James Gray: Two photographs of 12 February 1967. This street, connecting London Road and Ditchling Road, was doubtless built at the same period as Marshall’s Row, during the 1830s. The north side of the street, here seen empty, abutted on to the Open Market and most of the houses were cleared away about 1939/40 for an extension of the Market. Now most of the remaining houses, on the south side, have been condemned as unfit for human habitation and before long many will have been demolished though a few have been reprieved. The purpose of the photographs is to show this side of the street as a complete entity. jgc_10a_060
2018: The two 1967 James Gray images show the south side of Francis Street, one looking west towards London Road with the lofty St Bartholomew’s Church in the distance, the other looking east towards Ditchling Road. The latter also provides a glimpse of the north side of the street. The Francis Street houses have all been demolished and replaced by blocks of flats, Carola Court on the south side and The Barrows, part of the Open Market development, on the north. (Photographer: Mary Nixon)