James Gray: Hove’s film pioneer, Mr James Williamson, produced some of the earliest cinematograph films made in this country in this range of buildings, comprising a cottage, studios and workshops. Long after this use was discontinued, the studio still shows this advertisement (Kinemacolor) on its wall facing the Railway. Now the whole range of buildings is likely to be demolished for redevelopment. Date of these photographs – 23 November 1975. jgc_14_037
James Gray: See jgc_14_037 above. Date of these photographs: 23 November 1975. jgc_14_038
2018: Paris House, the railway bridge and the James Williamson shed (Wilbury Works) alongside the railway line at the far end still stand. Other sheds in the foreground in the original image have been replaced by a small modern housing development next to the railway line in Cambridge Mews. (Photographer: Alison Minns)
James Gray: See jgc_14_037 above. Date of these photographs: 23 November 1975. Additional Information: These buildings were inspected in 1975, but no trace of their historic past remained, save for the trackside advertisement. jgc_14_039
2018: The James Williamson shed alongside the railway track remains but the Kinemacolor advertisement has been covered with contemporary graffiti. The gabled roof of the photographic atelier is still visible to the extreme left. The atelier has been named Cambridge House and is now occupied by a firm of solicitors. The two other sheds remain but have lost their skylights. The area now has a small modern housing development in Cambridge Mews, visible to the right of the 2018 photo. (Photographer: Alison Minns)
James Gray: James Williamson seated outside his film studio and house just off the top end of Wilbury Road, below the Railway line. It was in this studio that many of the first films in England were made. Here also the exact year is unknown, but it must have been within a year or two of the turn of the present century. These buildings can be seen in jgc_14_037-039, three photographs of 1975. jgc_14_036