James Gray: An aerial photograph taken in the early 1920s. It seems evident from the layout of the gardens in Grand Avenue that the original intention was to have an inner road on the west side corresponding with that on the east. With one exception (Downbarton, built in 1914), the west side was not developed until after the 1914-1918 War. By then the idea of having a comparable inner road had been abandoned in favour of houses with large individual front gardens. jgc_12_001
James Gray: This is the only photograph I have ever seen which shows this elegant terrace of Georgian houses, built in 1822 and removed for some inexplicable reason, in 1899. On adjoining pages [below] are several photographs of the cleared site, which lay empty for twenty years prior to the building of the house, Flag Court. The long gardens are those of the houses of Courtney Terrace and it can be seen how much of these had to be acquired before the continous sea-front we now enjoy could be constructed. The year of this photograph is not known but it must date from 1899, or earlier. jgc_12_030
James Gray: After I had typed the caption about this terrace on the previous page [above], I was given this fine photograph of the same area, which again shows Mills Terrace. If anything I think this one is slightly earlier than the other because the distant West Pier seems to be in its original state, without landings and central bandstand, while the Brunswick sea-wall cannot be discerned though distance may have masked this. Period, probably the mid-1880s. Additional information: Copyright Philippe Garner. jgc_12_032.
James Gray: One of the most favoured subjects for Edwardian photographers, this view of the Kingsway and the private lawns of the West Brighton Estate Company. Probably on account of the very rich people who lived in these large mansions. Note the debris left from the demolition of Mills Terrace in 1899. jgc_12_033
James Gray: Birds eye view of the sea front. Additional information: View over site of Mills Terrace, foreground. jgc_12_034
2018: See jgc_12_033. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: As mentioned on the previous page, this site was empty for many years after 1899. In this photograph, dating from about 1912, can be seen a board advertising the land for disposal. Hove Corporation acquired part of this plot in order that the promenade could be straightened out prior to the building of the sea wall. jgc_12_036
2018: The private gardens of the West Brighton Estate Company, seen in the foreground of the James Gray image, were taken over by the council and opened for public use in 1948. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: After the erection of Flag Court in 1918 and the later construction of the sea wall, the remaining ground was tided but still remained vacant. For a time in 1930-1931, when this photograph was taken, it was used for “midget golf”. Goodness knows what the Victorian occupants of Kings gardens would have thought had they beheld this desecration! jgc_12_037
2018: The same area in 2018 shows Courtenay Gate to the left, King’s Gardens to the right and looks north up Fourth Avenue. The first-floor balconies of King’s Gardens have been glazed in and the miniature golf replaced by conventional gardens, otherwise little has changed. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: Finally in 1934, this large and valuable plot, having been virtually idle for 35 years, was sold for building and in the following year the Courtney Gate block of flats was erected. This photograph of 1935 was taken from the private gardens of the West Brighton Estate Company. jgc_12_038
James Gray: The area on Hove seafront, between Medina Terrace in the west and the foot of Fourth Avenue in the east, being completely unprotected from incursions by the sea, frequently suffered severe damage in rough weather. In 1924 it was decided to build the present massive sea wall. Operations were often interrupted by storms and very rough seas, as witness these two photographs (see next image) following the storm of 28 October 1924. The iron shuttering, 17 feet in the ground, was bent over as if it were a piece of tin. There was more similar damage in another storm on 27 December of the same year. The work took 12 months to complete, much longer than had been anticipated. jgc_12_045
James Gray: See text for image jgc_12_045 above. jgc_12_046
2018: The James Gray image is marked ‘Kirk and Randall Ltd, sea wall Hove storm 28.10.24’. Kirk and Randall was a construction company – perhaps the two men in the foreground were involved in the project. The 2018 image shows the improvements on a sunny evening in June. The sea wall and promenade now extend all the way along the front. The weather can still produce wild seas, but these do little more than scatter pebbles from the beach over the tarmac.
James Gray: A good example of how slowly things sometimes move, even in the 20th century. Soon after Courtney Gate was projected in 1934, the owner of Flag Court decided to sell and it was proposed to build a hotel on the site. Note the advertisement on the hoarding. These two photographs [jgc_12_048-049] date from 1935. This proposition fell through but Flag Court was demolished some two years later. jgc_12_048
James Gray: A good example of how slowly things sometimes move, even in the 20th century. Soon after Courtney Gate was projected in 1934, the owner of Flag Court decided to sell and it was proposed to build a hotel on the site. Note the advertisement on the hoarding. These two photographs date from 1935. This proposition fell through but Flag Court was demolished some two years later. jgc_12_049.
