between Ship Street and Grand Junction Road
James Gray: Panoramic views of King’s Road 1855: Grand Junction Road. Photographic copies of drawings by W.A. Delamotte. 13/14 Kings Road – Silvani – goldsmith and jeweller; Mohomed’s Baths, later Brills Hotel; Stafford House; Queens Hotel; Warwick Mansion; Brills bath (this was the original bath, known as “Brill’s Bunion” which was removed in 1868); Clarendon Mansion; Pool Valley; Clive House; Albion Rooms; Albion Hotel; Old Steine. jgc_04_003 Additional Information: The original drawings are in the Museum of Brighton’s collections and a photographic copy is stored in Brighton’s History Centre.
James Gray: An aerial photograph dating from 1919 or 1920, showing the old buildings between Russell Street and West Street which have only this year, 1963, been demolished. Note the tall buildings parallel to and just behind King’s Road. These were in the long forgotten Kent Street. jgc_03_071
James Gray: King’s Road, looking west. jgc_03_072
James Gray: This photograph, from Markwell’s Royal Hotel, shows a strangely quiet King’s Road. By the look of the West Pier and the old wooden railings I should date this from about 1880. jgc_03_132
James Gray: View looking east. jgc_03_206
James Gray: View eastwards along the open beach, a few years later, in 1966. This long central beach was then completely ungroyned between the massive groyne near the Grand Hotel and the East Street groyne (seen). To remedy this, three wooden groynes have been built at intervals along this beach and these have had the effect of building up the shingle bank. jgc_04_103
2018: The 2018 photograph shows the massive Brighton Centre which has replaced many of the Victorian buildings in the James Gray pictures. The distinctive onion-shaped roof of what is now Brighton Harbour Hotel at the south-east corner of West Street is visible in 1919-20 and 2018. The Palace Pier remains much the same externally in its middle section, but in the distance of the 2018 photo, the harbour arm of the Brighton Marina now juts out into the sea behind the pier. The modern road works are associated with the enlargement of the Shelter Hall. (Photographer: Suzanne Hinton)
James Gray: No comment. Additional Information: This is one of a set of four photographs [jgc_02_198, 199 and 201 on the King’s Road (3) page and jgc_02_200 here] all dating from the 1920s. jgc_02_200
2020: The James Gray picture shows two fashionable young men in plus fours and tweed jackets, smoking their pipes as they relax in deckchairs. They have stout walking sticks, ready for a bracing stroll along the prom. They are on the King’s Road promenade between Black Lion Street and Little East Street.
James Gray: Two photographs [see also jgc_04_011 on the Grand Junction Road page] by the late Mr A H Fry taken from the East Street promenade groyne, which was constructed in 1867. [It] could have been taken in any year between 1906 and 1911. Affords a very good view of the buildings previously on the site of the Savoy Cinema. jgc_04_010
James Gray: No comment. jgc_04_005
2020: Looking west, the concrete and green glass block of the Ramada Renaissance Hotel, now trading as Jurys Inn, stands out as an example of 1980s redevelopment. In the far distance, the 1960s Brighton Centre is just visible. The Savoy Cinema, mentioned in the caption, was at 75 East Street. It opened in 1930 on the site of Brill’s Baths and, after trading as the ABC, Cannon and Virgin Cinemas, closed in 1999. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: Fun and games for a man and his four dogs on the East Street Groyne. The photographer is George Ruff, Junior, and the period between 1900 and 1904. Very little change can be discerned in the King’s Road buildings, now in 1984. jgc_04_012
2020: The main feature of the East Street groyne in 2020 is artist Hamish Black’s bronze sculpture ‘Afloat’, a globe on its side with inscribed lines of longitude radiating from the central hole where the north and south poles would normally be.
James Gray: No comment. jgc_03_063
2020: This fine late Victorian image shows the beach and hotels on Kings Road between Middle Street and East Street. In the far distance is Markwell’s Hotel and behind it, Queens Hotel, before their merger in 1908.
