James Gray: Across the road from Market Street stood, for more than 100 years, this plain unpretentious private dwelling. In recent years it had fallen into delapidation and decay until, in 1961 soon after this photograph was taken, it was demolished. A new building has since been erected with a shop on the ground floor. jgc_08_089
2019: Easily located due to its proximity to the Druid’s Head pub, No 8 is now another jeweller’s (visitors to the old town nowadays won’t have any difficulty in buying a piece of jewellery!). After rebuilding, it first operated as the home of an interior decorator’s firm before becoming a fancy goods shop in the 1970s. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: This photograph was definitely taken in 1930 and shows a scene very little changed today more than 40 years later. jgc_09_042
2019: Due to building work and parked delivery vehicles I couldn’t quite repeat the same shot as in the original photo. The new view shows the extensive construction work going on at the end of Brighton Place in connection with the new Hannington Lane Development at the end of the road and the fairly new entrance to Brighton Square on the left. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Two photographs of 1963. [jgc_09_043 and jgc_09_044]. Soon afterwards the three houses adjoining the Druids Head were removed to give access to Brighton Square. jgc_09_043
2019: The new building to the right (north) of the Druids Head in 2019 gives access to the Brighton Square development built in 1966. jgc_09_044 shows the wasteland behind the houses next to the Druids Head and can be found on the Brighton Square page. See also jgc_09_034 to 036 and jgc_09_045. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: View of Brighton Place, from Market Street taken on 19 January 1937. The old houses 44-45 Market Street, for so long occupied by the late Mr. J S North, have now been converted for use as the Regency Coffee House. jgc_09_045
2019: Currently an art gallery, No 44 Market Street remained as a coffee shop well into the 1970s. Here is a view looking north from outside No 44 up to Brighton Place. The pavements are now very cluttered compared with those in the original photo. It is interesting to note that even earlier than in the original photo, the pioneer photographer Edward Fox (1823-1899) lived at 44 Market Street and was taking photographic views of Brighton as early as 1851, many of which appear in the James Gray Collection. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: General view of Brighton Place in 1937. This was previously called the Knab, a word of Scandinavian origin meaning a hill. Here was the old town well. The Knab also served as a meeting place of the local inhabitants. The Druid’s Head is one of Brighton’s oldest inns. jgc_09_046
2023: Looking much livelier than in 1937, the 2023 photograph is still recognisably Brighton Place. The tall, thin building to the right of the Druid’s Head has disappeared, demolished to make way for the Brighton Square development in the 1960s, and the building to the left of the pub in the 1937 photo was demolished in 1961 and replaced (see also jgc_08_089 above).
James Gray: No feature worthy of special comment. Period unknown – probably 1920s. Additional Information: Druids Head, Smithers Ales, Antiques, Handcarts, Children playing. jgc_09_034
2019: The Druids Head is still in operation as a public house. The two houses on the far side of the pub in the 1920s were swept away in the 1960s to form the entrance to Brighton Square. In the earlier photo, the man in the cap stands at the entrance to Meeting House Lane. The same spot is marked in 2019 by the man pushing a little girl in a buggy. (Photographer: Simon Cooper)
James Gray: Old flint houses, photographed in 1929. They are of course, still standing in 1962. This photograph shows the Druids Head, 9 Brighton Place, the traditional carrier’s house, at which parcels were delivered and collected. jgc_09_035
2019: In 2019, the Druids Head pub is flanked by two mid-20th century buildings. The opening to the left of the pub led, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, to a warren of houses and workshops (see jgc_09_027 to 031), all of which were removed for the creation of Brighton Square. (Photographer: Simon Cooper)
James Gray: 11 and 12, Brighton Place. These three buildings date from the late 18th century, though it was well into the 1800s before No 9 became an inn. There is no mention of the Druids Head in Bishops’ ‘Inns of Brighton in 1800’. jgc_09_036
James Gray: The Knab, as Brighton Place used to be called in olden times. The old flint houses are featured in this one, Nos. 9 and 10. They are seen in a state of dilapidation but the date is unknown. They were demolished in the mid-1960s. jgc_09_041
2019: These houses no longer exist. (Photographer: Simon Cooper)
James Gray: The cottages were built much later than the old flint houses previously and they are first heard of in Directories of the 1850s. During the 1880s they were acquired by Hanningtons and used as dormitories for their assistants, who lived in. Later 10, 11 and 12 Brighton Place were used for the same purpose. After this custom died out the cottages were used as stores but it seems likely that before long they will be demolished and the whole area redeveloped. Photographs taken – December 1959. jgc_09_038
James Gray: The rear view of 53 Market Street, a substantial building occupied by Hanningtons since the 1850s. It has had many uses over the years, being a workshop, a warehouse for upholstery and woollens. In recent times the ground floor was a garage for hearses. Soon after these photographs were taken in December 1969, these garages were converted to the present shops. jgc_09_039
2019: The principal buildings in the image have been retained and are now the site of a popular Italian restaurant, Donatello. (Photographer: Simon Cooper)
James Gray: [See jgc_09_039 above] View from other direction, looking east. jgc_09_040
2019: The image shows that Brighton Place has become one of the most popular areas of the Lanes. Not visible in this photo, but the Hanningtons sign above the first floor of the former Hanningtons building remains to this day, as does the clock at the top. (Photographer: Simon Cooper)
James Gray: The cottages were built much later than the old flint houses previously and they are first heard of in Directories of the 1850s. During the 1880s they were acquired by Hanningtons and used as dormitories for their assistants, who lived in. Later 10, 11 and 12, Brighton Place were used for the same purpose. After this custom died out the cottages were used as stores but it seems likely that before long they will be demolished and the whole area redeveloped. Photographs taken – December 1959. jgc_09_037
2021: Today in 2021, a much more salubrious scene. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)