James Gray: View of Brighton Place many years later showing Wallis Holder and Lee’s premises, demolished for Regent Arcade in 1960. jgc_08_086
2019: Wallis, Holder & Lee had been in Market Street, at Nos 14 and 15, since 1804 when the business was started by Mr Isaac Bass. They left the premises at Easter 1959. A little later, the shop at the rear, No 2 Bartholomews, was acquired and demolition went ahead. Regent Arcade was built between 1961 and 1963, was extended in 1990 and was renamed East Street Arcade. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: When this attractive arcade was undergoing alteration and refurbishment in 1991 some of my old Brighton photographs were chosen for inclusion. They were made into murals by a skilled professional photographer (Duncan McNeill). Two of them can be seen on the far wall in this photograph. Additional Information: © Duncan McNeill. Regent Arcade has been remodelled since, and the murals are gone. jgc_09_026
2019: The arcade was refurbished in the early 2000s but is still very quiet. Whatever happened to the fountain? (Photographer: Simon Cooper)
James Gray: A photograph of the narrow and ancient cul-de-sac which turned out of East Street. The oldest buildings were those at the far end. The year is 1960 and the properties were about to be removed to make way for Regent Arcade opened in 1961. jgc_09_078
2019: Originally called Regent Arcade but now renamed East Street Arcade, this small shopping mall was opened in 1962 on the site of Warden’s Buildings, a group of warehouses named after Francis Warden who bought land in the area in the late eighteenth century. The site was anciently known as the Mockbeggar’s Croft, a field probably connected with St Bartholomew’s Priory. The original arcade was modernised again in the 1990s and this modern photo shows that whilst they have had several changes of use since the original photo, the buildings to either side remain architecturally much the same. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)