James Gray: Another similar view. jgc_03_073
2020: Images jgc_03_073 and 203 [below], taken in 1923 and 1927 respectively, show two near identical views of King’s Road looking west from Ship Street. The ornamental lamps on the south side of King’s Road are still in place. The shops along the front between Ship Street and Middle Street have almost all turned into restaurants and fast food vendors. The large building on the corner of Middle Street was known originally as Kings Mansions. It currently offers budget accomodation for students. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: The crowded scene along the Kings Road in the summer of 1893. Note the electric light standards being installed prior to the front being lit by electricity in the following September. jgc_03_066
James Gray: Copy of old original photograph definitely dating from the 1860s. Here the scaffolding (extreme right) provides the clue. This work took place during the widening of Kings Road during 1864/1867. The named shop seen at the left was that of Ernest Planterose, glover and perfumier. Additional Information: ©Philippe Garner. jgc_03_151
2020: These pictures show the hotels along King’s Road between Middle Street and East Street. In 2020 the flagpoles have been replaced by streetlights; there are black waste bins and blue recycling bins everywhere and the boats on the beach are exhibits outside Brighton Fishing Museum. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: This view of King’s Road, and in particular of the Old Ship Hotel, was taken in the summer of 1893. Note the tall lamp standards just being installed to replace the old gas lamps. Electric light was switched on for the first time in the September of that year. The corner building behind the lamp post bears a very different appearance today. It was completely rebuilt in 1896. jgc_03_133
2020: The Old Ship Hotel now extends over the corner site mentioned by James Gray. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: The West Pier provided the clue to the period of this photograph, as it was not until 1890 that the Pier Head was widened and the landing stages built. The wood and iron railings overlooking the beach were provided in 1886. jgc_03_134
2020: The i360 tower is the most prominent landmark in 2020, with the much diminished remains of the West Pier in the background. A cycle lane runs along the promenade. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: Later still, in 1928, at the corner of Black Lion Street, showing the Exeter Hotel, now occupied by the Borough Surveyor’s Department of the Brighton Corporation. Additional Information: The site was demolished and rebuilt in the 1980s; now a hotel and offices above occupied by the City Council. jgc_03_138
2020: The Exeter Hotel has been replaced by the 1980s-built hotel currently called Jurys Inn Brighton Waterfront. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: A very much later view, probably taken about 1957. By then all buildings up to Black Lion Street had been added to the [Old Ship] hotel though the gabled area has still to be dealt with to complete the present frontage. jgc_03_140
2020: The eastern end of the Old Ship Hotel has been completely redeveloped, replacing the gabled corner buildings with a six-storey modern extension. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: Present day copy of quite old photograph, which emphasises the quietness, even solitude, of the seafront in mid- Victorian days. This view was taken from a point just opposite Black Lion Street, as the sign on the lamp post indicates. The kerbside railings had been fixed a few years later. jgc_03_147
2020: The railings along the promenade are still largely made of wood in the 1870s image. The present oak and iron railings were not installed until 1886. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: This photograph is an enlargement of a very small and ancient one and in the enlarging process much of the clarity has been lost. The date of the original is not known, but it must have been taken way back in the 1860s. It is hard to be definite about the nature of the work in progress on the beach. This part of King’s Road was widened, by being built out over arches, between 1864 and 1867, and the present massive East Street groyne was built in 1867. Most probably the scaffolding had some connection with these projects. The photograph shows Brill’s (previously Mahomed’s) Baths still standing on the site of the Queens Hotel. The baths were demolished in 1869, so obviously the photograph dates from before then. jgc_03_153
James Gray: This photograph is from the same negative as [jgc_03_153]. The print is smaller but the image much more distinct. I have nothing to add to the previous caption [above] typed several years earlier. jgc_03_161
James Gray: Copy of very old photograph of 1860s vintage. The beach at the foot of Black Lion Street with half-upturned boats used as fishermen’s stores. At this period (1864-67) King’s Road was being widened by being carried out over arches, some of which were let “to private persons as seaside lounges” as can be seen in the photograph. Hedges & Butler were to stay here for another 70 years.The buildings seen (right) were in Kings Road, between West and Middle Streets. Additional Information: ©Philippe Garner. jgc_03_154
James Gray: Present day copy of very early photograph taken on Brighton beach by Rev. Calvert Richard Jones on 15 August 1859. In the background can be seen the entrance to Ship Street and the Old Ship Hotel. jgc_03_158
2020: The arches underneath the ramps in front of the Old Ship Hotel are occupied by the Brighton Fishing Museum and the Brighton Fisherman’s Society. On the beach in front are fishing boats and an original capstan, one of many that used to be seen on the beach. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: This particularly fine photograph is a useful addition to the very old ones seen [above]. Probably taken a few years later, it could have been at the time of the mid-1860s widening of Kings Road and the building of the first arches. The low squat building at the corner of Black Lion Street has changed in appearance and was occupied by Akehurst and Son, saddlers, who were here in 1864. The large block of houses in the background are those in between Black Lion Street and Market Street. I have no information about any event attracting this number of people. jgc_03_160
