Kingsway (1)

James Gray: Kingsway and Brunswick lawns from the seafront looking east. jgc_12_013

2018: Brunswick Lawns, which stretch from the Brighton boundary (marked by the Peace Statue, just visible in the distance) to St John’s Road, have been an open stretch of grass protected from any building development since 1830. In the background, the buildings of Brunswick Terrace are little changed but a new landmark is the 162 metre tall British Airways i-360 observation tower which opened in 2016.

James Gray: Kingsway and Brunswick lawns from the seafront looking west. jgc_12_014

2018: The 1925-1930 picture shows The Lawns Hotel which occupied Nos 3-4 Adelaide Mansions, with Nos 1-7 Queen’s Gardens seen beyond. The 2018 image shows the 1960s block of flats called Kingsway Court which has replaced Nos 1-7 Queen’s Gardens and now dominates the view.

James Gray: Kingsway and Brunswick lawns from the seafront looking west. jgc_12_015

2018: As in the previous image, jgc_12_014, the scene is dominated by the 1960s block of Kingsway Court.

James Gray: These three photographs (3 of 3) covering an area from Adelaide Crescent to Fourth Avenue are all pre-1914. At that period these fine mansions were nearly all occupied by single families of great wealth, who had exclusive use of the private lawns of the West Brighton Estate Company, which faced the houses. The ornamental gas lamps on the dividing wall were removed in 1921. jgc_12_019

James Gray: The dates of these two photographs are uncertain. This view was probably taken during 1890s, because there is no sign of the Queen Victoria statue in Grand Avenue which dates from 1901. jgc_12_020

James Gray: The large mansion, on the last corner, 7 Queens Gardens, was then owned by the Sassoon family, and King Edward VII was a frequent visitor here. jgc_12_022

2018: The James Gray image, looking north up Second Avenue, shows No 7 Queen’s Gardens on the right. There is no longer any trace of 7 Queen’s Gardens, demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Kingsway Court flats seen more fully in jgc_12_026.  The eastern corner of King’s House is on the left in both images, its facade remarkably intact in 2018, despite a variety of internal uses over the years when the building served as a hotel and as offices. (Photographer: David Sears)

James Gray: A panoramic view of the private gardens of the West Brighton Estate Company, opposite Second Avenue about 1910. jgc_12_023

2018: The 1910 panoramic shot shows on the left (west), King’s House and in the centre, on the eastern side of Second Avenue, the terrace of tall houses making up Queen’s Gardens. In the 1960s the terrace between First and Second Avenues was demolished to make way for the 110 flats of Kingsway Court in Queen’s Gardens.  To the right (east) of the 2018 photo is the unchanged block of Adelaide Mansions between First Avenue and St John’s Road.

James Gray: This was originally seven imposing separate mansions built in 1873. It was then numbered 1-7 Queens Gardens and no.7, on the extreme left, was for more than 40 years occupied by the wealthy Sassoon family. Some idea of the vast size of this mansion can be gained from the fact that later it was converted into 12 self-contained flats.

James Gray: Although this photograph dates from 1936 the view of the lawns would not differ much from that seen by the people watching the procession (previous photograph) in 1899. The Lawns, owned by the West Brighton Estate Company, remained private until 1946 when they were bought by Hove Corporation and made available for the inhabitants at large. jgc_12_029

James Gray: A photograph of the 1914-1918 War. A charabanc load of convalescent Indian soldiers by the Queen Victoria statue in Grand Avenue. Probably they had come from their Hospital quarters in the Royal Pavilion. The bowler hatted civilian at the front was Mr. J. Hutchinson, Traffic Manager of Thomas Tilling Ltd. who then operated motor buses in Brighton and Hove. jgc_13_045

James Gray: Crowds on Hove Lawns. jgc_11_159

2018: The most obvious difference between these two views is the replacement of the grand 19th century villa Western House by Embassy Court, the stark, white Grade II* listed Modernist apartment building by the architect Wells Coates.  The British Airways i360 is a new landmark. The Mercure Hotel (formerly Norfolk Hotel and Ramada Jarvis Hotel) and the Sussex Heights flats can also be seen, as can the seafront cycle lane running between the lawns and the pavement. (Photographer: Alison Minns)

James Gray: The reverse view in 1904 [see also jgc_11_162 on the King’s Road (1) page] with the boundary posts still in position but the toll house gone. jgc_11_163

2020: Western House on the left of the James Gray image has been replaced by Embassy Court which dominates the 2020 photograph.

James Gray: The buildings have changed little since these photographs were taken [see also jgc_11_194 on the Kingsway (1B) page] apart from the First Avenue Hotel demolished by a bomb in the 1939-45 war. The cars and the ladies’ fashions show the greatest changes – oh, those cloche hats and short skirts! jgc_11_192

James Gray: [View from the West Pier.] It is interesting to see the newly–built sea front block between First and Second Avenues but nothing between there and Cliftonville. jgc_01_150