104/105 at the corner of Cannon Place.104/105 at the corner of Cannon Place.
James Gray: Three photographs [see also jgc_01_192 below and the page for Brighton West Seafront: Images on the beach (1) for jgc_01_193] of the beaches, just to the east of the West Pier. Period, the late 1890s. Nothing to call for special comment. jgc_01_191
James Gray: A rather rare photograph showing the Promenade without the sea-side railings. Though those at the kerbside are clearly visible. The original photograph from which this was copied, was probably taken in the late 1860’s, certainly after the opening of the Grand Hotel in 1864. jgc_02_130
2018: The Metropole Hotel has been shorn of its dreaming spires. In the middle of the picture, the Brighton Centre and Kingswest developments now stand beside The Grand Hotel. In the far distance, the view closes with the Harbour Hotel on the corner of West Street – once famous for housing Wheeler’s Fish Restaurant. (Photographer: Suzanne Hinton)
James Gray: Similar to previous [and following] photographs but note the remarkable clarity of detail. At the corner of Cannon Place was a large house known as Cannon Mansion, and this name can be seen on the pediment. It also affords the best view I have seen of Westfield Lodge, the building at the extreme left with its large central doorway. This was the focal building of the old block between Cannon Place and Queensbury Mews and behind it was the open ground used for drilling volunteers. In 1884, the Westfield Gardens estate, as it was known, came onto the market. It covered in all 67,000 superficial feet and was sold by Wilkinson, Son and Welch in the July of that year. jgc_01_130
James Gray: This is a very old photograph, probably taken by Edward Fox during the 1850s. It shows the West Battery which was erected here in 1793, and consisted of 8 cannon, 42 pounders, later reduced to 6. The area in which the Battery was enclosed had twice been curtailed for road improvements before it was removed in 1859. The crescent of houses behind Artillery Place housed the officer in charge and the magazines. Hobden’s Baths, originally known as Artillery Baths, were established here in 1813. Note the ‘fly’ (carriage) standing at the kerbside opposite the Baths. jgc_02_119
James Gray: This photograph from the West Pier shows the same area as the previous photograph [see jgc_02_119 above] just a few years afterwards. The exact year is unknown but almost certainly it was between 1865 and 1870. It is one of the few photographs that exist which shows the promenade westwards from Cannon Place before it was railed and the gravel bank removed. At the extreme right can be seen the flagstaff marking the site of the old Battery. jgc_02_120
James Gray: A distant view of the beach and King’s Road, from the far end of the West Pier, about 1868. Just to the right of the Grand Hotel can be seen the top of St. Paul’s Church, which then consisted of a temporary wooden cap. For an explanation of this, see photographs in the Old Town album [see West Street (Brighton) (Central) page]. jgc_01_215
James Gray: View of King’s Road from the sea, showing the Metropole Hotel. jgc_03_064
James Gray: These photographs (they are of course only copies) of 1858 [jgc_02_121 to jgc_02_124] must have been taken not long before the demolition of the West Battery for it was in that year that it was removed. The lower photograph [see jgc_02_122] which, unusually, looks from the west to east, is particularly of interest because it shows the gun magazine (extreme left) and also the extent of the 1846 widening of the promenade (see the protruding wooden railings masking part of the Chain Pier). This widening was from West Street to the Battery. jgc_02_121
James Gray: See caption jgc_02_121 above. jgc_02_122
2019: Most of the buildings in the 1858 photo have now been demolished but the Old Ship Hotel (now greatly extended) and almost undiscernible Queens Hotel remain. The old view of the Chain Pier has been replaced by a 2019 view of the Palace Pier on the extreme right. From left to right are the Brighton Centre, the Odeon cinema complex, the Harbour Hotel at the bottom of West Street, and the Queens Hotel (immediately to the right of the central lamp post with its twin lamps). On the right, between the eastward looking views of the Queens Hotel and the Palace Pier, the Shelter Hall is undergoing a complete renovation in 2019. (Photographer: Alan Hobden)
