Haddington Street

James Gray: Two more photographs, taken on 9 April 1972, of that portion of the burial ground which is being surrendered for the road which will serve the shops on the west side of George Street. A distant view from the north east corner of the churchyard. jgc_13_118

2018: Images jgc_13_115 and 118 were taken on the same day in 1972. This one is harder to identify positively. Both show the part of the cemetery to the north-east of St Andrew’s (Old) Church which has been lost entirely. Haddington Street, on the left looking south, has been extended down to a turning area by the church. A church hall and private playground have been built over the grave yard. The modern image, taken from the north-east corner of the original graveyard shows the car-park serving the needs of customers of Tesco to the right and of the shops in George Street, to the left. Mercifully, the trees remain to give shade and visual relief. (Photographer: David Sears)

James Gray: The three shops, 78, 80 and 82, Blatchington Road prior to their reconstruction to form the new Co-operative Store. 
Date, 23 October 1957. jgc_14_154

2018: The Co-operative store has been built on this site. (Photographer: Ivor O’Mahony)

James Gray:  The other Empire was not far away, in Haddington Street. This was Hove’s first cinema, opened on 10 December 1910 by Mr H E Scriven, a young man then still in his teens, who had been the first operator at the Arcadia Cinema, Lewes Road, in the preceding year. This was a two-storey building, which fronted Blatchington Road, and it was adapted to a cinema with a balcony by the simple process of cutting away part of the floor of the top storey. jgc_14_147 

2018: The Empire Cinema on the eastern corner of Haddington Street and Blatchington Road was demolished many years ago.

James Gray: Queues outside the Haddington Street entrance to the Empire Picture House, which extended as far as Blatchington Road. I have tried hard, without success, to establish the year for the photograph. The almost complete absence of young men of military age suggests the 1914-1918 War period but it could equally well have been 1919 or 1920. Additional information: The film “The Tiger’s Trail” was made in 1919. jgc_13_130

James Gray: Three little streets, Haddington, Malvern and Monmouth, had the misfortune to be built adjacent to Blatchington Road. Although at the date of these photographs, 1st August 1965, they were nearly 100 years old, they were still in reasonable condition. They were built in 1873. By 1968 many of the houses had been demolished as the area is to be made a car park for the Blatchington Road shopping district. This view is of Haddington Street. jgc_14_156

James Gray: 1, 2 and 3, Haddington Street, adjoining Sainsburys premises photographed on 7 September 1969. The first two houses were empty and obviously destined to be demolished for an extension to the Supermarket. 1 was removed late in 1970 and 2 in April 1971, for this very purpose. What with demolitions, car parks and now the threat that the road will be continued through the churchyard as a service road for the George Street shops, Haddington Street will soon be very different from its Victorian beginnings. jgc_14_158

James Gray: These photographs, of 1929, show the entrance to the cinema, which was in Haddington Street. Prices of the seats in the stalls were 3d, 5d and 7d, while the luxury of the balcony cost only 9d and 1/-. Talking pictures, introduced later in this year, presented difficulties, which the smaller cinemas found it hard to overcome. The Empire changed over to sound films in 1930 but the competition of the larger cinemas was too severe, and it closed in 1933 after a lifetime of 23 years. jgc_14_148

2020: The 300 seater Empire Picture Theatre was renamed the New Empire in 1931, but the opening of the Lido in Denmark Villas on 6 May 1932, with a seating capacity of 2,500, spelt the end for the small Haddington Street cinema, which closed in 1933 and was subsequently demolished.
The current building on this site has its frontage in Blatchington Road at Nos 84-88. It was occupied for many years by Sainsbury’s, and then Be Wise and QS clothing stores. Since June 2019 it has been home to The Gym Group Hove, part of the national Gym Group. The 2020 photo shows the west wall of the building. The entrance to a small delivery area can be seen on the extreme right.  (Photographer: Alan Hobden)

James Gray: See caption for jgc_14_148 above.  jgc_14_149

2020: The 1929 view looks southwards down Haddington Street. The first 2020 photo was taken from the north side of Blatchington Road, looking down Haddington Street, and shows the frontage of The Gym Group Hove on the left and the Co-operative Food store on the right. 

The man in the second 2020 photo has his back to a small delivery area for the current building (on the site of the old Empire cinema), which was formed by demolishing Nos 1 and 2 Haddington Street. The first house on the east side is now No 3.  (Photographer: Alan Hobden)