James Gray: The 1939/1945 War then put a stop to any development and after the war, the site remained derelict. Many proposals were put forward but it was not until 1959 that the decision was made to build flats here. The site had therefore been empty for 22 years and it is strange that the adjoining site to the east was also undeveloped for a long period earlier in the century. Date of photograph February, 1959. jgc_12_050
James Gray: Further west, opposite the Avenues and the private lawns of the West Brighton Estate Co., a year or two later, perhaps 1915. jgc_12_52
2018: The original image is now hard to replicate as the sea wall and promenade now stand at least 2m clear of the shingle beach which in turn shelves a further 2m or more before reaching the sea at low tide – the only time that sand becomes visible. The buildings in the background are largely unchanged, except for Kingsway Court replacing the old Kingsway Hotel in Queen’s Gardens. The square towers of King’s House, formerly the Prince’s Hotel, provide convenient markers on this stretch of the sea front. Courtenay Gate, built in 1934, now occupies the foreground. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: Flag Court and the gardens of Courtney Terrace, between 1919 and 1924. jgc_12_053
2018: Flag Court, the big half-timbered house shown to the left in the James Gray image, was built in 1919. In 1937 it was demolished and the replacement modern block of flats in the 2018 picture also named Flag Court, was not built until 1958. Beyond it, to the east, Courtenay Gate was built in 1934. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: Although described in old directories as Hoove Lea, Mills Terrace, this house was not part of the original terrace, being built some time later, in the 1860s. Early in the 1930s the property underwent extensive reconstruction and was converted into three separate houses, Little Courtenay, Courtenay Towers, and Courtenay Side. Photograph taken in 1903. jgc_12_054
James Gray: No comment. jgc_12_055
2018: This photograph shows the south side of Hoove Lea on Kingsway, with open gardens running all the way down to the sea. The gardens were significantly shortened to allow space for today’s wider promenade and a tall wall was built at the southern end to protect the privacy of the owners – hence no photograph of the gardens in 2018. It also blocks their once-enviable view of the sea.
James Gray: On the vacant ground in the immediate foreground formerly stood Mills Terrace, nine elegant houses the first to be built on the south side of the road. It is probable that if they had not been built when they were, in 1822, the south side would never have been used for building. The terrace was cleared in 1899 and then the site stood empty for many years, until in 1918 Flag court was erected immediately adjoining Hoove Lea. jgc_ 12_056
James Gray: On the vacant ground in the immediate foreground formerly stood Mills Terrace, nine elegant houses the first to be built on the south side of the road. It is probable that if they had not been built when they were, in 1822, the south side would never have been used for building. The terrace was cleared in 1899 and then the site stood empty for many years, until in 1918 Flag court was erected immediately adjoining Hoove Lea. jgc_12_057
James Gray: A much later photograph, of uncertain age. Judging by the dilapidated state of the sea front, the unkempt appearance of the then private lawns, and Courtney Gate flats seemingly empty, it was probably taken at the end of the 1939/1945 war. jgc_12_069
2018: The aerial photograph shows Hove seafront before the developments of the 1950s-1970s. Courtenay (as it is now spelled) Gate was built in 1934 but not fully occupied until after the war. Behind it, on . To the left (west) are Hoove Lea and Courtenay Terrace and the fine fronts of Medina Terrace. In the modern image, the most distinctive feature is the line of colourful beach huts on the promenade, backing onto the lawns which have been open to the public since 1948. (Photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: An indistinct photograph of the Victorian mansion, Hoove Lea. Period unknown, probably about 1914. jgc_12_075
2018: The current outline remains unchanged although the building has been divided into three (see jgc_12_054 above). Flag Court flats, directly to the east, was built in 1958 to fill a plot which had been empty since the previous mock-Tudor house built there in 1919 was removed and rebuilt in Henfield in 1937. (photographer: David Sears)
James Gray: Further east, St Catherine’s Terrace between Medina Villas and Albany Villas looking in both directions. These houses on either side of Albany Villas are the oldest ones in the Terrace and those seen in this photograph may well also have had short front gardens when they were just built in the early 1850s. If so, these doubtless went when the adjoining Willett built mansions were projected in the 1870s. jgc_12_129