Brighton Central Seafront: Images on the beach (1)

James Gray: Stalls, selling shell fish and ice cream, at the foot of West Street, adjoining the rotunda, about 1900/1.  jgc_03_001

2020: The building eventually became derelict and in 2013 part of the road behind it collapsed. Following a complete rebuild, it is now known as the Shelter Hall. Part of it will provide food and refreshments and the rest will be available for hire. Some elements of the original design have been retained. (Photographer: David Sears)

James Gray: No comment. Additional Information: Holiday crowds amidst the fishing boats. jgc_03_013

2020: The James Gray image shows the beach at a time when working fishing boats and holiday crowds both made full use of the same stretch of beach at the foot of West Street. The Shelter Hall can be seen in the background in both pictures. In 2020 Kingsway is dominated by the jagged outlines of the Pryzm night club, the bulky Brighton Centre, and the 334-foot tall white block of Sussex Heights, all built in the 1960s. There are few people on the beach in May 2020 because the country is in lockdown to stop the spread of the Covid virus.  (Photographer: David Sears)

James Gray: No comment.Additional Information: Sails advertising Beecham’s Pills. Bathing machines and swimmers. jgc_03_014

2020: The 1892 picture shows some enterprising Victorian advertising for Beecham’s Pills on the sails of two of the fishing boats. In 2020 instead of boats and bathing machines there are basketball and volleyball courts.   (Photographer: David Sears) 

James Gray: The long stretch of beach between the Grand Hotel and East Street has been without groynes for as long as one can remember, if in fact there have ever been any here. This led to continued erosion that reached a climax during the autumn gales in October 1967. At this time the beach was so swept away as to reveal parts of the foundations of the lower promenade and of the arches by which King’s Road was successfully widened. Three photographs [jgc_03_021, 022 and 023] of 27 October 1967 show the extent of the erosion, which resulted in several of the arches being flooded by seawater at high tide.

James Gray: [See jgc_03_022, above.] jgc_03_023

2020: In the background to the left (west) is the skyline of what is now the Pryzm nightclub; to the right (east) is the more elegant facade of what is now the Harbour Hotel. In between them is Shelter Hall, built just above the shoreline in the 1880s as a refuge from wet weather for visitors. It has recently been rebuilt as a food hall. (Photographer: David Sears)

James Gray: Almost certainly this dates from the summer of 1893. Note that the recently erected electric lamp standards are without globes. The front was first lighted by electricity later that year, on 16 September 1893. jgc_03_024

2020: This is a fine image of Shelter Hall, looking east, with what is now the Harbour Hotel in the background on the other side of King’s Road. The working beach of 1893, covered with capstans and a few remaining bathing machines, is now a well-developed promenade, largely deserted in May 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

James Gray: This view, westwards from the foot of Middle Street, is a copy of a very ancient photograph, so old that one can only say with certainty that it must date before 27 January 1858! Note the flagstaff to the right of the gas lamp. It looks, and it was, in the middle of the roadway, being the flagstaff of the West Battery (1793-1858). Note there is no Grand Hotel (1864) and no West Pier (1866). The flagstaff was taken down on the date mentioned above. Additional Information: ©Philippe Garner. jgc_03_030

James Gray: Copy of a very clear photograph of the beach, west from the foot of Middle Street. There are no clues as to the exact year but the scene looks rather like that of the 1870s, though it could date from the very late 1860s. Additional Information: ©Philippe Garner. jgc_03_032

2020: The James Gray picture shows the beach west of Middle Street. The West Pier, built in 1866, and the line of chimneys of the Grand Hotel, built two years earlier, help locate it.

