Brighton Central Seafront: Images on the beach (1)
between West Street and East Street: specific locations
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: This view took a little while to locate. It is just to the left of the wide steps leading down to the Shelter Hall, and looks directly into the amusement arcade at 149 King’s Road Arches. jgc_03_005
James Gray: The small photographs [jgc_03_004 to jgc_03_007] were snapshots taken by a visitor to Brighton during the summers of 1933 and 1934. All show scenes on the lower promenade within a few yards of the bottom of West Street. jgc_03_004
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: Looking West along King’s Road, from the corner of West Street to the West Pier. On the removal of the Battery, the flagpole has been removed to the south side of the pavement. This photograph is of a later period, and probably dates from about 1870 to 1875. jgc_03_031
James Gray: A copy of a very ancient photograph of two fishermen and their boat, high up on the beach at Middle Street Gap. It could well have been contemporary, as far as period, with those on the two previous pages, probably the 1860s. Additional Information: Philippe Garner. jgc_03_033
James Gray: Captain Fred Collins and his famous boat the Skylark, during the early days of the century. jgc_03_039
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: 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_100
James Gray: [See caption for jgc_03_100 above.] jgc_03_101
2020: The Palace Pier can be seen in the background of the image taken in May 2020 when the south coast at least was enjoying another fine summer. (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: The same area of the beach, viewed from the east in 1900. The lower promenade was laid down in 1886. jgc_03_068
James Gray: These three photographs [see also jgc_03_108 and 109] are all of the period between 1900 and 1910. In this photograph can be seen the fishing fleet off the fish market beach and a good view of Captain Fred Collins’ famous vessel, the Skylark. jgc_03_107
James Gray: In the distance can be seen the West Pier being built, which occupied the years 1865 and 1866. Additional Information: © Philippe Garner jgc_03_152
James Gray: On this and the preceding page [see jgc_03_158 on the King’s Road (5) page] are present day copies of very early photographs taken by Revd. Calvert Richard Jones on 15 August 1859. In the background can be seen the entrance to Ship Street and the Old Ship Hotel. jgc_03_159
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: View of the beach at a point roughly opposite the bottom of Russell Street. No clues apart from the name of the photographer, W.H. Mason, 108 Kings Road, Brighton. Period 1865-70. jgc_03_174
James Gray: As can be seen, this photograph was copied from a stereoscopic view of the beach, with the Chain Pier in the background. Groyning was in progress, and by the extent of the piling and excavating, this could well be preparatory work for the construction of the East Street Promenade groyne in 1867. This is just a theory, but cannot be proved. Additional Information: ©Philippe Garner. jgc_03_180
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