a Hope Anchor in Rye and an Anchor Bleu at Bosham.

copyright © G. Osborne
The Blue Anchor in the 1960s
With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph from his private collection.

According to Dick Williams, landlord of Blue Anchor Inn on the north west Somerset coast, fishermen riding out a storm in Blue Anchor Bay would find afterwards that their anchor flukes were covered with the local blue clay. (Daily Mail 5/10/1988).

In Islington, London there was a Blue Anchor Alley dating from 1761 where foundries were situated that made anchors and ‘blued’ them for long life and strength.

In the 1890s the Portslade pub was known as Blue Anchor Inn. In 1891 there was a youthful landlord in charge. He was Richard Goble, aged 27 who was born at Hove. He lived with his wife Kate of the same age, their two-year old daughter Edith and young Frederick who was only one month old when the census was taken. There was also a resident servant called Rose. It is interesting to note that a Gilbert E. Goble was in charge of nearby Blue Anchor from the 1930s to the 1950s and that Goble’s ran a greengrocery shop in North Street for many years.

By 1899 R. Wood ran the pub and in 1902 the owners, Rock Brewery, made some alterations and additions.

By 1905 Albert Barnett was landlord and he stayed until the outbreak of the Great War. By 1915 Sidney Kemley was mine host.

The next landlord was Albert Marshall who arrived around 1930 but he did not stop long because by 1935 Reginald Power was in charge.

Edward Monnery kept things running through the years of the Second World War and afterwards. By 1951 Mrs A.A. Noble ran the pub.

In 1960 George and Pat Dennis took over and they must be the longest serving landlords. Although Dennis died in the late 1970s, Pat continued to run the pub with the assistance of her daughter Leila until 1983. In 1980 it was stated that there was a stunning display in the lounge of around 100 foreign dolls, most of them wearing national costume, built up by Pat and regulars from their travels abroad.

Also in 1980 the Brighton & Hove Gazette stated the pub regulars played a game called Morelles, most commonly known as Nine Men’s Morris, an obscure board game dating back to the Middle Ages, and the only pub in Sussex where this game was played. But apparently this was not so. One of the regulars brought in the board game for a laugh and maybe to add a touch of class. But nobody could fathom out the rules of the game. Pat Dennis retired in February 1983 and the regulars presented her with a colour television as a leaving present.

In 1996 C.A. and J.M. Burtenshaw were the proprietors.

In 1998 Des Childs was owner of Blue Anchor and he had been running it for almost four years. There was a special occasion in June 1998 when people crowded in to view the England/Denmark football match that ended in a 1-1 draw. There was a party atmosphere and everyone had a good time. The next day Mr Childs was furious to find someone had torn down his strings of St George flags outside the pub and the lights surrounding the pub sign were damaged.

copyright © J.Middleton
The interior of the Blue Anchor still has this marvellous panorama of Brighton sea-front. Note the West Pier in all its glory on the left.

In 2014 Blue Anchor had a makeover. Not only was the outside painted, but also the saloon bar was refurbished: Thai food was served there from Monday to Saturday at lunchtime and in the evening at reasonable prices. The resident chef is Supaporn ‘Apple’ Manchit who has lived in the Brighton area for ten years although she came from Bangkok originally. It is pleasant to see that one cherished part of the interior remains and that is the giant panoramic black and white aerial view of Brighton sea-front in the days when the West Pier was still flourishing.

In 2023 the pub received another makeover with a giant anchor painted on the exterior. The red bricks have been submerged in blue

Broadley’s

For many years a gentleman’s outfitters occupied number 39. In 1938 James Edwards ran the business and because it was a familiar name in the neighbourhood, it continued to be used after G.H. Broadley purchased the business. The firm run by the Broadley brothers was established in 1875 at East Grinstead; during the 1920s. G.H. Broadley purchased the business of James Edwards who ran an outfitters and tailor’s at 157 Church Road, Hove, on the western corner of George Street. This Hove shop lasted longer than the Portslade shop, which was sold off in the late 1980s. During the 1940s the Portslade shop shared premises with photographer Stacey Ward. Previously, H.W. Tubb, a well-known Portslade photographer had run his trade from this address.

Carla Lane’s Charity Shop – It opened at number 2 in 1997 and it was her first shop. It was still there in 2003. Carla’s second shop was in St James’s Street, Brighton and opened on 13 September 1999.

Later on the shop was occupied by animal charity Safe Haven for Donkeys in the Holy Land. Lucy Fensom, a former air-hostess from Hove, founded the charity in around 2000 and by 2014 was caring for some 200 donkeys in her West Bank Sanctuary. By 2014 the Portslade shop was empty.

Floral Hall – This was a glass structure located on a large piece of ground next to number 17. Portslade Council used to hold their meetings in this hall before they moved to Ronuk Hall, later re-named Portslade Town Hall. The Floral Hall once belonged to the Smith family (see under Merlin Lodge) and was previously a granary and potato store while underneath there was a mushroom cellar.

George the Chemist – A substantial property called Merlin Lodge was demolished in 1936 and in its place a new parade of shops was built. George the Chemist occupied number 21 of this parade.

George’s employed a character called Bill Mower as an errand boy to deliver medicines on his bicycle. It was claimed he was the oldest errand boy in the land because he did not retire until 1951 when he was aged 82. Mower had served an apprenticeship as a wheelwright and he worked for 20 years with Baker & Son, undertakers and coach-builders. He spent another 20 years working for John Broomfield, market gardener at Mile Oak.

In 1992 George’s moved across the road to more spacious premises in Boundary Road and at that date Mike and Gwynedd Jones ran the business.

Halfway House – The pub was supposedly named after the fact that it was halfway between Brighton and Shoreham. Old time stevedores working at the harbour used to stage races carrying a 12-foot length of 3-inch x 9-inch timber on their shoulders from the Halfway House to Shoreham. The prize was a pint or two of free beer.

copyright © G. Osborne
The Half Way House in the 1930s
With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph from his private collection.