James Gray: This is a modern enlargement of a very ancient and small photograph. In the process much of the detail and clarity had been lost. It shows the dismantling of the Battery actually in progress. The flagstaff is being lowered and the muzzle-loaded cannon have already been removed from their mountings. Beyond are the old houses of Artillery Place, which were to be demolished but a year or two afterwards. A gravel bank then led from the pavement to the beach below. jgc_02_123
2019: See text for jgc_02_121 above. (Photographer: Alan Hobden)
James Gray: Clearance of the debris left after the demolition of the West Battery, in January 1858. Copied from a very old original photograph, it lacks clarity, but the entrance to Cannon Place (which took its name from the Battery) can be seen as well as the buildings on the site of the present Metropole Hotel. jgc_02_124
2019: In King’s Road in 2019, the red-brick Hilton Brighton Metropole Hotel now stands on the west corner of Cannon Place, with the Grand Hotel on the east corner. Both photos are looking north-west. (Photographer: Alan Hobden)
James Gray: No comment. Additional Information: All four of these photographs [jgc_02_198, jgc_02_199 and 201 below and jgc_02_200 on the King’s Road (5) page] date from the 1920s. jgc_02_198
2019: The James Gray photo was probably taken from a top floor of 90 King’s Road, looking west. It dates from 1920 or earlier as Sanders the diamond merchants on the corner of Cannon Place were no longer there after 1920. The 2019 image was taken, courtesy of the Brighton Centre, from the west terrace of the Brighton Centre restaurant.
James Gray: [King’s Road] On either side of West Street. Looking east. Additional Information: Titled: Brighton Front Madeira Walk. Holiday crowds. jgc_03_026
James Gray: [King’s Road] On either side of West Street. Looking west. Additional Information: Titled: Brighton parade. Shoes. Bolla & Biucchi’s restaurant. jgc_03_025
James Gray: Photographs taken at different times during the past 50 years [see also jgc_01_211 below and jgc_01_212 on the King’s Road (2) page] and showing a King’s Road very little altered from today. A scene at the foot of West Street in 1910. The point–duty policeman had little traffic to control in those days. jgc_01_210
James Gray: Copy of a stereoscopic photograph of 1893, and unusual in the sense that it was taken by an American photographer from Philadelphia. Taken from just east of West Street, it captures the late Victorian atmosphere, with the central figure holding up her bustle skirt to keep it clear of the filth with which the roadway was bestrewn at this period. jgc_02_171
James Gray: Photographs taken at different times during the past 50 years and showing a King’s Road very little altered from today. A little to the west of the previous photograph, near Russell Street and the Palladium, in 1923. The sloped serrated part of the road, on the right, was a relic of horse cab days, even then becoming a thing of the past. jgc_01_211
2020: This is one of several images looking east along King’s Road from Russell Street, now buried beneath the Brighton Centre, towards West Street.
James Gray: The view along King’s Road towards West Street during the 1870s. The exact years are unknown but this photograph is of a slightly earlier period than the previous. This shows the protective iron railings without the cross struts added later and seen in the previous photograph [jgc_01_213]. Additional Information: Mutton’s refreshment rooms. jgc_01_214
2020: In contrast to image jgc_01_211 taken in 1923, images jgc_01_213, 214 and 216 show the same stretch of King’s Road, looking east, some 50 years earlier. The Orleans Residential Club, a forerunner of the current Harbour Hotel on the far corner of West Street and seen on the extreme right of the 2020 photograph, was only built in 1882 so does not appear in any of them.
