Historic and Contemporary Images of Brighton and Hove
Based on the Regency Society James Gray Collection
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THE LAST OF GRENVILLE PLACE

Grenville Place: Churchill Square

historic street on the site of Churchill Square

Neighbourhood:
Central Brighton
The map on the left is Ordnance Survey 25 inch 1892 - 1914. The area circled in red shows the location of this street. That on the right is Open Street Map in 2019. These maps are reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland and are of the same area to the same scale.

Comparison map: Historic streets alongside 2019 layout of Churchill Square

The map on the left is Ordnance Survey 25 inch 1892 – 1914. The area circled in red shows the location of this street. That on the right is Open Street Map in 2019. These maps are reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland and are of the same area to the same scale.
1964
2018

James Gray: As Grenville Place was included in the vast West Street – King’s Road site its demolition was inevitable and all the south side was removed in January 1965. Date of photographs – 6 September 1964. jgc_29_224

2018: Looking east. The left (north) side of Grenville Place is the raised area of the Churchill Square forecourt. The right-hand side (south) has transmogrified into the shops of Churchill Square which face Western Road.

In the distance of both photographs can be seen The Western public house, formerly the Cranbourne Arms. The narrow tower-like structure in the middle of each photograph is a tall chimney on No 82-83 North Street, now a branch of Metrobank. (Photographer: Suzanne Hinton)

More
1967
1967
2018

James Gray: September 1967. The old faces the new. The few remaining houses, mostly converted to business use many years ago look across at the outline of the new shops of Churchill Square. In a few months time the old buildings, about 150 years old, will be demolished with a few remaining Western Road shops with which they are connected. jgc_29_225 and jgc_29_226

2018: Grenville Street no longer exists above ground. (Photographer: Suzanne Hinton)

1960-62
2018

James Gray: Bert Bassett’s Butchers shop at 48/49 Grenville Place where it joined Upper Russell Street. Exact year not known but probably about 1960/2. Demolished in the mid-1960s for Churchill Square. jgc_29_205

2018: In the 2018 image, the tall wall with the two long windows was built over the north part of Upper Russell Street where it crossed Cranbourne Street. On the left is Crown’s pub (formerly the Lamb and Flag). The land on which Churchill Square was constructed (to the right/west) has been built up and steps now rise steeply from Cranbourne Street to the former Grenville Place (see jgc_29_160, 224 and 225). Bassett’s Butchers would have stood approximately in the bushes on the right (west) of the 2018 image but more or less on the same level as Crown’s. (Photographer: Suzanne Hinton)

1922
1964
1964

James Gray: The tailor’s shop of Harry J. Farr, at 46 Grenville Place, in 1922. This was on the south side just one or two doors away from the Upper Russell Street. Demolished in 1965. jgc_29_160

James Gray: One of the oldest streets of western Brighton, it was built between 1800 and 1820. Although the buildings on the north side were undistinguished, there were elegant looking houses on the south side, two of which are shown. jgc_29_223

James Gray: Two of the original houses built before the corresponding shops behind them in Western Road, and still used as private dwellings up to the time of their removal soon after the photograph was taken on 6 September 1964. jgc_29_227

Historic and Contemporary Images of Brighton and Hove
This website has been prepared by the Regency Society of Brighton and Hove. All historic maps are provided with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland (https://www.nls.uk/) regencysociety.org

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