When the pub was built, the occupants did not think of themselves as living in Portslade but in Copperas Gap. Likewise, there has been some confusion over its address. In 1891 the pub was stated to be at 1 Station Road but in 1901 the road was re-numbered and then the pub’s location was 88 Station Road. Later on it was numbered at 1 Wellington Road.

Benjamin Orchard was the landlord of Halfway House in 1858 and he was also a wine and spirit merchant. By the time of the 1861 census he had died and his widow, 39-year old Mary Ann, ran the business with the assistance of her son 20-year old Frederick Orchard. A nephew and a lodger completed the household.

One can only feel sympathy for the Orchard family, and especially if Mary Ann was already a widow, when a major fracas occurred at the pub in December 1860. It seems some of the local talent took against two men who had recently come into Shoreham Harbour after a spell of oyster dredging aboard the Colchester-registered fishing smacks Sir Robert Peel and the Caspian. No less than eleven men set about the two fishermen, which was hardly an equal contest. The police attended the scene, and the result was that local men Samuel Mott and Charles Virgo found themselves serving one month in prison for violent assault. (Matthews, K. Down Channel: The Smacks and Mariners of the Shoreham Oyster Fishery 2021)

By 1862 the Orchard family had gone and Robert Barge was the landlord. He did not linger long either and in 1867 James Lightfoot was the publican. The 1871 census records him as being aged 47 and living in Halfway House with his wife Ann, his sister and two nieces. Ten years later, the household was the same, except for the sister.

Lightfoot had gone by 1887 and in 1891 Manchester-born George Styan aged 32 was the landlord. His wife Jane was 31 years old and there were two children, 10-year old George and Edith aged one. But Styan did not stay long and some rapid changes ensued with Edward Walls in 1895, W.G. Pendleton in 1896, Henry Ambrose Bellringer in 1899 and Jack Tullet in 1902. At least Tullet stuck to his post for eight years before the next landlord W.N. Walker arrived in 1910. J.H. Hill took over in around 1920.

At last in the 1930s a publican arrived who was determined to keep his feet under the table for longer than his predecessors. His name was Gilbert E. Goble and he was still behind the bar in the 1950s. It is interesting to note that Bert Goble and his sons ran a greengrocer’s not far away in North Street. Then there was a Richard Goble who was running Halfway House in 1891, and an M. Goble was killed in the Great War.

Brighton Brewery owned Halfway House until 1900. Despite its name their brewery was in fact located at the top of Osborne Villas, Hove. Tamplin’s took over Brighton Brewery in 1900 and continued to own Halfway House until the 1960s.

In 1935 it seems part of the pub was converted into a shop.

In 1979 Ray Smith became landlord. He found an old yard full of derelict sheds and rubbish. He started to clear it out in his own time and eventually he was able to create a Spanish-style garden including a pond with a central statue, hanging baskets and tubs of colourful flowers. The result was so good that in 1981 he won a Watney’s Southern competition for best beer garden. The prize was an all expenses-paid holiday for himself, his wife and two children at Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In 1985 the licensee was Dee Truman.

copyright © J.Middleton
A few days after this photograph was taken on 6 December 2014 work started on the demolition of the old Halfway House pub

In December 1994 TV star Chris Ellison hammered open half a dozen bottles full of coins donated by regulars. The result was £720 for Kids Appeal. Ellison was pictured with licensee Paul Gasson.

People interested in local history were fascinated by the sudden appearance of a large hole outside Halfway House in August 1998. The utility companies stated that the cavity was nothing to do with them. Old folk remembered the stories of secret underground passages in the area and the landlord went outside to peer down the cavity. He said he saw what looked like passages leading off. Perhaps they should have alerted archaeologists. There was always rumoured to be a secret passage near the old Crown Pub situated not far away south of the coast road with the entrance being in the bank of the canal. Confirmation of this story occurred in 1940 when Mr Edwards, road sweeper, was going about his work in Wellington Road when there was a rumble and he fell through into an underground passage. Unfortunately, as there was a war on and dangerous pockets of gas in the hole, it was never explored properly and was quickly filled in.

Halfway House closed in September 2009 and eventually a business called Waggie Tails, a dog grooming enterprise, took over the premises. But they did not stay long because they found a smaller base in Boundary Road. By 2011 Phase Photography run by Faye and Claire was established in the former pub. Enchanting billboards promoting their special offers to photograph small children as fairies or elves appeared on the pavement. But Phase Photography also moved northwards higher up Station Road. To deter squatters, somebody came to live there although no business was being run. A large notice advertised the building for sale with planning permission to convert/build around 14 self-contained flats and was in place for many months. On 9^th December 2014 demolition work began. It was sad to think of lovely little details such as the small coloured glass windows being lost.

This photograph was taken on 15 August 2023 and shows the white, curved building that replaced the pub

Help the Aged – In December 2002 this charity shop located at 21C celebrated fifteen years of service by giving customers a slice of birthday cake and a balloon.

Hill’s Radio

copyright © J.Middleton
Hill’s Sound and Vision is one of the oldest established businesses in the Station Road/Boundary Road area.

Frederick Charles Hill founded the business in around 1928 with his brother Arthur at 42 Boundary Road, Hove, next door to the Co-op. There they remained until 1939 when they were called up into the armed forces. After the war was over, Arthur decided he liked the military life and he stayed on in the Army while Fred came home to pick up the reins of business life again. He could not return to the old premises because the lease had been given to someone else; he was obliged to open his business at 25 Boundary Road. But Fred Hill always considered there was more trade to be had further north up the road and by the 1950s he was to be found at 35 Boundary Road and by 1956 he was installed at 36 Boundary Road.

In around 1963 the business moved across the road and occupied number 41 Station Road. Today the greatly expanded business is still flourishing under the name of Hill’s Sound and Vision and Fred’s son Andrew Hill manages the enterprise.

Long gone are the days when a black and white 9-inch television was thought to be the height of sophistication and a radiogram in a polished wood case was the preserve of the wealthy.

In 1997 Hill’s took over the next property to the south, formerly occupied by Spectrum Furnishers, to expand the shop area.