James Gray: This view of the beach, in 1875, is from the slope opposite Middle Street. Strangely enough there are few photographs of this particular stretch of beach. Note the wide steps opposite West Street and the Russell Street fishing fleet beyond. The conical structure at the top of the narrow stairs can be seen by the flagpole in photograph jgc_03_037 [below]. jgc_03_035 

James Gray: This is one of the best of the few photographs of Brighton seafront during the war, which are now available. Thought to have been taken as late as August 1944, when the threat of invasion was long past, it shows the desolate scene which Brightonians had endured for four long years. Pillboxes, tank traps, barbed wire, to say nothing of the mines concealed beneath the beach. Abandoned wooden capstans and the significant gap cut in the West Pier. On King’s Road, the Old Ship Hotel and the buildings from West Street and Ship Street are clearly seen. jgc_03_038

James Gray:  The wreck of the Shamrock, grounded by the East Street Groyne, in 1915. jgc_03_047

2020: On a calm, sunny morning at low tide it is difficult to imagine a sailing boat being wrecked here. The groyne was built in 1867 to protect Pool Valley from flooding. The installation, entitled ‘Afloat’, was created by a local sculptor, Hamish Black, and unveiled in 1998. (Photographer: David Sears)

James Gray: Looking down the two slopes leading from the upper to the lower promenades. The exact year of these photographs [jgc_03_053 and 054] is not known but obviously they are of pre-1914 vintage, and may have been taken just a year or two before. In this view the slope seen is that opposite Middle Street. jgc_03_053

James Gray: This view is more to the east than the previous photograph [jgc_03_053], opposite Ship Street. jgc_03_054

James Gray: An earlier view. jgc_03_061

James Gray: A summer’s day on the beach, between the piers. Period from 1886-90. Fashions and habits certainly change – it would be rare to see a man wearing a top hat, sitting on the beach nowadays. jgc_03_062

James Gray: No comment. jgc_03_063

2020: The late Victorian image shows King’s Road between Middle Street and East Street. Markwell’s Hotel and Queens Hotel can be seen in the far distance. In the centre, the Exeter Hotel and its immediate neighbours were all replaced by the 1987 development of the site. The block to the right of the modern image is Jurys Inn Waterfront. Further to the left (west) is the Old Ship Hotel, still in business in 2020. (Photographer: David Sears)

James Gray: View of the beach. jgc_03_075

2020: The original image shows the ramp and a curiously litter-strewn lower promenade by the beach in front of the Old Ship hotel. For once, the modern image is tidier and the fast food provision better organised. On a warm day in May, the coronavirus pandemic is already taking its toll. The  wearing of masks is not yet compulsory but everyone is supposed to be two metres apart and there is a one-way route to the bar. (Photographer: David Sears)

James Gray: No comment. jgc_03_088

2020: Although the capstans have long gone, there are some clues as to where they were on the beach between Little East Street and Black Lion Street. In this case, Clarendon Mansions can be seen in the background of both images. The white-painted structures supporting the promenade remain unchanged today. (Photographer: David Sears)

James Gray: More photographs taken on the central beaches but in the year later than those on the preceding page, 1934. This was another of Britain’s rare fine summers. Additional Information: Men working the winch. jgc_03_102

2020: There are many historical images of the fishermen and their boats on the stretch between Little East Street and Black Lion Street. Pictures of the men working on the capstans were always popular. By contrast, the beach is deserted on this spring day in 2020.

James Gray: Slightly further to the east these two photographs [see also jgc_03_157 on the Brighton Central Seafront: images on the beach (2) page] were taken on the beach opposite Black Lion Street and Market Street. This view is opposite Market Street. They show the fishing boats of the period. jgc_03_156

2020: All that remains today is the Fishing Museum under the King’s Road arches. The lower promenade has been redeveloped to provide a selection of fast food outlets, bars and nightclubs. including the venue shown here.

James Gray: This photograph appears to have been taken about 1880. The busy scene on the Fish Market beach shows how much we have lost through the decline of the fishing industry during the past hundred years. It used to be said, with some truth, that 80 years ago, if one was so disposed one could walk from East Street to Russell Street merely by steeping from one boat to another, without ever setting foot on the beach. The promenade was widened here, and the wooden railings replaced, in 1886. The fishermen for storage of their gear used the small, black wooden huts. Additional Information: Bathing Machines, Boats and Nets. jgc_03_165

James Gray: A photograph by George Ruff Junior of Brighton, showing fishermen with their catch on the beach opposite Little East Street, with the Star and Garter and Queens Hotels in the background. The exact year of the photograph is not known, but it would be between 1900 and 1904. Additional Information: ©Philippe Garner. jgc_03_211