Judy Middleton 2002 (revised 2021)
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| copyright © J.Middleton Church Road was photographed on 6 May 2018 |
At one time Church Road was even narrower than it
is today. In 1904 Portslade Council agreed to pay Mrs Amelia Baker
£110 compensation for giving up a portion of land called Court
Cottage. In September 1907 Mr J. Eardley Hall agreed to give up some
land in order that the road could be widened from Eastbrook to Smokey
Barn.
In 1931 Revd J. Kerwin of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, and St Denis, agreed to exchange some land with Portslade Council so that church boundaries could be tidied up. Portslade Council gave him a piece of land, and he gave them the site of the roadway on the south side of the church.
In 1931 Revd J. Kerwin of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, and St Denis, agreed to exchange some land with Portslade Council so that church boundaries could be tidied up. Portslade Council gave him a piece of land, and he gave them the site of the roadway on the south side of the church.
Court Cottage
This was numbered as 4 Church Road. Arthur Charles
Gundry lived there during the 1920s and until around 1931. He was a
photographer and old postcards of Portslade bearing his name still
come to light occasionally.
43 Church Road
R. A. Parker lived at this address, and he was the brother of Harry Parker JP; he had several other siblings – one sister, and five brothers including Ernest Parker, and Petty Officer V. Parker of the Royal Navy. R. A. Parker worked as a store-keeper at Southwick Power Station for 22 years. But he was also a Portslade councillor, serving for nine years, and he was chairman of the Housing Committee for four years. He found time to be a trade union representative on the joint Whitley Council, and he was a member of the London and District Council of the National Union of General Municipal Workers. He died on 15 August 1946 at the age of 53. His funeral was held at St Andrew’s Church, and he was buried in Portslade Cemetery. He left a widow, a step-son and a step-daughter.
55 Church Road
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| copyright © J.Middleton Number 55 is the second house from the right. |
In September 1913 Alfred Walter Noel Langrish and
his wife Florence moved into this rented property, which cost them
seven shillings a week, their landlord being wealthy Mr W. Hillman of
North Street, Portslade. Alfred was Portslade born and bred, and his
parents and aunt lived close by, but Florence hailed from Norfolk.
The couple already had two children, and their third child, George,
was born in the house three months after they moved in.
The house had basic amenities, but that was not
unusual for the times. There was no bathroom, no running hot water,
and the privy was outside in the back yard. There were two bedrooms
upstairs plus a small box-room. In the kitchen, sticky fly-papers
hung from the ceiling to catch unwary flies.
The Langrish family circle was soon interrupted by
the outbreak of the First World War, with Alf joining the Royal Navy
in 1914. Florence was left at home with the new baby and two other
children to care for. It might be thought that a sailor would be
miles away from any battle trenches but that turned out not to be the
case. Apparently there were too many sailors and not enough ships,
and thus the Royal Naval Division were sent to assist their khaki
brothers-in-arms, and were issued with khaki uniforms too. Alf had an
eventful war – he was twice wounded, served in the trenches at the
Dardenelles, and was taken prisoner. On a rare spell of leave from
the trenches, Alf’s war-worn uniform was so infested with lice that
there was nothing else to do but make a bonfire of it in the back
yard.
Although Alf returned home to Portslade in one
piece, he must have suffered from his dreadful war experiences. He
would never speak about them, and his children received a sound
telling-off, should they ever venture to enquire along the lines
‘What did you do in the war, Daddy?’ This reaction was also
common in First World War veterans – they closed the door firmly on
past events.
Alf did not have to walk far to his job at the
nearby timber merchants John Eede Butt, where his brother George also
worked, unloading timber from ships. Four more children were added to
the Langrish family, the last one arriving in 1925, and all born at
number 55.
Despite the advantage of having an allotment in
which to grow vegetables to feed his family, the budget must have
been tight. One solution was to take a lodger into their already
overcrowded house. Thus elderly Mr Spregget and his wife took up
residence in the front room downstairs. Mr Spregget was a
churchwarden at St Andrew’s Church, just up the road. The children
enjoyed his company, particularly as he was the proud possessor of an
old gramophone. He also enjoyed fishing from the beach – often the
children accompanied him and watched him fishing for shrimps. He
taught them a valuable lesson in demonstrating the correct way to
pick up a crab without incurring damage to your fingers.
By 1948 there were still Langrishes at number 55,
although by that time it was Alf’s son George who was the tenant
and he paid 11/7d a week. In fact the Langrishes must hold
some kind of record for occupying the house for so many years because
they were still there in 1990.