There was some excitement in November 1999 when a man tried to steal a £1,400 digital camera from a window display. Alert assistant Sally Gunn noticed his action and demanded he gave it back. He did so but tried to bundle her aside but she locked the shop door. The man then ran to the back of the shop and up the stairs for two floors but everything was locked and he was held until police arrived at the scene. Owner Andrew Hill praised his staff and thanked the ten customers who were also locked in for their patience.

In April 2000 it was stated that the Catalogue Shop and Hill’s Sound and Vision had decided to share a full-time security guard to foil shoplifters because Hill’s had lost £5,000 worth of goods within three weeks. Initially, the scheme ran for an experimental six weeks but it proved to be such a success that it became a permanent fixture and operated for six days a week. Soon other traders joined in and the guard was able to reach any of the shops involved within minutes.

Huckle’s

copyright © G. Osborne
Huckle's entrance is on the left, photograph of a procession down Station Road to mark the coronation of 1911
With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph from his private collection.

It was a well-known furniture store occupying the entire building on the north corner of Franklin Road and Station Road. It traded for some 70 years before closing down in December 1984. The premises were sold at auction on 22 October 1986 at Hove Town Hall.

Lloyd’s Bank – It has stood on the corner of St Andrew’s Road at 57/58 Station Road for many years. It was the very last bank in the Boundary Road / Station Road area, and now will close for good on 9 November 2023. Soon the well-known sign featuring the prancing black horse will no longer be seen in St Andrew’s Road and Station Road.

The usual excuse has been wheeled out that digital banking is becoming the norm etc. The bank even had the nerve to state that there was another branch ‘nearby’ when that branch is situated in Church Road, Hove – hardly ‘nearby’ for old folk who catch a bus to shop in Station Road. No doubt the nearby Post Office will have more custom. (Hovarian September 2023)

The Madeira Cafe, also known as Bites and Slices, has been a fixture at 28 Station Road for some years. In November 2021 there was a lovely piece of news when it was announced that the cafe had received a grade 5 rating for hygiene, which is the highest mark. (Argus 1/12/21)

Merlin Lodge – It was a large house numbered at 21 that was once named Zion Lodge. Douglas Sundius Smith of the Britannia Flour Mills lived there with his family. Douglas was the son of Richard Smith (1843-1912) and he was baptised at St Andrew’s Church, Portslade on 3^rd December 1882. His father was so keen that his son should learn the milling business from the bottom upwards that he was apprenticed to a northern milling firm. The experience gave him an appreciation of the lives of working people.

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
Brighton Herald 15 February 1913, a notice for the sale of
Zion Lodge from the estate of the late Richard Smith

When Richard died in 1912 Douglas took over the family firm. Britannia Flour Mills was only the second mill in England to be electrically driven. At one time the Smith family owned most of the land between Church Road and Station Road. Douglas also found time to be Chairman of Portslade Council from 1922 to 1930. In around 1930 Britannia Flour Mills were sold to Messrs Mark Mayhew Ltd and demolished in 1936.

This postcard is not included by mistake – for Portslade people the interest lies in the person and address –

Miss C. Smith, Zion Lodge. The lady in question was Miss Christabel Margaret Crommond Smith, who was baptised at St Andrew’s Church, Portslade, on 7 March 1880, one of the five children born to Richard and Mary Ann Smith. The message reads ‘Will you come to lunch with us at 12.00 tomorrow – Madge is having a fit of hysterics after bathing!!

I must rush and put something cool on her head – went today simply delicious, Sybil.’

On either side of Merlin Lodge there were large greenhouses and in 1926 additions were made to the house. Plans for a sun-room were approved by Portslade Council in October 1931. The architect of the sun-room was F.W. Avert and it covered an area of 69 feet; A. Pierce & Son built the structure.

A fire broke out in the nursery wing in May 1933, which proved difficult to fight because it was in the space between the ceiling and the roof. It took fire-fighters one and a half hours to subdue the outbreak.

Merlin Lodge was demolished in 1936 and a new parade of shops was built together with premises for Vine & Lee.

PDSA – In 1952 Captain Bately opened a new clinic of the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals at number 54. People used to take their pets there without an appointment and wait their turn in the waiting room. On warm summer days the room became somewhat pungent because there was a large basket for collecting tin foil to be sold to raise funds. Unfortunately, most of the tin foil consisted of milk bottle tops and people would neglect to wash them first.

The place was one of the oldest PDSA clinics in Sussex. But the PDSA said that because the building was old, it was not capable of being upgraded although the annual caseload numbered 12,000. The clinic shut its doors on 1^st July 1993.

It is interesting to note that when the premises were being upgraded in 2014, the old name-board came to light; it carried the information that Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent was patron. The café Time2Taste now occupies the site.

Pierce & Son

In around 1909 the Pierce family moved to number 24 and Albert Pierce established his ironmongery business next door at number 25 in 1916; they could also undertake building work. In those days Station Road was more of a residential road with Portslade’s main shopping area being in North Street. But business must have been good for Albert because in around 1927 he decided on expansion by knocking out the front room of the family home and creating double-fronted premises. Thirteen-year old Bert assisted his father; by rights he should have still have been at school but he much preferred to help in the shop.

The shop sold all manner of ironmongery from metal dustbins at 7/6d to tin baths and there were all sizes of nails, screws, bolts and hooks. They sold Vesta paint that came ready-mixed in tins, or they could make up paint for a customer using materials such as white lead, linseed oil and terebene plus a small pot of colour. Upstairs there was a carpenter’s shop. A branch of Sussex Stationers later covered the site of the shop.

Portslade Hall – It stood back from Station Road and was reached by a side road that still runs beside Tesco’s on the north side. The building was a three-storey structure and there were rooms on the two top floors that could be hired. Portslade Social Club met on the ground floor.

copyright © D. Sharp
The former Portslade Hall (now a single storey building)
Portslade Hall was used for Portslade Urban District Council
meetings in the 1920s-1930s

Legend has it that Portslade Hall started out as a farm building with the ground floor divided into cow stalls; there was access from Vale Road and the old cattle arch.