James Gray: The old Alhambra Theatre was built on the site of a mews and riding school, known as Whitehall Yard, and was opened to the public in October 1888. The entrance at that time was in Russell Street. In 1912 the name was changed to the Palladium, and in 1914 it became a cinema. After 42 years as a cinema it closed down on May 26 1956, and has since stood empty. Ultimately it is scheduled for demolition as part of the sea front redevelopment scheme, but it may well stand derelict for years to come. Date of photograph – August 1956. Incidentally the corner premises, 86, King’s Road, have now been occupied as a chemist’s continuously for the past 100 years. jgc_01_217
James Gray: Here can be seen the original name, Alhambra, on the Russell Street façade, over the old entrance. This is not visible from the pavement level in Russell Street, but can just be seen from Cannon Street, from where this photograph was taken. [See also caption for jgc_01_217 above] jgc_01_218
James Gray: My remarks previously [see jgc_01_217 above] proved to be correct, as the old cinema building stood for some years after its closure. Here it is seen in the spring of 1963 awaiting its early destruction. Removal of the King’s Road frontages had crept westwards from West Street to reach the cinema. In the background stands the ill–fated Sports Stadium, but not for much longer, for that was to go in 1966. The Palladium site is now covered by the Brighton Centre. jgc_01_219
James Gray: A selection from a large number of photographs taken by an interested amateur photographer. [See also jgc_01_221, 222, 223 and 224 below.] This shows the closed frontage of the derelict building in King’s Road. After its closure in 1956 the building stood for several years so the photographs may have been taken during the period 1958–62. jgc_01_220
.James Gray: Before 1900, this clearly shows the Metropole Hotel under construction. jgc_01_189
James Gray: Dating from before 1900. jgc_01_186
2019: A current view taken from the top of the British Airways i-360 observation tower somewhat further north than the James Gray images. The Metropole (now the Hilton Brighton Metropole) and Grand Hotels remain but the buildings to the east have changed substantially. Brighton Palace Pier seen in the distance is a notable addition to the seascape. It opened in 1899 and is home to fairground rides, bars, restaurants and deckchairs from which to enjoy the sea view. (Photographer: Alison Meekings)
James Gray: This photograph shows the iron railings removed in June 1926. jgc_02_164
James Gray: A particularly fine photograph of the crescent, formerly Artillery Place, in front of the [Grand] Hotel. Period unknown, but, most probably, the early 1880s. jgc_02_162
2019: Apart from the loss of deck chairs along the promenade and their replacement by the occasional fixed bench, the most noticeable changes to have taken place in the last 100 years are the westward extension of the Grand Hotel and the demolition of the buildings to the east of the hotel and their replacement by the Brighton Centre, a conference and concert venue. (Photographer: Alison Meekings)
James Gray: Four photographs [jgc_02_208, 209, 210 and 211] of 1960 which show the entire King’s Road frontage of the West Street redevelopment, and round into West Street itself. Poor though these houses were, it could be argued that they were less offensive than the Top Rank building which succeeded them. jgc_02_208
2019: The Brighton Centre, a conference and concert venue, now dominates the foreground to the east of the Grand Hotel. Sussex Heights, a residential tower block built 1966-68, is visible behind the extended Grand. The Top Rank building referred to by James Gray is located to the east of the Brighton Centre. It opened in 1965 as the Top Rank Suite and comprised a dance hall with bars but changed its name to the Top Rank Centre in 1966 with the addition of an ice skating rink and bowling alley. It was renamed Kingswest (from King’s Road and West Street at the corner of which it sits) in 1972 and continues to bear that name. It now houses a multiscreen Odeon cinema. (Photographer: Alison Meekings, Text: David Sears)
James Gray: The small sepia photograph is of a very much earlier period, between 1864 (when the Grand Hotel was built) and 1869. In the far distance on the King’s Road frontage can be seen the old Brill’s Baths, removed in that year. jgc_03_003
James Gray: No comment. jgc_01_151