James Gray: In the late 1970s it was rumoured that seafront buildings in the area of Black Lion Street, Market Street and Little East Street were soon to be demolished to make way for a new hotel with an annexe for municipal purposes. Accordingly, I had these photographs taken on 25 June 1978, but I need not have worried, for it was six years later, in late 1984, that removal commenced. The three buildings on the island site are to go, but the famous hotel, the Star and Garter, is safe. The car park will be lost, at least for the time being. This first became a car park as long ago as 1934, when the Marine Hotel was demolished, being extended as houses in Little East Street were removed later in the 1930s. The intention was to rebuild and extend the Town Hall, but nothing came of this, so this valuable central site remained a car park for fifty years. jgc_03_166
James Gray: [See caption for jgc_03_166 above.] A view of Little East Street. jgc_03_167
2020: The car park shown in the original image is now covered by the concrete block of the hotel currently trading as Jurys Inn Brighton Waterfront. The original buildings behind it still stand, tucked away in Little East Street, which was pedestrianised in 1987. The tall brick-faced building is now an Indian restaurant, the building to its right (south) is 18th century and currently a tattoo studio. To its right is a bar and restaurant called The Pipeline. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: The cleared area in King’s Road, stretching from Black Lion Street, past Market Street to the Star and Garter Hotel, in 1985. At last Brighton was to have a new hotel on a prime seafront site, with a shopping square at the rear. jgc_03_169
2020: The new hotel built on the site was the Ramada Renaissance Hotel designed by Michael Lyell and Associates. It was later refurbished and reopened as the Hospitality Inn and then subsequently became Jurys Inn Brighton Waterfront. The 2020 image, taken in May of that year during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, shows the road and pavements empty and the hotel temporarly closed. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: Nos 20, 19 and 18 King’s Road, at the junction with Little East Street, in 1959. Demolition had already taken place in Little East Street. jgc_03_170
2020: Images jgc_03_170, 171 and 186 all show the shops where King’s Road made a short detour north away from the seafront towards Little East Street. Today the site is under the eastern side of Jurys Inn Brighton Waterfront. All that is recognisable from the original image is a glimpse, on the far left, of the railings on the promenade, on the far side of King’s Road. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: We can date this photograph with absolute certainty. At the end of King’s Road in East Street can be seen the actual building of the new Brill’s Baths, opened in 1869 and demolished in 1929. The building in the foreground had an interesting history. Here were established the famous Shampooing Baths of the Indian, Sake Deen Mahomed. He achieved great success with the treatment of rheumatism and was appointed Shampooing Surgeon to George IV and William IV. At that period the balcony at the right of the building looked directly on to the beach below, because Grand Junction Road was not constructed until 1829. When Mohamed retired the business passed to William Knight and later to Charles Brill. When the new baths were erected, the old building was demolished and replaced in 1870 by Markwell’s Royal Hotel. jgc_03_175
James Gray: A present day copy of a very old photograph, dating from the 1860s, or even earlier. Looking east, note that there are no protective kerbside railings and that adjoining Brill’s Baths, the balcony and verandah are still there. Also, in the central distance, the windows of George’s White Horse Hotel are seen. On the original photograph, which is much clearer, the baths are designated – BRILL’S, KINGS ROAD, BATHS – a description which is rarely found. jgc_03_176
2020: Today the site is occupied by Queens Hotel. The ramp and railings to the lower promenade have been strengthened, King’s Road has been widened, and the fishing boats have vanished. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: A later photograph, but not by very long, probably by five or ten years at best. The baths are still there but the balcony and verandah have gone. Kerbside railing protect the narrow pavement and gas-lamps predominate. The old baths must have been removed not long after this photograph was taken. jgc_03_177
2020: Today the modern Jurys Inn Brighton Waterfront has replaced many of the original buildings west of Queens Hotel but the Old Ship Hotel, now much expanded, is still in place. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: Despite the mistiness of this copy of a very ancient photograph, it is of great interest. Note particularly the low central building, Brill’s Baths. This was demolished in 1869 and, in all my other photographs of this, the wording on the walls differs from the words shown here. Also in this photograph the balcony beneath the words “Brill’s Swimming Bath” is covered over. This hood does not appear in any of my other views of this building. I reckon this photograph dates from the late 1850s. jgc_03_179
James Gray: The exact year of [this] photograph is not known but most likely the early 1870s, about 1872-3 [and it shows] two buildings but recently erected – Markwell’s Royal Hotel (now Queens) built in 1870, and at the far end of King’s Road, Brill’s Baths just one year older. jgc_03_195