In 1985 it was stated that the buildings at the back of 18, 18A, 18B and 18C were formerly occupied by Southern Rentals Service Department and Rediffusion Sound. A new addition was planned, which would be numbered 18D.The building is now the premises of Specialist Herbal Supplies.

Post Office

copyright © J.Middleton
In 2014 this large shop was converted into Papa John’s. The building was once home to Portslade Post Office while older people will no doubt remember it when it was a showroom for South Eastern Electricity Board.

In the 1930s the Post Office was situated on the corner of St Aubyns. But it moved to new premises in Boundary Road when the old Co-op building was demolished. It remains in use to this day but as a delivery depot rather than a Post Office. The Post Office proper moved across the road again to occupy 37/38 Station Road and opened in March 1996. It had extended opening hours and one of the first customers was local M.P. Tim Sainsbury. Later on the business was given a makeover and there were a variety of stationery goods on sale with just a small exterior sign to indicate it was a post office too.

The previous Portslade Post Office shut its doors on 23 July 2024 and reopened further up the road on 2 August 2024 in premises formerly occupied by Sunshine Tanning Studios. The new site is far smaller, and there was a lapse of some days before the name board was installed. Fortunately, there is a pillar box nearby, and perhaps the other one will remain in situ, although it must be be very unusual for there to be two of them in one road.

copyright © D. Sharp
Portslade Post Office moved to this new location at 8 Station Road in 2024 close to the Vale Road junction.

History has turned almost full circle, the ‘new’ 2024 location for the Portslade Post Office is only a few doors away from its Edwardian location, by the Vale Road junction.

C.M. Print at 61 Station Road has a small garden at the back of their premises. In 2003 printer Andy Jarred embarked on a tidying up session and all was going well until he started to dig. He came across a relic probably from the Second World War; it was an 8-inch rusty-looking shell. The police were taking no chances and the southern part of Station Road was cordoned off until specialists could confirm there was no risk to the public. (Argus 11 April 2003)

Railway Inn

copyright © G. Osborne
Early 1900s view of Station Road with the Railway Inn on the right
With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph from his private collection.

See the Railway Inn page.

Red House Farm – The farmhouse was situated in what later became Station Road, occupying the site now covered by the United Reformed Church and part of St Aubyn’s Road.

It is interesting to note that one of the owners of Red House Farm was Edward Austen Knight. You might not have heard of this gentleman but it is likely you have heard of his famous sister Jane Austen. The reason he has a different surname is somewhat unusual.

Edward was known in the family by the nickname Neddy. He was a lively soul, and good looking as well. In fact he made a great impression on one of his father’s cousins – Thomas Knight and his wife Catherine who first set eyes on Neddy when he was aged twelve.

The Knights were landed gentry, owning an estate in Kent called Godmersham Park, besides another estate in Wiltshire and a mansion at Chawton. Neddy went to stay with them now and again as he grew up and the relationship strengthened, especially since the Knights were not blessed with children of their own and there was no heir.

By contrast, the Austens were a large family and money was fairly tight. The Knights wanted to adopt the young man as their heir. Although his parents were reluctant to let him go, Mrs Austen in particular, could see the great advantages Edward would enjoy. Edward was officially adopted in 1783 at the age of sixteen, and thus never joined his brothers James and Henry at Oxford University.

In the Sussex Room, which formerly existed in Hove Museum, there was an old kitchen dresser from the farmhouse made in 1817 by a Portslade carpenter for farmer Henry Hudson. Nearby was an old watercolour sketch showing the original position of the dresser in the kitchen of the farmhouse. Henry Hudson’s grand-daughter, Miss Marian Donne, presented the dresser to Hove Museum in 1927. She also donated six drawings of the farmhouse, goffering irons used in Portslade, a Sussex stoneware pitcher (12 inches in height) and a Sussex stoneware pickle jar (10 ½ inches in height).

The farmland covered 75 acres, 3 rods and 39 perches in Portslade plus 383 acres, 3 rods and 25 perches in Aldrington. The Portslade property also contained six cottages and there were nine separate holdings, one of them being Cow Hayes of just over 6 acres while a 3-acre holding in Aldrington was called Ram Croft.

Ownership of the farm also carried the right of pasturing 200 sheep and four bullocks on Tenantry, part of the common lands of Portslade.

Hugh Fuller was the tenant and farmer of Red House Farm from 1816 and in 1833 he purchased the property from Edward Knight for £15,000. Hugh Fuller employed Henry Hudson from 1816 and in Fuller’s will dated 1^st March 1851 he left his ‘chief and good servant Henry Hudson’ the freehold messauge of Red House Farm, together with growing crops and a piece of Cow Hayes. Fuller also bequeathed £100 to Nicholas Strudwick. The rest of Fuller’s land, including Aldrington Farm, was bequeathed to his cousin Hugh Ingram of Steyning.

The 1841 census records 45-year old Nicholas Strudwick living at Red House Farm with his wife Frances, 35 and their children Richard 10, Nicholas 7, Henry 5, James 3, and four-month old Caroline. In 1851 39-year old agricultural labourer Henry Gillam lived in the farmhouse with his wife, five sons, one daughter and four lodgers.

In 1861 Henry Hudson still occupied the farmhouse. He was described as a 63-year old widower, a farmer of 60 acres, employing six men and one boy. His son, another Henry Hudson, also lived in the farmhouse, as well as his daughter Sarah aged 23; there was one servant. Henry Hudson, junior, was there a decade later and although he only employed five men and a boy, he now farmed 70 acres. His sister acted as housekeeper and there was one servant. Several family members of Henry Hudson, senior lie buried in St Nicolas churchyard, Portslade, including the following: Two-month old daughter Ann (died 11 February 1831)

Two-day old son William (died 4 March 1836)

One-year old daughter Ellen (died 28 September 1841)

Wife Mary Maria aged 50 (died 23 March 1850)

Daughter Elizabeth aged 26 (died 5 April 1854)

Son John aged 35 (died 15 October 1860)

Son Henry aged 38 (died 11 June 1871)

When Henry Hudson died on 29 December 1879 he was unable to join the rest of his family at St Nicolas because it had been closed for further burials and so he lies in Portslade Cemetery.