Memories
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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. This evocative photo was taken in the 1930s |
In December 1992 in the ‘Flashback’ series of
the Brighton & Hove Leader, a photograph was published of
Church Road in the 1930s – it certainly stirred up some memories
and readers wrote to the newspaper to record them. Jack Todd stated
that Mr C. Pengilly ran a cobbler’s business in one of the shops,
and as a youngster he went there to purchase a piece of leather so
that his dad could repair their boots. The boots had metal studs on
the soles to make the boots last longer. Mrs Pengilly’s 80-year old
daughter also contacted the newspaper to say that the business dated
back to 1908, and people regarded her father as a highly skilled
craftsman.
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| copyright ©
Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove This photograph of the same row of buildings looking south was taken in the 1960s. |
Mr B. Young ran the shop on the corner, next was
Pengilly’s, then Mengham’s, the newsagent where tobacco and snuff
could be weighed out individually to suit a customer’s
requirements. At Baker’s the undertaker’s children would go to
collect wood shavings to put on the floor of their rabbit hutches.
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| copyright © J.Middleton This photograph of the same row of buildings was taken in May 2018. |
Smokey Cottage
The ‘Smokey’ part has been part of this
house’s name since at least 1841. It was first called Smokey House,
but in 1881 it was called Smokey Cottage, then by 1891 it had
reverted back to Smokey House.
According to the 1841 census, William Lucas, a
31-year old agricultural labourer, lived here with his wife Sarah
aged 30. But ten years later the house was unoccupied on census
night.
In 1881 Alfred Welles, a 61-year old smith, his
wife Mary aged 68, and one lodger lived in the property.
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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. Portslade 'pea pickers' in the fields on the west side of Church Road. Smokey Cottage can be seen next to the barn, on the left is the railway embankment and the row of houses are in Trafalgar Road on the north side of the railway bridge |
In 1891 the house was crowded because there were
no less than nine occupants. They were 36-year old Mark Mills,
gardener, his wife, two sons, three daughters, a nephew and Mark’s
mother-in-law.
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| copyright © D. Sharp Smokey Cottage in May 2018 |
In 1923 the house was up for sale and was
described as follows:
Brick, flint and tile-healed cottage
Three bedrooms (two with fireplaces)
Scullery with copper and sink
Pantry
Outside WC
Large brick and flint-built, slate-healed barn
with sliding doors
Brick-built and tiled two-stall stables with chaff
house
8 acres, 2 roods of rich, dark, fertile
market-garden land
The property was let to H. Broomfield at £5-16s
a year, and the remainder of the lot was also let to H.
Broomfield as a market-garden for £46 a year, bringing the total to
£51-16s a year.
Later on, Captain Bately re-conditioned the house.
Portslade Fire Station
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| copyright © J.Middleton The attractive-looking former Portslade Fire Station was photographed in March 2003. |
Captain Hillman, Chief Officer of Portslade Fire
Brigade, had been pressing for better accommodation for some time,
and in 1908 events finally began to move his way. Mr J. Eardley Hall
offered to sell some land to Portslade Council at a cost of 35/- per
foot to enable them to erect a Fire Station. The plot had a frontage
to Church Road of 50 ft and a depth of 100 ft. Mr A. Taylor Allen,
Portslade’s surveyor, designed the building, which was erected in
1909 by Ernest Clevett, who also built the boundary wall at a cost of
£35. The wall included a pillar on the north side of variegated
brick, surmounted by an ornamental gas lantern. It gives the building
a somewhat asymmetrical look – as though there ought to be a
companion pillar and lamp on the south side. But according to old
photographs, there was only the one.
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| copyright © J.Middleton Terracotta embellishments on the Fire Station |
The Fire Station is an attractive looking
structure, and best white bricks were used with terracotta
decorations. At roof level there is a charming dormer window with
gables set in a terracotta frame topped by finials.
Ernest Clevett was born in 1880, and lived at 95 St Andrew’s Road.
He was certainly gainfully employed during 1909 and 1910 because
after he had finished the Fire Station, he went on to build the new
Salvation Army Citadel on the corner of North Street and Church Road,
Portslade. Indeed, his name is inscribed on one of the six named
stones, which were laid with great ceremony and watched by a large
crowd of people on 27 August 1910. Other named stones belonged to
important people such as Walter Hillman and Richard Smith of
Britannia Flour Mills who donated the piece of land on which the
citadel was erected. It is somewhat ironic that when Clevett first
encountered the activities of the Salvation Army, he was strongly
opposed to this new movement. It is not known whether or not he
indulged in fisticuffs as sometimes happened in hostile
demonstrations against the Salvationists. But he was impressed with
their message, and decided to join them. Therefore, he must have
built the citadel with all the zeal of a convert.