James Gray: The purpose of including this postcard was to show the GUINNESS clock, a very popular feature of this period. It was on the side of the wall of 91 King’s Road masking what in the 19th century had been a photographer’s studio. I do not know the year when it was installed or when it went. The site is now covered by the Brighton Centre. jgc_02_197
2019: The beach here is now largely devoid of boats. Cast-iron support posts from the old West Pier are arranged as an outdoor sculpture on a paved area. The Brighton Centre can be seen to the east of the Grand Hotel and the Metropole Hotel to the west. (Photographer: Alison Meekings)
James Gray: This is the problem area of Brighton seafront, between Russell Street and West Street. The site was purchased by Brighton Corporation many years ago with the intention of developing the entire area, which includes the Stadium Car Park, as a single unit. Since then many suggestions have been made regarding this development. No decision has yet been taken even as to whether it is to be developed by the Corporation or left to private enterprise. Meanwhile the dilapidated buildings are let on short leases and the area remains an irritating eyesore, right at the focal point of the seafront. jgc_02_117
James Gray: Mutton’s Hotel, 82-84 King’s Road. The hotel and restaurant were established here in 1820 and the business continued in the ownership of four generations until it closed down in 1929. The Continental restaurant then occupied the site until the entire block from West Street to Russell Street was cleared away in 1962. jgc_02_181
James Gray: A last look at the group of nondescript buildings that certainly did not enhance King’s Road, between Russell Street and West Street. Whether what has replaced them represents any improvement is a matter of opinion! This photograph dates from 1962-3 not long before demolition took place, while jgc_02_184, 185 and 186 [see below] are probably a year or two earlier. jgc_02_183
2020: The fine image from 1900 of Mutton’s Hotel shows a famous establishment in its heyday.
James Gray: A last look at the group of nondescript buildings that certainly did not enhance King’s Road, between Russell Street and West Street. Whether what has replaced them represents any improvement is a matter of opinion! This photograph [jgc_02_183 above] dates from 1962/3 not long before demolition took place, while jgc_02_184, 185 and 186 are probably a year or two earlier. jgc_02_184
James Gray: See caption above. jgc_02_185
2020: Images jgc_02_183 to 186 showed views of the line of buildings facing King’s Road between Russell Street and West Street in the early 1960s. Although demolition followed shortly after the photographs were taken, the Brighton Centre, shown here, which now covers the site of jgc_02_183 to 185, only opened in 1977. To the far left (west) were the Pelican Pub, built on the site of Mutton’s Hotel [seen more clearly in jgc_02_181 and 183] and, to the east, the Astoria Café and the shop belonging to Alfred King. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: See caption to jgc_02_184. 104/105 at the corner of Cannon Place.Formerly the Desmond Hotel, latterly Grosvenor House, a home for the elderly. Demolished, and the site used for an extension of the Grand Hotel. jgc_02_186
2019: The extension of the Grand Hotel which replaced the previous buildings on the corner of Cannon Place and King’s Road. (Photographer: Alison Meekings)
James Gray: This unusual building, 67 King’s Road, stood at the corner of West Street until 1897 when it was replaced by the present Daily Telegraph building. In W A Delamotte’s drawings, 1855, shown on another page [see jgc_04_002 below], it appears as a small two-storey building and from its appearance it seems only recently to have been reconstructed. Note the old house in Kent Street, adjoining the George Inn, removed when the Inn was rebuilt in 1892. The date of this photograph is unknown but almost certainly this was between 1862 and 1870. jgc_02_187
James Gray: One of Harold Clunn’s many photographs of Brighton’s seafront in the 1920s. This one dates from about 1924-5. A crowded seat on the promenade opposite the bottom of West Street. jgc_02_195