It seems that after the Hudsons, Red House had become disassociated with its agricultural past because in 1881 a 33-year old commercial traveller was in residence. His name was George Phillips and he lived with his wife Charlotte aged 30, and their children George Harry aged 8, Charlotte aged 7, Lydia aged 3 and six-month old Alice.

In 1891 Red House was numbered at 13 Station Road and Revd Patrick Duffy aged 49 lived there with his daughter Edith aged 21, and his sons Charles aged 19 and Philip aged 18.

Four years later Joseph Tomlinson lived in the house but in 1899 the building became a private school run by Tomlinson’s three daughters, the Misses Annie, Monty and Nellie Tomlinson. This business venture could not have been a success because it only lasted until 1903.

Mrs Lilian Bately, wife of Captain Bately, was of the opinion that some land once belonging to Red House Farm survived until 1960. This was a beautiful garden stretching from Station Road to Gordon Road, which was full of trees such as apple, pear, chestnut, may and laburnum. The garden was so secluded and peaceful that even a tame cuckoo lived there. The garden was attached to a building used as offices by Portslade Council. The Batleys rented it from 1934 to 1960 but unfortunately they were not allowed to purchase it.

Seeboard Shop

It was on the corner of St Aubyn’s Road and stood on a site formerly occupied by a farm building belonging to Red House Farm. The old Post Office was once here too. The Seeboard shop had a range of electric cookers and fridges on display and many Portslade customers would choose what they needed here.

Tesco’s – Jacob ‘Jack’ Cohen (1898-1979) founded the firm. In 1926 he teamed up with T.E. Stockwell and the name Tesco was formed from a combination of their surnames. At first they ran market stalls; their first lock-up shop opened in 1929 at Edgware and their first self-service store opened in 1948 at St Albans.

By 1951 Tesco had 35 self-service stores and its first supermarket opened in 1956 at Malden. In 1961 there were 185 stores and Green Shield stamps were introduced. By 1966 Tesco’s turnover reached £88 million and there were 834 stores. Its first superstore opened in 1969 in Crawley and its first hypermarket opened in 1976 in Manchester. But no business is invincible and the recession led to 200 stores being sold off while the Green Shield stamp scheme was dumped. In 2014 the news from the Tesco front line was not good. Its ventures abroad had not been a success while at home discount stores and German-owned businesses such as Aldi and Lidl were racing ahead as cash-strapped customers sought the most competitive prices. There was also the little matter of ‘creative accounting’ and Tesco’s published profit figures were not what they seemed.

In January 1975 planning permission was granted for a new retail store at Station Road, Portslade, despite strong objections from 123 residents. By December 1976 plans for a Waitrose store had been submitted and 200 residents were consulted about the scheme but there were still 40 objections. In the event nothing came of it and Tesco stepped into the breach. Before building could even start, action had to be taken about the old twitten leading from Station Road to Gordon Road. Legal sanction had to be obtained for it to be diverted.

copyright © J.Middleton
The 6th December 2014 was exceptionally sunny when the Salvation Army was pictured playing carols outside Tesco’s.

Tesco’s opened in Station Road on 17 February 1981 and at 9 a.m. there were at least 40 shoppers waiting outside plus 20 more waiting at the car park entrance. The store had 21,600 square feet of shopping space, there were 20 checkout points and 150 car spaces. Fergus Daly was the manager. In January 1990 high winds whipped off part of the roof, sending debris crashing down. The damaged roof was directly above the staff canteen and workers having lunch received quite a shock when part of it blew off and the floor shook. The store was evacuated. Strangely enough the roof had been strengthened after the Great Gale of 1987.

In October 1993 it was announced that Tesco would be introducing charges for trolley hire. By 2002 the upgraded store was known as Tesco Metro.

T.W. Tubb

copyright © E.Masters
Marie Mitchell smiles proudly wearing her uniform as
a Southdown bus conductor in this portrait by T.W. Tubb.

Many of the photographs of Portslade events and people have his signature at the bottom right-hand corner. He ran his business at number 39 from at least 1910 and he was still there in 1924.

United Reformed Church

The history of this church goes back to 1884 when Joseph and Philip Hannington (brothers of the famous Bishop Hannington) used to conduct services aboard a whaling ship in Aldrington Basin. In those days it was known as the Fishersgate Mission. The Mission was affiliated to Sussex Congregational Union with outstations at North Street, Portslade and in a large house near St Nicolas’s Church, Portslade. Before the church was built, the Mission erected a lecture hall and school in 1903 in St Aubyn’s Road. There was a note in Portslade Council Minutes to the effect that the porch was to be permitted to extend beyond the main wall of the building.

Mr Pierce had an allotment next door to the hall during the Great War and because he had to remove two cartloads of flints before gardening could start, he concluded the site must have been part of the old track to Red House Farm.

In March 1927 a Band of Hope was formed at the church. This was a popular temperance movement for young people, which provided activities and an annual treat besides promoting the avoidance of alcohol at all costs.

W.A. Hounsom and William Stevens were trustees for many years and they both gave generously towards the building of the church in Station Road in the 1930s. Mr Hounsom also donated money to build Rutland Hall, Hove and when that building was sold for £2,000, the money went towards the building of Hounsom Memorial Church in Nevill Avenue.

There are two foundation stones at the Portslade church on either side of what used to be the entrance. William Stevens JP laid the stone on the north side on behalf of Sussex Congregational Union and Andrew Harmes laid the south stone on behalf of church members.

On 5^th October 1972 the Congregational Church and the Presbyterian Church merged to become the United Reformed Church.

Church member Edward Miles of Southwick died aged 78 in June 1994 and left the Portslade church £20,000 in his will. The minister Revd Tom Dyer said the legacy would be spent on extensive repairs, modernisation and re-decorating. The church also purchased the next-door property at number 52 and in June 1994 sought planning permission to build a new entrance foyer, to remove the existing entrance doors and to replace them with a stained glass window above a brick panel. The window depicted a blue cross with a stylised fish in ochre, the fish being an early Christian symbol. In April 1995 the Mayor of Hove, Councillor Leslie Hamilton, cut a ribbon to mark the end of the expansion work.