However, it does
seem odd after being so successful, that in March 1911 he should up
sticks and emigrate to Ohio, USA. Moreover, he left behind his
long-suffering wife and four children, and his wife was actually
pregnant with their 5th
child although he could not have known that when he set sail. His
family joined him in May 1912. (Argus
13/12/16
– Laurie Keen ‘Past and Present’)
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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. Portslade Fire Brigade in 1906, at this time their fire appliances were stored in a council yard on the east side of Trafalgar Road before the new Fire Station was built in Church Road. |
On 3 November 1909 Walter Hillman, chairman of
Portslade Council, presided over the opening ceremonies of Portslade
Fire Station. Mr Kille, chairman of the works committee, laid the
commemorative tablet on the south side, while Mr T.B. Funnell,
senior, vice-chairman of Portslade Council, laid the tablet on the
north side. Both men were presented with solid ebony mallets bearing
a silver shield with the name of the recipient upon it together with
a facsimile of the council’s seal. Mr Clevett, the builder,
presented Mr Hillman with a massive silver key, suitably engraved, to
open the premises.
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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. The new Portslade Fire Station in 1909 |
According to contemporary reports ‘nearly
everyone turned out in the afternoon to witness the opening of the
new Fire Station’. There were a number of visitors too including
Superintendent Lacroix of Brighton Fire Brigade, and Captain Dumbrell
from Hove Fire Brigade. Others came from Eastbourne, Haywards Heath
and Burgess Hill. Councillors from Portslade and Southwick were also
in attendance. Afterwards, around 60 people attended the Parish Room
for ‘a substantial meat tea’. Apparently, the whole scheme –
that is the purchase of the land, building and furnishing – only
came to £500, and no loans were incurred.
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| copyright © D. Sharp The former Fire Station in 2010, the doors have been re-painted to the original black |
In June 1913 an inquest was held into the death of a laundress from Ellen Street who died from ‘sudden relief from a state of acute constipation’ aggravated by injuries received in a fall,
On 12 January 1918 an inquest was held into a
baby’s death. A labourer from Kemp Town, John Arnold, was walking
towards the Mile Oak Waterworks on 11 January when he noticed a
parcel in the hedge near the Industrial School. The parcel contained
the body of a baby wrapped in a blue serge skirt, tea cloth, and a
very old towel bearing the laundry mark H201. Inquiries brought no
results; it was thought the baby had been born that week.
On 26 April 1924 an inquest was held into the
death of George Street, the celebrated Sussex cricketer, who crashed
his motorbike into the wall near Tate’s Garage at Southern Cross
two days previously.
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| copyright © Brighton & Hove City Libraries Captain A.W. Hillman in front of Portslade Fire engine at a fete held in the grounds of Windlesham House in 1927 |
In 1928 Portslade Library was situated in this
building, and remained there for a year or two.
In April 1935 there was an inquest into the death of a woman who had put her head in the gas oven.
In April 1935 there was an inquest into the death of a woman who had put her head in the gas oven.
It seems that the Fire Station was no longer in
its designated use by the time Portslade Fire Brigade became part of
the nationalised fire brigade in 1941. All the same, after the Second
World War, the new fire authority inherited the building when the
East Sussex Fire Brigade was established. It was designated as
‘Station 3’. It is amusing to note that it was kept because of
the notion that it ‘might be easier to recruit retained personnel
in Portslade than in Hove’. This hope was not fulfilled, and the
building was used as brigade stores until 1972.
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| copyright © J.Middleton The former Fire Station photographed in the context of its surroundings. |
After that date it became an antiques warehouse, then as premises for a builder. In 1988 Freeway Tools and Fixings purchased the building. In the 2000s the old fire station became the headquarters for Blair Installations (electrical engineers and contractors)
Portslade people were fascinated to discover in 2021 that a hairdresser had taken up residence in the old Fire Station and the business was called ‘Love For Hair’. It may be thought a somewhat unusual place for such a business, but on reflection, perhaps not, because old-time fireman certainly exhibited a liking for facial hair. You only have to look at old photographs of fireman to see that some of them sported significant moustaches, and there is an image of the men at the old Fire Station in George Street, Hove, when every single man was adorned with a moustache.