2020: The little two-storey building on the corner of West Street was a shop listed in Brighton directories of the 1840s and 50s as a lace and embroidery mending and cleaning business run by a lady called Mrs Owen Curling who advertised herself as Lace Cleaner and Mender To The Queen. It seems to have been a more conventional design to begin with and it would be interesting to know the identity of the architect of the unusual façade shown in the James Gray pictures (see also jgc_02_182 on the West Street (Brighton) (South) page). The Daily Telegraph building which replaced it in 1897 (see jgc_02_189 below) was in turn demolished and the site is now part of the footprint of the building known variously as the Top Rank Suite, Kingswest or, as now, the Pryzm nightclub. In 2020 the entire area is once again scheduled for redevelopment. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: King’s Road on a very wet day, period 1900-04. The three lamp-posts are outside the entrance to the Alhambra Cinema, later the Palladium Cinema. The narrow entry seen at one time led to Whitehall Yard which had extensive stabling. All buildings on the right, as far as the tall lamp standard, were demolished in the mid 1960s. Additional Information: © Phillipe Garner. jgc_02_188
2020: On a sunny day in May 2020 there is no trace of the shops, cinema and stabling of a century ago. They have all been replaced by the Brighton Centre which opened in 1977. Designed in the Brutalist style by architects Russell Diplock & Associates, it is a major conference centre and busy live music venue but its future is in doubt. The current Brighton Council city plan proposes that it should be demolished to make way for an extension to the Churchill Square shopping centre. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: The corner of King’s Road and West Street, in the summer of 1956. The tall Daily Telegraph building, built in 1897, replaced the most unusual building that can be seen on other pages. [jgc_02_182 and 187]. The lane between was narrow Kent Street, then devoid of houses. Along with the rest of this block, the building was removed in 1964, to be replaced by the hideous Top Rank Complex. jgc_02_189
2020: The Telegraph Building and Information Bureau, shown here, together with Kent Street and the George Hotel, just visible on the right of the image, were all demolished in the mid-60s as part of the Churchill Square redevelopment. The replacement building, known variously as the Top Rank Suite or Complex, Kingswest or, as now, the Pryzm night club, is currently described as ‘the height of south coast clubbing’. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: Looking west along King’s Road, from near West Street, in 1909, when the roadway was being completely resurfaced. Note the paved cab-rank adjoining the protective iron railings the last of which were removed in June 1926. The Promenade was as wide then as it is today. jgc_02_192
2020: Roadworks on King’s Road seem to be a feature of almost every decade.
James Gray: Note the policeman who controlled the traffic at the bottom of West Street, from his wooden stool. August 1926. Additional Information: All four of these photographs [jgc_02_198 above, jgc_02_199, jgc_02_201 below and jgc_02_200 on the King’s Road (5) page] date from the 1920s. jgc_02_199
James Gray: View from King’s Road, about 1895, showing the narrow entrance to Kent Street. The very unusual building at the corner of King’s Road was rebuilt in 1897 but has long since been demolished. jgc_02_182
2020: The James Gray images show a very interesting building on the corner of King’s Road and West Street. It was built in 1883 in red brick, seven years before the nearby and equally ornate Metropole Hotel, to house the Orleans Residential Club. It later became the George Hotel and then the Hotel Victoria and was still operating as such in 1926, as the lettering on the side shows. Later it became in turn the Sheridan, Belgrave and UMI Hotel, before its most recent incarnation as the luxurious white-painted Harbour Hotel. The policeman in the 1926 image has been replaced by traffic lights and the fingerpost sign points the way to tourist attractions inland. The red barricade is guiding traffic through some ongoing road repairs. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: This photograph shows the semaphore signal arms that preceded the introduction of traffic lights. Note the old kerbside railings had not been removed. jgc_02_201
2020: The 1929 image shows this corner of West Street with King’s Road, probably at its best, just over 90 years ago. The Daily Telegraph building stands on the corner: the ground floor has not yet been converted into an Information Bureau (see jgc_02_189).