In July 1995 it was stated that with the help of church leader Easton Wells, the church had set up the 52 Project, which aimed to develop outreach work pioneered by Mr Wells. Joy Dillon, an East Sussex community health worker, would lend assistance. As well as being used for youth work, the premises would provide a meeting place for older people and particularly carers.

On 9^th April 2000 the 2^nd Portslade Girls’ Brigade held a 65^th anniversary service.

Varney’s

Frank Ernest Varney was born in Jersey, Channel Islands. By the 1930s, he was based at Singer’s Sewing Machine Shop on the seafront at Hastings. Then the shop closed down because of the war and Varney decided to move to Portslade because his parents lived at Brighton. In 1941 he opened his shop at number 56 Station Road and it has been there ever since, making it the longest established business at the same address in Station Road although Hill’s has been in the area for a longer time but has moved about. Varney’s son Laurence later ran the business specialising in sewing machines and knitting machines and it also sold baby equipment. In around 1986 the upstairs part was converted into two maisonettes numbered 56A and 56B.

Vine & Lee

copyright © G. Osborne
With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph from his private collection.

They were a firm of motor and cycle engineers. The firm was established in 1907 at 28A Station Road but by the 1930s they were numbered at 19, 20 and 21; by the 1950s it was 19 and 20. At the height of their business success, there was enough space in their garage for 300 cars and they were agents for Morris, Austin, Standard, Lanchester, Daimler and Humber.

In 1910 Mr Vine requested planning permission to store petrol on the site. In 1925 plans were passed for twelve lock-up garages, a motor showroom, a flat plus a workshop at the rear. In 1927 permission was granted for a temporary building; in 1930 there was a new workshop while in 1937 alterations were made to the showroom. The layout of Vine & Lee consisted of a large showroom at the front and behind the showroom there was a square, surrounded by twelve lock-up garages that were rented out, plus the workshops.

A 1915 advert placed in the Brighton Graphic

During the 1930s it was stated that all repairs were carried out on the premises under the personal supervision of Arthur Lee. Arthur Lee’s son Kenneth Arthur Gordon Lee lived at 19 Station Road and worked for his father in the 1930s. Kenneth was educated at Brighton, Hove & Sussex Grammar School. On 10 September 1938 Kenneth married Pamela Mary Reilly of Hove Park Road at the church of the Sacred Heart, Norton Road, Hove. Both bride and groom were members of the Pavilion Lawn Tennis Club and the Avondale Badminton Club and she had played tennis for the Sussex team. He was a popular member of Haywards Heath Rugby Club while she taught ballroom dancing. In 1945 it was reported that Lieutenant Colonel K.A.G. Lee, not yet 30 years old, was commandant of the Middle East Mechanical School in Palestine.

copyright © G. Osborne
With thanks to Mr G. Osborne for granting permission for the reproduction of the above photograph from his private collection.
1930s view of Vine & Lee's petrol pumps on the left, the Railway Inn can be seen in the distance

From the Great War it is interesting to note the names T. Lee and R.H. Vine on Portslade’s War Memorial and Robert H. Vine is also listed on the memorial in St Andrew’s Church, Portslade. Corporal Arthur Cyril Lee and Sergeant Thomas Lee, of the Rifle Brigade, were killed and their names were recorded in the brass panels in the vestibule of Hove Library

Vine & Lee remained in business until 1974. After demolition, Tesco was built on the site.

Whistlestop Inn – See under Railway Inn,

Willett, Berry

His real name was Beresford Willett but Berry Willett was the name shown above his shop-front at number 30. In 1994 it was stated he had run the family jewellery business for 30 years and he had his own workshop on the premises. He started out in a small shop in the adjacent twitten but when number 30 became available, he moved there. Berry was a large man with a genial personality and he was fond of chatting with his customers. He retired in the 1990s and sold the business. He died on 3^rd October 2002 at Worthing Hospital after ten days in the coronary care ward.

copyright © J.Middleton
Berry Willett’s jewellery shop was here, right by the twitten. It is still a jeweller’s now run by James Ross.

Directory 1936 (commercial premises only)

Railway Inn

3. Howard Brothers, furniture removals

4. Model Hat Shop / Clark’s Domestic Agency

5. Morris & Sons, radio dealers

8. John S. Horsley, furniture dealer

9. Grant’s, drapers

(Vale Road)

10b. Sussex Printing & Publicity Service

10a. ND Libraries

10. G.S. Butt & Co, estate agents

11. Cooper Bell Engineering Company

11. Deacon & Co, auctioneers

12. William Montague, Aldrich & Andrewes, solicitors and commissioner for oaths

13. West Hove & District Permanent Building Society (Harry Oliver secretary)

13. Harry Oliver, estate agent

14. Harry Retallick, ironmonger

15. Stanley Harold Chalcraft, furniture dealer

16/17. Portslade Urban District Council offices; Ernest Harper Kempe, solicitor and clerk to the council; Frederick William Parnacott, rating officer; D.V. Howard, surveyor and sanitary inspector; W.E. Rudgley, assistant surveyor; Edward Brassington, registrar.