James Gray: Shows the same area many years later, in 1926. jgc_03_199
2020: On the left (east) of the James Gray pictures is Harrison’s Hotel, now replaced by Jurys Inn. Behind Harrison’s, and still there today, is the Star and Garter Hotel and its neighbours on the corner of Little East Street. To the right is Queens Hotel, built in 1846. Between them is the low building mentioned by James Gray – the bath house opened by Sake Deen Mahomed in 1821. The sign on the wall offers ‘shampooing’, a traditional Indian head massage technique Mahomed introduced to Britain. The baths had recently been acquired by Charles Brill at the time of the 1850s image. They were demolished in 1869 and Markwell’s Hotel, now part of Queens Hotel, was built in their place. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: [Top left] This is a very early photograph of King’s Road. Harrison’s Hotel, named after George Harrison, its first owner, can be seen on the right, but this does not help to establish the period as it has been there since the 1830s. Note, however, the absence of the kerbside iron railings. These were introduced during the mid-1860s as King’s Road was widened. In my opinion this photograph dates from 1860. Additional Information: Photograph by W H Mason. jgc_03_172
James Gray: [Top right] This large photograph is almost a replica of one on a previous page [jgc_03_198 below], and most likely was taken in the same unknown year. jgc_03_185
James Gray: Present day copies of two very old photographs. One cannot give precise dates, but almost certainly the originals were taken in the 1860s. The one above [seen on the middle left here] is the earlier – note that the kerbside iron railings are absent, whereas they are seen in the next photograph [see jgc_03_182 below]. jgc_03_181
James Gray: [Middle right.] An early photograph of King’s Road. There are two clues to the period, the West Pier and George Pocock’s shop at No 22. The Pier was opened in 1866 and Pocock had gone from here in 1883 so the photograph must date from between those years. jgc_03_198
2020: The small shops have all gone and the northern side of King’s Road is dominated by the large modern hotel with green glass bay windows, currently trading as Jurys Inn. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: This [stereoscopic picture], looking [east], shows the old Brill’s Baths, removed in 1869 to make way for Markwell’s Royal Hotel, now the Queens Hotel. The building occupied as Harrison’s Hotel is prominently featured. jgc_03_182
2020: Harrison’s Hotel on the left in the James Gray image, stood on the site now covered by Jurys In Brighton Waterfront. Markwell’s Hotel was merged with its neighbour to the east, Queens Hotel, in 1908. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: A photograph of Dixey’s shop on the corner of Little East Street in 1908. This business was founded by Lewis Dixey in 1838 and the first was at 62 King’s Road. It moved to Nos 20-21 in the 1850s and remained here until 1929. jgc_03_186
2020: Dixeys Opticians, on the corner of Little East Street and King’s Road, was one of the longest established Brighton shops of its period. The eastern face of Jurys Inn Brighton Waterfront now stands on the site. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: No comment. jgc_03_187
James Gray: A later photograph, dating from the 1914-1918 War, with soldiers relaxing on the seafront. jgc_03_137
2020: There are three hotels on the left in the James Gray images; the Exeter, Hollywood and Harrison’s. They were all demolished in the 1980s and Jurys Inn Brighton Waterfront occupies the site in 2020. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: Photograph of 1870, showing King’s Road almost devoid of traffic and of people. In the distance, the Chain Pier. The promenade was then quite narrow, being widened to its present width in 1886. At the far end of King’s Road can be seen Brill’s Baths, erected in 1869, while the building under construction was the Clarendon Hotel at the corner of East Street which replaced an old lodging house known as Clarendon Mansions. It is this building which dates the photographs because it is well known that it was built in 1870. jgc_03_190
James Gray: The exact year of this photograph is not known but most likely it dates from the early 1870s, about 1872-3. It depicts a scene of a traffic-free, quiet but dirty King’s Road and an almost complete absence of people. jgc_03_194
2020: Today this stretch of King’s Road is dominated by Jurys Inn Brighton Waterfront and the Old Ship Hotel, with the tall white block of Sussex Heights looming in the background. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: Before the removal of the kerbside railings. jgc_03_201
2020: Images jgc_03_201 and 202 show nearly identical views looking west along King’s Road from the end of Little East Street in 1925 and 1929. They show hotels trading at various times as the Exeter Hotel, the Hollywood Hotel and Harrison’s Hotel which were replaced in 1987 by the larger scale Ramada Renaissance Hotel which became in turn the Hospitality Inn, The Thistle Hotel and now Jurys Inn Brighton Waterfront. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: Another view. jgc_03_204
2020: Images jgc_03-201, 202 and 204 show near-identical views looking west along Kings Road from the end of Little East Street in 1925, 1929 and the 1930s, respectively. To the right (east) there is a block of 3 hotels trading at various times as the Exeter Hotel, the Hollywood Hotel and, on the far right (east) Harrison’s Hotel. They were replaced in 1987 by the grander Ramada Renaissance Hotel, later the Hospitality Inn, The Thistle Hotel and now Jurys Inn.
James Gray: Scenes in the neighbourhood of the Queens Hotel. The panorama is of the pre-1914 period. jgc_03_205
2020: Queens Hotel is not much changed externally. Behind the lamp post are more surviving buildings but the pre-1914 buildings further west have now been replaced by Jurys Inn Brighton Waterfront. (Photographer: David Sears)