Judy Middleton 2001 (revised 2021)
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| copyright © J.Middleton Beaconsfield Road, Portslade. |
Original Name
The original title was Holes Road – hardly the
most delectable of names. It seems likely that the road was in fact
named after James Holes who was born in Dover but by 1851 was living
at Hove. He was a brick-maker but obviously he did not engage in
manual labour himself, employing other men to do so. Thus he
accumulated enough funds to be able to purchase in December 1858 two
plots of land in George Street, Hove, for £550. The 1861 census
recorded him, aged 40, living at 26 Hova Villas, with his wife, two
daughters and their 12-year old son who had been born at Lewes.
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| copyright ©
Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove 1909 map showing Holes' Brick Works to the right of Victoria Recreation Park |
Holes’
brick-field was situated west of Station Road, Portslade. In 1871 he
was a member of Portslade Burial Board. In Portslade Cemetery there
is a tombstone that was ‘erected by James Holes as a mark of
respect to his niece’ who died on 15 April 1883 aged 54. She was
the last surviving child of Thomas Hunt, quarter-master of HMS
Arethusa, who
was killed by the first shot fired at the bombardment of Sebastopol
in October 1854: Hunt had served in the Royal Navy for 50 years.
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| copyright © Trove Newspapers-The World News (Sydney) HMS Arethusa was at the bombardment of Sabastopol in 1854. (photographed 25 March 1916) |
HMS
Arethusa was
a frigate of 50 tons, built in 1849 at Pembroke dockyard, Wales. From
1867 until 1929 she served as a training ship, firstly for the
Admiralty, and then for a charity. The vessel went to the breaker’s
yard in 1933 but the fantastic figurehead was preserved, and exists
to this day, having recently received the accolade of a Grade II
listed status. Arethusa was a Greek water nymph and the wooden
figurehead was carved by James Hellyer & Sons. She has cascading
copper-coloured hair, and her ample right breast (nipple too) is
exposed to the elements. This image was supposed to calm a rough sea,
but perhaps provoked a different emotion in the mariners who sailed
in her.
It
may be that this piece of family history led James Holes to take an
interest in maritime matters – at any rate in 1876 he had some
shares in the 58-ton schooner Mystery,
along with John Baruch Blaker, market gardener, and Henry Field,
Aldrington victualler. This vessel was sold to Gosport in 1884.
In
1880 when the new St Andrew’s School, Portslade, was being
constructed, James Holes provided 20,000 bricks (worth around £25)
free of charge – the bricks did not have far to travel. In 1882
James Holes leased some land at Hove to George T. Salter, dyer and
bleacher. It is interesting to note that there was another
brick-maker with the Holes surname locally – his name was Michael
Holes, and he lived in The Drove (Station Road), - he was also born
in Dover.
The name Holes Road was still current in 1897.
A New Name
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| copyright © D. Sharp Beaconsfield Road looking south from the former Beulah Mission Hall with Victoria Recreation Park on the left |
Perhaps the occupants did not like the name, and at some stage it was decided to change it. The choice was not random because, as the 1898 Directory shows, there were already some cottages called Beaconsfield Cottages/Terrace in Holes Road: these cottages are also marked on a plan of 1889, placing them on a corner site at the back of Southern Cross Evangelical Church. The first nine terrace houses in Holes Road were called Gladstone Terrace.
There was also a Beaconsfield Lodge. Some houses could possibly date back to 1865, while in 1895 plans were approved to build a new cottage.
It is likely the name of Beaconsfield was chosen
in honour of Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), British novelist and
statesman, who became the Earl of Beaconsfield in 1876 – the same
year in which he arranged a new title for Queen Victoria – Empress
of India.
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| copyright ©
Royal Pavilion & Museums Brighton Herald 13 July 1916 Mr A Terry ran his transport business from the former Beulah Mission Hall in 1915 (see below) |
Beaconsfield Lodge
In the 1881 census the following people were
living in this house:
John Blaker, farmer, aged 39
His wife Jemima, aged 36, and their children
Ruth, 10
Thomas, 8
Emma, 6
Kate, 5
Hugh, 3
Alfred, one year
Rose, two months old
Two servants
Mission Hall
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| copyright © D. Sharp On the right is the former Beulah Mission Hall. The house on the left until recent years, had a moulded plaster name plate fixed to the wall above the front door, denoting the house name as - 'Beulah Cottage'. Mr Reuben Braden, the Hall's owner in 1904, lived in Beulah Cottage and was probably the Minister of the Nonconformist Mission Hall. (Etymology - Beulah relates to the land of Israel in the Book of Isaiah, in literary works Beulah is a mystical place between heaven and earth, Beulah can also be a feminine given name.) |
In 1903 plans for a Mission Hall were approved by
Portslade Council. The structure was situated near to the Old
Shoreham Road, and next to a passage between the houses; on the other
side of the passage were gardens attached to the back of houses
fronting Old Shoreham Road that were demolished in the 1970s during
extensive road-widening work.
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| copyright © D. Sharp An ecclesiastical lancet window can still be seen at the rear of the former Mission Hall |
George Miles of 60 Old Shoreham Road built the
Mission Hall and it had a roof of corrugated iron. Reuben Braden
owned the hall, which was situated next door to his property. The
hall was later called the Beaulah Mission Hall, but after 1915 the
name is no longer to be found in the Directories.
Complaints
The residents often grumbled about the cricketers
playing in Victoria Recreation Ground. There were complaints made to
Portslade Council going back to 1912 because it seems that sometimes
a spectacular batsman whacked the ball to such effect that it broke a
window. This problem was solved in recent times when Portslade Cricket Club moved to a new home ground in Benfield Valley.
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| copyright © G. Osborne An Edwardian photograph of Victoria Park. Portslade Cricket Club played matches in the north-west corner of the park opposite the Beulah Mission Hall. The tall houses next to the Mission Hall in the Old Shoreham Road were demolished in the 1970s to widen the road. |
In 1968 Portslade Council decided that two flats
should be built over the sports pavilion. The residents objected, but
the project went ahead.
Number 3
In 1891 James William Wood was living at number 3 Gladstone Terrace in Holes Road (later renamed to number 3
Beaconsfield Road)
he was
a boarder at Mrs Sarah Sundell’s house along with his two Australian
born sons, Bertram and Augustus. In the 1891 Census he gave
his occupation at this Holes Road address as ‘Evangelist for the
Army of the Lord’. There was a total of eight occupants in Mrs Sundell's
small house which included a Harry Carpenter 'Reader in the Army of the
Lord'.
In the late 1890s Wood was living at 35 Carlton Terrace, he was known as King Solomon to his followers. See Portslade's King Solomon page
The Fascinating Face at Number 3
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| copyright © S. Pettett Henry & Fanny Pettett and their sons, 'a band of brothers in arms' above - Albert, top right - James, bottom right - George. |
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| copyright © S. Pettett The 'moustache man' |
In October 2019 there came information that the Pettett family believed it was an accurate representation of old Henry Pettett who was a member of Portslade Fire Brigade and the family lived in this house at the time of the First World War. You can judge the likeness for yourself by looking at the two photographs.
Sources
Brighton Herald
Census returns
Census returns
Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
Directories
Internet
research on HMS Arethusa
Mr G. Osborne
Mr S. Pettett
Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
Mr G. Osborne
Mr S. Pettett
Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
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| copyright © D. Sharp Beaconsfield Road looking north, the moulding of the 'bearded man' can be seen on the left above number 3 |
Copyright © J.Middleton 2019
page layout and additional research by D.Sharp