The present business at 80 Church Road boasts that Katie and Alice have 22 years of experience between them. In December 2021 a large Christmas tree, complete with baubles and lights, was put up on the forecourt, not to mention a festive wreath on the door – surely a first for a commercial premises in Portslade.
St Andrew’s Parish Room
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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. Church Road in the 1950s, from right to left :- The corrugated Church Hall (partial view), St Andrew's Church, St Andrew's Vicarage, Our Lady Stat of the Sea & St Denis and St Mary's School.. |
Although hard to imagine today, this site had an
ancient history, and Anglo-Saxon graves were discovered there.
The Parish Room was built on the corner of St
Andrew’s Road and Church Road, and Portslade Council approved the
plans in July 1901 with Mr A Hillman being the builder. It was ready
for use in 1904. Although it was officially called the Parish Room,
it was popularly known as the Tin Hut because there was a roof of
corrugated iron – it was called the Scout Hut too since scouting
activities took place there. From the 1920s to the 1940s, it was also
home to a small private school called St Winifred’s.
In 1950 the church hall was restored. In October
1987 the Great Gale finally put paid to the old place, and the
architect reported that the building had shifted – demolition took
place in August 1990. There were plans to build six two-bedroom flats
on the site but this scheme fell through and Tate’s built a car
showroom of unusual design that opened on 2 October 1993. A striking
feature was a weather-vane in the shape of a vintage motor car. For
whatever reason, the premises had closed down by May 2000. Lexus
Luxury Cars then took over the premises, showcasing the distinctive
LS400, the dynamic GS300 Sport, and the IS200 Sports saloon. But
perhaps this part of working-class Portslade was not the ideal spot
to display luxury cars, and the venture did not last long either. The
building now sees service as a dental practice.
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| copyright © J.Middleton Portslade Dental Centre was photographed in November 2012. |
St Andrew’s Vicarage
On 7 February 1880 the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners wrote to say they could not make a grant towards the
cost of erecting a parsonage house. However, on 28 October 1880 there
came news that the administrators of Queen Anne’s Bounty were
prepared to make a loan of £350 to build a parsonage house upon the
glebe land belonging to St Andrew's Church on the north side.
A handsome, red-brick building soon arose and by the time of the 1881 census, the vicar and his wife were already living there. He was Revd Edward Winterbottom, aged 40, his wife Sarah, also aged 49, one son and two servants.
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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. St Andrew's Vicarage north of the Church, note the sheep grazing in front of the church and the open fields on the right. |
A handsome, red-brick building soon arose and by the time of the 1881 census, the vicar and his wife were already living there. He was Revd Edward Winterbottom, aged 40, his wife Sarah, also aged 49, one son and two servants.
On 17 February 1911 a mortgage for £200 was taken
out to build additions and make alterations to the vicarage. The debt
was not cleared until April 1931 and un unknown hand (perhaps the
vicar, churchwarden or treasurer) wrote on the envelope containing
the document Laus Deo (Praise God) as though the debt had been
regarded as a millstone around their necks.
One of the last vicars to live in the house was
Revd F.R. Long who was in fact a man of small stature.
Unfortunately, with declining congregations, the
vicarage became surplus to requirements and was demolished. Portslade
Health Centre was built on the site, and opened in 1982.
St Richard’s Flats
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| copyright © J.Middleton St Richard’s Flats were photographed on 6 May 2018. |
St Richard’s Flats owe their existence to a
charismatic Anglican clergyman Revd Basil Jellicoe (1899-1935).
Jellicoe was a Sussex-bred man, born in Chailey where his father Revd
Henry Lee Jellicoe was rector of St Peter’s Church. The rector was
a cousin of the celebrated Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth
Jellicoe (1859-1935). Basil Jellicoe was brought up in comfortable
circumstances, and went to Magdalen College, Oxford. After he was
ordained priest, his old college sent him as Magdalen Missioner to
the slum district of Somers Town, London, It must have been a great
culture shock to him to encounter at first hand the miserable housing
conditions in which many of his parishioners lived and where rats and
bugs flourished. He considered it an absolute disgrace, and made it
his mission to do what he could to alleviate the problem. He
contacted the great and the good – such as the Prince of Wales and
the Archbishop of Canterbury – for assistance and patronage.
