_
James Gray: 57/58 High Street. jgc_22_039
2018: The site has since been redeveloped and very little remains. The main building on the east side of High Street is now the high-rise St James’s House. (Photographer: Jayne Paulin)
James Gray: Two small buildings with associations with St James’s Church which was demolished some years ago. The lecture room was an old building, how old I do not know. The Parish Room, in High Street, was a much later building as the date, 1903, indicates. The buildings were photographed on 29 September 1968, and were demolished in January 1970, for Council flats to be built here. jgc_22_063
James Gray: Two small buildings with associations with St James’s Church which was demolished some years ago. The lecture Room was an old building, how old I do not know. Originally it was called the Bible Christians’ Chapel and later the Biblical Lecture Room before finally being known as St James’s Lecture Room. The buildings were photographed on 29 September 1968, and were demolished in January 1970, for Council flats to be built here. jgc_22_064
James Gray: Two ancient flint cottages, photographed 21 March 1912, shortly before they were demolished. The two numbers never appear in any subsequent street directory. Just where they were and what happened on the cleared site is something of a mystery. I do not know if they were above or below St James’s Parish rooms but they may have been where the present store premises No 24 now stands. jgc_22_067 and jgc_22_068
2018: The site of 21-22 High Street is now a small garden and part of the Ardingly Court development. The house on the extreme right is No 23, part of the terrace of 1910s council housing. (Photographer: Jayne Paulin)
James Gray: 33 and 34 High Street, on the west side near to Edward Street, 7 November 1910. These numbers do not appear again in Brighton directories until 1929 so it looks like they were either rebuilt or reconstructed in 1928 after having been derelict for at least 18 years. They are still there today. jgc_22_069
2018: One of the very few unredeveloped parts of the High Street: the brown door (centre left of the 2018 photo) is still addressed as 33-34 High Street; the buildings, while heavily restored, still show traces of the 1910 roof line which suggests they are survivors from Gray’s photograph. (Photographer: Jayne Paulin)
James Gray: On this narrow site between High Street and Chapel Street were to be found three small cottages. Here is seen the rear of 51 High Street. The photograph is taken from No 52 while the narrow footway led to the entrance to No 52A, which was behind the trellis fence at the left of the photograph. On the right is the high side wall of Gordon Hall. jgc_22_070
2018: These cottages were demolished, probably at the time of the adjacent St James’s House clearance /redevelopment. The ‘narrow site’ is now a footpath and car park area: Gordon House (now Windsor Lodge) survives on the right of the picture. (Photographer: Jayne Paulin)
James Gray: Old houses on the east side of High Street. jgc_22_071
2018: East side looking north, with the 1960s St James’s House dominating the view. (Photographer: Jayne Paulin)
James Gray: Looking into the High Street at the derelict shops, Gordon Hall and the tall St James’s House flats. Photographed on June 10 1979, the four old buildings have now gone, and flats called Kebbell Lodge are being built on the cleared site. jgc_24_027
2018: Looking into the High Street off Edward Street, at Kebbell Lodge flats. Gordon Hall to the right was originally built in 1886 as a Methodist chapel and has had an interesting history, including being used as a printing works between 1910 and 1935. It was converted to flats in 1987. The tall St James House flats (opened in 1966) are still in place. (Photographer: Ruthie Martin)