17. Boxall & Kempe, solicitors

18. William Goff, second-hand books

18a. Reginald Jackson, electrical engineer

18b. Sidney Gilbert Orme, provisions

18c. Portslade Hall; Portslade & West Hove Rifle Club

19/20/21. Vine & Lee, motor engineers

22a. Verrall & Redfearn, drapers

23.Young, Henderson & Sadler, auctioneers

24/25. Lawlor & Hooper, confectioners

27. John Ford, fried fish shop

28. Percy Hardwick, dairy

29. Walter Frank Winchester, music stores

(Twitten to Gordon Road)

30. George Cotsworth, confectioner

31. William Moore, printer

32. Coe Brothers, fishmongers

33. Archer Edward Plumb, confectioner

34. Gigins, bakers

35. Huckle’s, house furnishers

(Franklin Road)

36. Lloyds Bank, A.D.S. Robertson, manager

37. Walter Massett, chemist

38. C. Elliott, boot maker

39. George Broadley, gent’s outfitters

40. Pearce & White, drapers

41. Charles William Trevitt, tobacconist

42. Brighton Co-op, butcher

43. Band & Co, newsagent

44. Rex H.B. Camps, music dealers

44. Post Office, Charles T. Smith, postmaster

(St Aubyn’s Road)

Congregational Church

(St Andrew’s Road)

59. Charles Graham Meade, physician & surgeon

62. Mrs Caroline Wilson, furniture dealer

64. Guest & Son, drapers

64b. Miss Maud Fyle, general stores

65. Reginald Jackson, electrical engineer

69. Milward & Sons, boot-makers

(North Street)

79. Mrs C.A. Pearson, confectioner

80. Thomas Cecil Holmes, fried fish shop

81/82. Blue Anchor

83. Arthur William Drew, coal merchant

84/85. C.W. Hinson, gents’ outfitters

86. L.W.G. Ransom, draper

Halfway House

Directory 1954 (commercial premises only)

Railway Inn

3. World’s Stores

4. Brighton Co-op hardware store

5. Hills, Oliver & Co, builder’s merchants

6. Channel Laundry Services

7. Leslie Ritchie, gent’s tailor

7a. Freeman, Hardy & Willis, boots and shoes

8. Portslade Ice Cream and Milk Bar

9. Ivor Stacey, showroom

(Vale Road)

10. G.S. Butt, estate agents

10a. ND Libraries

11. Deacon & Co, auctioneers and estate agents (Portslade Social Club upstairs)

12. Aldrich, Andrewes & Myers, solicitors

13. Harry Oliver, auctioneer and estate agent

14. Retallick, ironmongers

15. Milward & Sons, boots and shoes

16/17. Portslade Urban District Council offices; W. Lonsdale, registrar; E.F. Allfrey, local fuel overseer; Civil Defence.

18. Flinn & Son, dry cleaners

18a. Reginald Jackson, electrical engineer.

18b. Sidney Gilliat Orme, provisions

18c. Albert Hill, florist

19/20. Vine & Lee, motor engineers and dealers

21. Bellmans

21c. Frank Perry, decorator’s merchant

21d. Maypole Dairy

21e. Harrington & Son, baker

21f. S.F. George. Chemist

22. Awlcar Accessories

22a. Verall & Redfearn, drapers

23. Young, Henderson & Sadler, estate agents

24/25. Bellmans Food Market

26. J. Sainsbury, provisions

27. F.D. Ford, fruiterer

28. Belgravia Dairies

28a. Frank Hamlin, butcher

29. County Cleaners

30. Fred Mussell, jeweller

(Twitten to Gordon Road)

31. Hove Printing Co.

32. I.M. Gibson, fishmonger

33. Plumbs, confectioner

34. Gigins, baker

35. Huckle’s, furniture store

(Franklin Road)

36. Lloyd’s Bank

37. Brighton Co-op Chemist

38. Noel Courtney Elliott, boot-maker

39. T. Edwards (G.H. Broadley)

40. Joyce (Parkin & Lawrence) drapes

41. Hart, Son & Ashton, funeral directors

42. Brighton Co-op butcher

43. Band & Co. (John Edward Heath, proprietor)

44. Post Office (Charles T. Smith sub-postmaster)

(St Aubyn’s Road)

Congregational Church

52. Baker & Son, funeral directors

53. T. & A. Boden, furniture dealers

54. PDSA clinic

55. Miss Dorothy Watson, milliner

56. Varney’s Sewing Machines

(St Andrew’s Road)

59. Wilfrid Williams, surgeon & physician

60. Ministry of Food (H.W. Lake, officer in charge) / Customs & Excise (Samuel MacLintock, officer)

61a. Mee’s Wholesale stationers

61.Parrott’s (Mrs R.E. Moncrieff) grocers

62. Handy Stores (A.T. Spurgeon)

64. Grosvenor House Restaurant (H.A. Pedrick, proprietor)

64. H.J. Smythson, antique and furniture dealer

69. Low’s (Portslade) Ltd, chemist

(North Street)

79. J. Blower & Son, café

80. Charles Vince, toy shop

81/82. Blue Anchor

83. Success Printing Co. (J.R. Hooker, proprietor)

84/85. Collingwood William Hinson, gent’s outfitters

87. Kenneth Funnell, hairdresser

87. Gilbert Goble, wine & spirit merchant

Directory 1974 (commercial premises only)

Railway Inn

3. Portslade Market Stores

4. Modique

5. Hills Oliver & Co, builder’s merchants

6. Rival Carpets

7. Leslie Ritchie, gent’s tailor and outfitters

7a. Freeman, Hardy & Willis, shoe shop

8. Laundrette

9. Smith & Brown, clothiers

9a. Edward Chapman, hairdresser

(Vale Road)

10. G.S. Butt, estate agents

10a. Portslade Card Centre

10b. Plumridge & Howell, solicitors

11. Deacon & Co, auctioneers and estate agents

12. Aldrich, Andrewes & Myers, solicitors

13. Lance Lister, estate agents

14. Wimpy, café

15. Milward & Sons, boots & shoes

16/17. Finefare, grocers

18. Kay’s Wools

18a. Reginald Jackson, electrical engineers

18b. Boundary Café

18c. Southern Rentals, stores and service

21. Bellmans Wool Shop

21d. Flinns. Dry cleaners

21e. Knowles & Sons, dry cleaners

21f. S.F. George, chemist

24/25. Key Markets, supermarket

27. F.D. Ford, fishmonger

28. Ernest Ward (Fruit) ltd

28a. Mrs E. Hamlin, butcher

29. C.T. Television

30. Berry Willett, jeweller

(Twitten to Gordon Road)

31. C. & B. Nameplate Co.

32. R. Yeates, Fruiterers

33. Plumbs, confectioners

34. Clark’s Bread Co

35. Huckle’s

(Franklin Road)