Jellicoe was in advance of his time because he realised the value of
publicity to his cause – he made a film of the slums to be shown in
cinemas so that people all over the country were made aware of these
scandalous conditions. Jellicoe founded the St Pancras House
Improvement Society, and other housing associations in London, Sussex
and Cornwall. He also took the trouble to ask the people what they
wanted in new housing, rather than dictating what others might have
thought suitable. As a result the flats were built amidst greenery –
gardens, trees, swings for the children and even ponds.
Jellicoe also considered a housing scheme
specifically for the elderly, and founded St Richard’s Housing
Society – it was fitting that he chose St Richard for his society,
since Sussex churchgoers regard St Richard and St Wilfrid as patron
saints of their county. St Richard’s Flats were designed by the
local firm of architects Denman & Son, and were built in 1935.
Jellicoe insisted that the elderly who came to live in the flats
would not be questioned as to their religious allegiance. On 8
February 1936 the Bishop of Chichester blessed the ten flats
individually. But because of the bitter wind prevailing on the
occasions, the service and address took place next door at St
Andrew’s Church. Although Basil Jellicoe died at a young age in
1935 – the very year in which St Richard’s flats were built –
his influence was considerable, and there is a Jellicoe Community to
this day.
Salvation Army Citadel
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| copyright © J.Middleton The former Salvation Army Hall was photographed in June 2003. |
William Booth (1829-1912), universally known as
the General, founded the Salvation Army in 1865, although its first
name was the Christian Mission and it was not changed to the
Salvation Army until 1877.
Although now universally recognised as a force for
good, early Salvationists faced strong antagonism. Indeed, meetings
held in North Street, Portslade – then the principal shopping area
– caused riots. The Salvationists started operations in Portslade
on 2 August 1882 – thus becoming the 290th corps in the
first 300 units. Their first citadel was located on the north side at
the west end of North Street, and by 1907 no less than three services
were held there on Sundays, with evening services on week days, plus
Band of Hope meetings to steer young people away from the demon
drink. (This building was subsequently converted into the Picturedrome Cinema).
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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. Portslade's Salvation Army Band in 1911 |
Meanwhile, a new citadel was established on the
south corner site of North Street and Church Road. Richard Smith,
owner of nearby Britannia Flour Mills, donated the site, while Oswald
Archer of 10 Victoria Street, London, was the architect, his plans
being dated April 1909.
The stone-laying ceremony took place on 27 August
1910 with six memorial stones. Richard Smith’s name was on one of
them, and other names were Walter Hillman, Mrs E. J. Parker, Ernest
Clevett, and Jasper Cowell.
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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. Portslade's Salvation Army Band leading the Portslade United Sunday School's children to Portslade Station for an outing to Hassocks on the 22 July 1911 (the advert on the left is for H. Baker's of Portslade) |
Planning Blight
Church Road suffered from planning blight for a
number of years owing to the uncertainty caused by future development
plans concerning Shoreham Harbour. At one stage there was an idea to
turn the road into a major port route, which would entail demolition
of properties and road widening. This is not now considered an option
due to the incredible expense of such a scheme, although of course
harbour traffic continues to use the road.
In October 1988 consultants looking into the
future of Shoreham Harbour, came up with the idea of a road tunnel
linking the foot of Church Road with the Hangleton link road. Such a
tunnel would cause less disruption than the overland route, but
naturally would cost many millions of pounds.
Pipeline
In May 1999 residents were grumbling about the
double lot of road-works taking place; Trafalgar Road was shut for
around six weeks while a new gas pipeline was being installed –
then there were road repairs going on at Southwick Street.
Debbie Stevens, aged 39, who ran Tiffany’s
Café , said their takings had halved, while trade at the
Cricketer’s Arms had also dropped and there was no
compensation.
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| copyright ©
Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove The shops at 20-24 Church Road were photographed in the 1960s. |
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| copyright © J.Middleton The shops at 20-24 Church Road were photographed in June 2002. Tiffany’s Café at number 24 has become the Expressos Café, while at Number 22 Catch 22 has taken the place of Something Fishy. At number 20 the Church Road Post Office was still in business with its pillar-box outside – the pillar-box has been moved to the opposite side of the road. |
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| copyright © J.Middleton The same shops were photographed in August 2012. The Post Office has gone, while Peking Chef has replaced Something Fishy. In 2018 it is still a Chinese takeaway bit is now the Bamboo Garden. |
Sewers and Drainage
The south part of Church Road had a long history
of trouble with the sewers. This has to do with the geography of the
road as much as anything else. In times past, water naturally
collected in a hollow, and it is also probable that there used to be
a winterbourne stream here.
In October 1906 a storm caused the sewer to
overflow. In January 1936 the sewer overflowed again.
