James Gray: This is the clearest photograph I have of Western House, the last house in Brighton to the west. At the front it looked out on this large formal garden, which extended well beyond the frontage of Brunswick Terrace, which it adjoined. The period of this photograph appears to be the late 1880s. Western House was removed in 1930. Additional Information: ©Philippe Garner. jgc_01_005
James Gray: The chief purpose of including this photograph is to provide further glimpses of this fine mansion. This photograph was taken about 40 years later, in 1910. It shows King’s Road almost as it is today, except for the absence of traffic. jgc_01_010
James Gray: Western House was demolished in 1930. For some years, probably due to the depression of the 1930s, the site remained derelict. This photograph of 1933, looking north, shows the Midget Car track and artificial golf course, which occupied the area for a year or two. jgc_01_007
James Gray: Western House, Kings Road, which adjoined Brunswick Terrace was a dignified Regency mansion, with a very fine frontage, built during the 1830s. It extended in depth to a considerable distance in Western Street. In this photograph can be seen the old two storied house, in Edwardian days. jgc_01_008
James Gray: The erection of Embassy Court flats in progress. Eleven storeys instead of two. jgc_01_006
James Gray: This shows, in the year 1935, early lettings in Embassy Court, built on the site of the old mansion, Western House. jgc_01_070
James Gray: The chief purpose of including this photograph is to provide further glimpses of this fine mansion. This is a copy of a very ancient photograph dating from the 1860s. The exteriors of 1 and 2 Brunswick Terrace seem just as they are today, 90 years later. jgc_01_009
James Gray: An 1896 photograph of the Brighton/Hove boundary on the seafront, showing left – 1, 2 and 3, Brunswick Terrace and right – the elegant façade of Western House with its low, concealed garden. Also, a good view of the Brunswick Baths in Western Street. jgc_01_017
James Gray: A photograph which shows the last house in Brighton, Western House, 155 King’s Road, and the first in Hove, 1 and 2 Brunswick Terrace. The family seen in the carriage and on the pony may well have lived in one of these mansions as the houses in the terrace were occupied by single families supported by large retinues of servants, and there were stables and coachmen’s quarters in Brunswick Streets east and west. The period is said to be the 1860s. A smaller copy of this photograph is in the Brighton Sea-front Volume 1 [now jgc_01_009 above], and the original photograph came into my possession several years afterwards. jgc_11_161
2019: The low building on the right, Western House, has been replaced by Embassy Court. (Photographer: Helen Glass)
James Gray: This lovely photograph of about 1880 shows an almost completely deserted Brunswick Terrace, although it seems to show a summer’s morning. Note, on the right, Western House just inside Brighton, and, on the extreme left the low toll-house for the collection of dues levied on all coal entertaining Brighton. This was removed in 1888 when the tax on coal ceased to be charged. Additional Information: Coffee and cake vendor. jgc_11_162