James Gray: Men of the Royal Garrison Artillery, escorted by civilians, marching from a Church Parade along Kings Road, between Russell Street and West Street, during 1908. jgc_02_193
James Gray: Two late 1960s photographs of the semi-derelict buildings between Russell Street and West Street as they await their demolition. Left are numbers 87 back to 83, including the closed Palladium Cinema. jgc_02_212 and 213
James Gray: Dating from before 1900. Additional Information: People, lady with furled parasol. jgc_01_188
2020: The three James Gray pictures here show the area now occupied by the bulk of The Brighton Centre, as seen in the 2020 image. The Palladium Cinema closed in 1956 and was demolished in 1963 as were the buildings occupied by the Expresso Coffee Bar, the Astoria Cafe and many other small businesses. The Brighton Centre, a conference and exhibition space, was opened in 1977. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: No comment. jgc_02_166
James Gray: No comment. jgc_02_219
James Gray: Four photographs [see jgc_02_208 above, jgc_02_209 below and jgc_02_211 on the West Street (Brighton) (South) page] of 1960 which show the entire King’s Road frontage of the West Street redevelopment, and round into West Street itself. Poor though these houses were, it could be argued that they were less offensive than the Top Rank building which succeeded them. jgc_02_210
2020: The Top Rank building referred to by James Gray, also previously known as Kingswest, now houses a nightclub called Pryzm, an Odeon cinema and the Steinbeck & Shaw cocktail bar at street level. The road in front is currently undergoing major repair and the entire area is scheduled for redevelopment. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: Demolition of the block of old shops, 67-86 King’s Road, between West Street and Russell Street, April – June 1963. jgc_02_215
2020: The original image shows the start of the demolition of the area between West Street, in the middle distance, with the distinctive outline of what is now the Harbour Hotel at its end, and Russell Street, just out of the shot on the near left. The architecturally dismal replacement buildings housing the Odeon Cinema and Pryzm nightclub are in turn also scheduled for redevelopment. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: Four photographs (jgc_02_208 to jgc_02_211) of 1960 which show the entire King’s Road frontage of the West Street redevelopment, and round into West Street itself. Poor though these houses were it could be argued that they were less offensive than the Top Rank building which succeeded them. jgc_02_209
2020: This is one of around 25 images in the James Gray collection showing the line of shops facing King’s Road between the Grand Hotel, just west of Russell Street, and West Street, in or around 1960.
James Gray: A very much later photograph [than jgc_04_005 on the King’s Road (5) page] looking west along the beach and King’s Road. The year is not known, but the bathing machines and the profusion of fishing boats, particularly those opposite Russell Street, suggest a period before the 1914/18 War and possibly as far back as the late 1890s. jgc_04_007
2020: This image looks west along the King’s Road seafront. The various buildings now comprising the Old Ship Hotel can be seen on the right (east).
James Gray: By the time this photograph was taken all the old buildings had gone and the Sports Stadium in West Street and the spire of St Paul’s Church were revealed to view. So many photographs of these old premises still exist that mere pressure of space decrees that I must include no more. jgc_02_214
James Gray: The clearance of this large site prior to redevelopment by Myton Ltd. jgc_ 02_216
James Gray: [Panoramic views of King’s Road by William A Delamotte. See also jgc_02_190 and jgc_04_002 on this page, jgc_02_191 on the King’s Road (4) page and jgc_04_003 on the Grand Junction page.] From 98 to 82 King’s Road, including the crescent of houses previously known as Artillery Place. Muttons Restaurant continued in the same premises at No 82, until the end of the 1920s. Additional Information: The original drawings are in the Museum of Brighton’s collections and a photographic copy is stored in Brighton’s History Centre [now in The Keep]. jgc_04_001
James Gray: [See also jgc_04_001 above] RUSSELL STREET – WEST STREET Marsh – lace and embroidery warehouse Hyams – jeweller Akehurst – saddler and harness maker Barton – chemist Lucas – tailor Bradbee Walwyn – wine merchant Gancia – library Izard – hosier Harper – glover Guinness – jeweller Curling – lace cleaner WEST STREET – MIDDLE STREET Booty – bookseller and stationer Cochran – silversmith Pugh – ladies French boot maker Penniket – milliner Baker – lace and ribbon warehouse Gregory – lace and embroidery Neve – silk mercer and draper 50 Childs – toy warehouse. Additional Information: The original drawings are in the Museum of Brighton’s collections and a photographic copy is stored in Brighton’s History Centre [now in The Keep]. jgc_04_002