In May 1998 a sewer became blocked with the result
that a significant amount of sewage ran into a storm overflow that
drained into the canal – then there was trouble for causing
pollution to Shoreham Harbour.
At last residents thought there was light at the
end of the tunnel because on 14 September 1998 work started on
constructing a new sewer for lower Portslade at a cost of £300,000,
and it was expected to take around ten weeks.
Apparently, the flood defence system did not
function properly, and when on 4 July 2000 a huge downpour occurred,
Church Road was flooded once again. At Grate Fireplaces (in the old
Salvation Army Hall) the water was a metre deep.
Residents blamed Southern Water, while that
company laid the blame on Brighton & Hove Council for not
installing proper gullies. The Council expressed surprise because
they had undertaken all the work requested by the company, and put in
new drainage.
In August 2000 a new row of gullies was installed,
just in time for the wettest autumn on record. Unfortunately, on 2
October 2001 there was such a deluge that the new £100,000 storm
drain could not cope – rainwater backed up into the sewers, and
sewage washed into some of the houses. Grate Fireplaces was again hit
by flooding, and Mt Hynan, the owner, said he could no longer obtain
insurance cover.
Southern Water stated they would install a
750,000-litre tank to prevent future flash floods from causing
trouble.
A Fire
A landmark building with a distinctive roofline
was suddenly obliterated, much to the regret of local residents. The
building was situated on the corner of Eastbrook Road and Church
Road, and on 23 October 2007 at around 8.30 p.m. fire broke out.
Apparently at the time, the shop was in the process of being
renovated, and because of the quick spread of the flames, it is
believed that arson was to blame. It was indeed fortunate that the
occupants of the first floor flat, and the flat at the back of the
premises, were not at home at the time.
It took more than 30 fire-fighters around two
hours to quench the conflagration, and even then crews remained at
the site until midnight just in case the fire flared up again.
Fire-fighters from Hove, Preston Circus and Roedean attended the
scene, while crews from Barcombe and Newhaven were summoned to
provide additional cover.
The shop was formerly in use as a florist,
although the business did not last long. It was hoped that having a
florist’s right next door to Baker’s the undertakers would ensure
an excellent trade. But unhappily for the new enterprise,
long-established Baker’s already had their contacts in the floral
world.
The site remained derelict and boarded up for an
incredibly long time. Rumour had it that there was either a problem
with insurance, or perhaps in discovering proof of ownership.
Meanwhile, it was a delight for pigeons that could be seen squeezing
into the roof space.
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| copyright © J.Middleton New housing under construction in May 2018. |
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| copyright © D. Sharp New housing completed late 2018. |
Portslade Council Planning Approvals
1897 – Britannia Flour Mills, alterations
and additions
1901 – Portslade UDC, gullies, stables
and depot
1901 – A. Hillman, Parish Room
1903 – M. Barnes, St Andrew’s Vicarage
1911 – Catholic Church and Presbytery
1920 – Britannia Flour Mills, extension
1921 – Britannia Flour Mills, wheat store
1931 – Baker & Son, private chapel
and mortuary
1940 – Fire Station extension
1948 – A.W. Avery, extension to Smokey
Cottage
1955 – New Catholic school
1958 – Corner site of St Michael’s
Road, outline planning for garage and showroom for Tate’s
1959 – Initial Services, change of use
from flour mills
1994 – Planning permission from Hove
Council for six houses to be built on site of Catholic church.
See the following pages for other buildings from the past and present in Church Road :-
The Britannia Flour Mills
Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea & St Denis
St Andrew’s Church
St Mary's R.C. School
The Crown Inn (at the junction of Wellington Road and Church Road)
See the following pages for other buildings from the past and present in Church Road :-
The Britannia Flour Mills
Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea & St Denis
St Andrew’s Church
St Mary's R.C. School
The Crown Inn (at the junction of Wellington Road and Church Road)
Sources
Argus
Brighton & Hove Leader
Hamblett (Langrish) J, Langrish Family History & The History of 55 Church Road, Portslade.
Hamblett (Langrish) J, Langrish Family History & The History of 55 Church Road, Portslade.
Middleton J, Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
The Keep
DO/A35/1 1898-1900 Portslade UDC Minute Books,
and thereafter to DO/A35/5 Portslade UDC Minute
Books 1909
DO/A35/23 UDC Minute Books 1930,
and thereafter to DO/A35/40 Portslade UDC Minute
Books 1939
Copyright © J.Middleton 2018