James Gray: The date of this photograph is unknown and I can only guess that it dates from the 1890s. Certainly, as the date on the building indicates, it was erected in 1886 and there do not seem to be any other houses on the north side of Montgomery Street for several years afterwards. There was a later extension eastwards of the Inn, to its present form. At the time of the photograph, the Inn was owned by Vallance and Catt whose Brewery was in West Street, Brighton. jgc_16_004
2018: The pub is now much extended and renamed The Poets’ Corner as it stands in a network of streets named after poets. Montgomery Street is named after the largely forgotten poet Robert Montgomery (1807-1855) who died in Brighton. The pub’s original name, The Eclipse, relates to the figure of a horse, seen in the south-west gable. This is the famous racehorse Eclipse, a champion in the 1700s who appears in the pedigree of most modern racehorses. The pub has now been extended north and east and houses in Montgomery Street can be seen on its east side. It has changed hands several times and is now a Harvey’s pub. Not long after the 2018 photo was taken, the pub underwent a further refurbishment and reopened as the Poets Ale and Smoke House, specialising in American-style smoked food. (Photographer: Mathia Davies)