36. Hove Frobel Shop. DIY

37. Brighton Co-op Chemist

38. London Boot Stores

39. Broadley Brothers, gent’s outfitters

40. Metro Cleaners

41. Hill’s Radio (WRVS upstairs)

42. Beryl Ivory, florist

43. Band’s, confectionary

44. South Eastern Electricity Board showroom

(St Aubyn’s Road)

Congregational Church

52. Baker & Son, funeral directors

53. Young, Henderson & Sadler, auctioneer and estate agents

54. PDSA clinic

55. George Anthony, ladies hairdresser

56. Varney’s Sewing Machines

57/58. Lloyd’s Bank

(St Andrew’s Road)

59. Wilfrid Williams, physician and surgeon

61/61a. M. Wilson & Son, furniture dealers

61/66. South Coast Motors

67. Studio 67, second-hand goods

67. Laurie’s, fruiterers

69. Boundary Supply Stores

73. White House, antique dealer

75. Haxted Motor Co

R. Trissiman, antique dealer

79. Maxine’s Café

81/82. Blue Anchor

84. Steve’s Wander-In

85. Mat’s Bargain Mart

86. Hove Surplus Stores

Henry B. Zucker, dentist

February 2003 (commercial premises only)

Whistlestop Inn

3. Carla Lane’s Animal Charity Shop

4. Forfars Bakers

5. Bonners, music shop (formerly Brighton Organ Studies)

6. Ladbroke’s

7. Golden Grill, café

8. Bairstow Eves, estate agents

9. Boundary Books (formerly Sports Corner)

(Vale Road)

10. Tingley’s, estate agents

11. GM2 Mortgage House

12. World Choice

13. Age Concern, charity shop

14. Wimpy, café

15. Lunn Poly, travel agents

16. Empty shop

17. Peacocks, clothes shop

18. Facets, jewellers

18a. Kismet, hairdressers

18b. Empty shop (formerly Squirrels)

18c. Southern Grill, café

19/20. Tesco Metro

21. SDS, bargain goods

21c. Help the Aged, charity shop

21d. Johnson, dry cleaners

21e. Best Wishes, card shop

21f. Health Link

22/23. Superdrug

24. Discount Express (everything £1)

25. Sussex Stationers

26. All in One (Everything £1)

27. Athena B, café

28. Bites & Slices, sandwich bar

29. Moran Brothers, butcher (formerly Hamlin)

30. James Ross, jeweller (formerly Berry Willett)

(Twitten to Gordon Road)

31. Sandwich Hut

32. R.A. Manchester, greengrocer

33. Paws & Claws, pet shop

34/35. Alliance & Leicester Building Society

(Franklin Road)

36. Mishon Mackay, estate agents

37/38. Post Office

39. Catalogue Clearance Shop

40/41. Hill’s Sound & Vision

42. Panorama, travel agent

43. Dillons, newsagent

44. South Coast Catering Equipment

(St Aubyn’s Road)

United Reformed Church

53. Porky’s, café

54. Quercus, plant shop

55. Sweeny Todd’s, hairdresser

56. Varney’s Sewing Machines

57/58. Lloyd’s Bank

(St Andrew’s Road)

61. CM Print

62. Kwik Fit

67. Charlie’s, barber

67a. Essential Hair & Beauty

Christies

(North Street)

PJ’s Café

81/82. Blue Anchor

83. St Luke’s Studio

84. St George’s Launderette

Halfway House (numbered in Wellington Road)

December 2014 (commercial premises only)

Whistlestop Inn soon to revert to original name Railway Inn)

3. Empty shop (formerly Safe Haven for Donkeys in the Holy Land, charity shop)

4. Station Road Bakers

5. Empty shop

6. Ladbroke’s

7. Golden Grill, café

8. Empty shop

9. Smart Shop Convenience Store

(Vale Road)

10. Sawyer & Co, sales & lettings

11. Zigzags (Image Fancy Dress)

12. Elegant Nails
13. Sparkles

14. Chicken Cottage, café (formerly Wimpy’s)

15. Extra Time

16. Cash Converters

17. Peacocks, clothes shop

18. Threading Bar

18a. A Cut Above the Rest, hair specialist

18b. Empty shop (formerly Mish Mash)

18c. Boundi Café

19/20. Tesco

21. SDS

21c. Age U.K. charity shop

21d. Station Launderette

21e. Best Wishes, card shop

21f. Health Link

22/23. Superdrug

24. SuperMulti Stores

25. Cash Generators

26. British Heart Foundation charity shop

27. Athena B, café

28. Madeira Café

29. Fairydust Flowers

30. James Ross, jewellers

(Twitten to Gordon Road)

31. Oliver’s Café

32. Green Station, greengrocer

33. Paws and Claws, pet supplies

34/35. Santander, building society

(Franklin Road)

36. Mishon Mackay, estate agents

37/38. Portslade Cards & Gifts / Post Office

39. Cartridge World

40-42. Hills Sound and Vision

43. Martin’s, newsagents

44. Papa John, pizzas

(St Aubyn’s Road)

United Reformed Church

53. Empty shop (was Porky’s)

54. Time 2 Taste, café

55. Sweeney Todd’s, hairdresser

56. Varney’s Sewing Machines

57/58. Lloyd’s Bank

(St Andrew’s Road)

61. CM Print

62. Kwick Fit, tyres

67. Scizzor Sisters, hairdresser

68. Empty shop (was retro female clothing)

69. Reeves flooring, carpets

(North Road)

Christies, electric cookers, freezers, fridges, spares

P.J.’s Café

81/82. Blue Anchor

83. St Luke’s Studio, art works

Entacom, electronic security sytems

84. St George’s Laundry Services

Demolition in progress (was Halfway House)Sources

Sources

Argus

Census Returns

Brewery Deeds

Council Minute Books

Directories

Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
Mr G. Osborne
Worsley, Lucy Jane Austen at Home (2017)

See also Boundary Road, Hove, the east side of Station Road, Portslade.

page layout and additional research by D.Sharp

21 April 2025

Station Road, Portslade