James Gray: This photograph shows 40 and 41 Marlborough Place and the Regency houses at the corner of Gloucester Place, now the site of Telephone House. For larger photographs of this Regency block of houses, see Gloucester Place section. jgc_25_165
2018: Telephone House is now known as One Gloucester Place. See also jgc_30_077 below. (Photographer: Geoffrey Kavanagh)
James Gray: [Top left] Another view of the dignified Georgian houses of Gloucester Place in 1890. The corner house was then occupied by Philip Causton Lockwood, for many years the Borough Surveyor. The corner was rounded off in 1940 so that trams could be driven round from North Road. jgc_30_073
2018: Nos 1-4 Gloucester Place, built around the 1800s, were demolished in 1935 to make way for road widening and the construction of Telephone House which was itself demolished in the early 1980s (see jgc_30_076). The office block called ‘One Gloucester Place’ now stands on the site, built in 1985 and originally occupied by TSB/Lloyds TSB (1985-2010). After refurbishment, the office floors were once again let and the largest occupant since 2012 has been INTO University Partnerships. (Photographer: Lyn Turpin)
James Gray: [Top right] The picturesque block of Georgian houses formerly stood at the corner of North Road and Gloucester Place. They were erected about 1800, or perhaps even earlier, and they were still in a good state of repair when they were demolished in 1935. Part of the cleared site was used for road widening, before Telephone House was built there. jgc_30_072
2018: Although correctly located at the corner of North Road and Gloucester Place, the houses at right angles to those in Gloucester Place actually had Marlborough Place postal addresses (Nos 40 and 41), not North Road. Their replacement, the eight-storey office block, Telephone House, was deemed unsafe and demolished in the early 1980s. The current office block is known as ‘One Gloucester Place’ – it has a similar footprint to Telephone House but is two storeys lower and constructed of a yellow rather than a red brick (see jgc_30_076 for image of Telephone House). (Photographer: Lyn Turpin)
James Gray: A great contrast is shown in these photographs [this and jgc_30_055] with about seventy years between them. After these demolitions, the site stood empty for a couple of years. In late 1937 the building of the ill-fated Telephone House was started, and it was opened in 1938. After only forty years however defects were found. Repairs were impracticable so this quite recent office had to be removed and it is now (1984) being rebuilt. Ironically the houses that stood here lasted from 1800 to 1935. Further comment is superfluous! jgc_30_056
James Gray: Following the demolition of the lovely Georgian houses, Nos 1-4, Gloucester Place, seen on previous pages, [see jgc_30_071 to 073 and 075 above] this massive building was erected in 1937-38. Architecturally it cannot compare with the previous buildings but probably it was a good example of mid-1930s design. It had a much shorter life than the houses that it replaced as during the 1980s it was taken down. Throughout its life it was known as Telephone House. jgc_30_077
James Gray: The Liverpool Arms Public House at No. 5 Gloucester Place in 1913, when the licensee was Thomas Wadey. Becoming an Inn about 1860, it was removed with adjoining properties in 1935. jgc_30_079
2023: The site of the old Liverpool Arms pub at 5 Gloucester Place is occupied by part of the large building known as One Gloucester Place. The pub was one of many buildings in Gloucester Place between North Road and Blenheim Place demolished to make way for Telephone House, built in 1937/38. (Photographer: Alan Hobden)
James Gray: Regency houses, Nos. 10-17 Gloucester Place, between Blenheim Place and the Baptist Church in 1932. Together with Nos. 1-3 Blenheim Place they were demolished and the site covered by the Astoria Cinema, which was opened on 21 December 1933. jgc_30_082
2022: Opened in December 1933, the Astoria survived as a cinema until 1978 when it became a bingo hall. It finally closed in 1997 and in November 2000 was granted Grade II listed building status. Plans to turn it back to a cinema failed and in 2001, it was sold for around £1 million to Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas of Stomp (the percussion group created by them in Brighton in 1991) and Loretta Sacco. They planned to turn it into a music venue and cinema but rising costs caused them to abandon the project in 2006. For the next few years, a number of proposals for the site were rejected but in 2015 the Council gave permission for the building to be demolished and replaced by a mixed use development. This never started and the site was sold on a further two times. Eventually, a scheme by Ktesius Projects was approved and demolition began in 2018.
James Gray: Looking south to Victoria Gardens and Marlborough Place in July 1902. The procession was part of the celebrations for the coronation of Edward V11. Best clothes were decidedly the order of the day! How narrow Gloucester Place then was may be judged by the distance between the pavement (right) and the single tramline (left) which was hard up against the railings of the north enclosure. The houses on extreme right, 1-4, with many others were demolished in January 1935, the pavement set back by several feet and the roadway extended to its present width. jgc_30_083
James Gray: The empty site on which the Astoria Cinema was later built. The period was late in 1932 and the new cinema was opened on 21 December 1933. jgc_30_085
2022: See jgc_30_082 above. (Photographer: Lyn Turpin)
James Gray: The Hotel as it was in 1900. It was then described as a “quiet home-like retreat from the noise of the seafront.” As can be seen the roadway was then much narrower than now.
Note the expanse of forecourt and pavement. It was built at some time between 1800 and 1822 and may have been originally two separate houses. jgc_30_091
James Gray: Gloucester Place looking towards St Peters, in May 1928. The streets were decorated for the Greater Brighton celebrations. jgc_30_106
2023: Only the two most northerly buildings in Gloucester Place, Nos 26 and 27, remain from the 1928 scene. No 27, on the corner of Gloucester Street, is the current North Laine Brewhouse. The old fountain, erected in 1871, is still over on the right, and St Peter’s Church in the distance is undergoing lengthy repairs and restoration. Both views look north. (Photographer: Alan Hobden)