James Gray: Three photographs showing stages in the development of this estate, period 1958-1961. The new roads shown under construction are all now covered with houses. Note the last links with Court Farm. The old road behind the gate, probably 600 years old, was officially closed by the Hove Magistrates, in January 1953. This was the ancient highway to Patcham, replaced by King George VI Avenue, in 1937. jgc_36_144
2018: The 1958-61 photo shows the old Toads Hole Road passing Court Farm. In this old photo, a car can be seen on the extreme left, climbing King George VI Avenue north eastwards towards the junction with Dyke Road Avenue and Mill Road. Since then, the farm buildings have been demolished and the flats of Goldstone Court erected here, with access from Windsor Close, off Queen Victoria Avenue. (Photographer: Alan Hobden)
James Gray: Half a century has passed and what a change. Houses now cover the fields from which the former photograph was taken. In 1958-59 though some of the farm buildings still remained (left) and Toads Hole Cottages can be seen. The wide arterial road running uphill replaced the narrow Toads Hole Road, while (bottom right) is the present junction of the two country lanes seen in the former photograph. jgc_36_138
James Gray: In the year 1905 four substantial detached houses were built near to the old bridleway from the railway to the remote hamlet of West Blatchington. They had very long gardens at the rear running down to what was then called “lane by Hove Park”, now Goldstone Crescent. Being between Hove Recreation Ground and Hove Park they took their name from the latter. Hove Park Gardens were unique in that the roadway was never made up or paved, being the only road in Hove in that condition. Photographs taken in May 1969. A view of the gardens taken from Goldstone Crescent. jgc_17_061
James Gray: A fine array of fourteen delivery vans of Clark’s Bread Company, photographed on 14 March 1948. Note the complete absence of any other traffic, even though the day was well advanced. Petrol rationing was then still in force and accounted for this. The corner of Hove Park Road can just be seen. Today the large trees are far fewer, many having been uprooted and destroyed in the violent hurricane of October 16 1987. jgc_17_064
James Gray: 51 years later [than jgc_17_040] on the Hove Park page], this photograph shows the rear garden of the same house in Hove Park Gardens. Note the trees and shrubs that have grown in the garden during this time. Many years ago a deep pit existed on the site of this garden but the pit had been filled in before the date of the earlier photograph. Before long an extension to the home is to be built in the garden. Date of photograph – 6 October 1957. jgc_17_041
James Gray: These two photographs [jgc_36_033 and jgc_36_034] of oxen ploughing were taken on 16 September 1892. It is difficult to place the site of the photograph as there are no clues and it might have been anywhere on this extensive farm. In this photograph however can be seen the line of trees in the Three-Cornered Copse, so this site would be just south of Toads Hole and on the slope below the present Nevill Road. jgc_36_034
James Gray: About a year after the photographs on the previous page [see jgc_17_117 below and jgc_17_113 and 116 on the Tredcroft Road page] were taken, in the summer of 1955, preliminary work commenced on the roads needed for the houses and bungalows about to be built on this remaining parcel of land. This view looks south west and the houses immediately behind the bank of chalk (right) are those in Woodland Drive. Beyond, the four Waterworks Cottages. [See also jgc_17_114 on the Shirley Avenue page.] jgc_17_115
.James Gray: This area was just about the last part of the vast Stanford Estate to pass into the hands of the builders. This view looks towards Tredcroft Road and Hove Park Way; that on the right [see jgc_17_116 on the Tredcroft Road page] to Goldstone Crescent with Nevill Road on the ridge beyond. These photographs were taken from Shirley Drive in June 1954. jgc_17_117