This page contains information about historic streets which were nearby before this area was redeveloped. To read about historic streets in this area included in the James Gray Collection see Upper Bedford Street area.
James Gray: Two photographs [jgc_22_017 and 018] of St Mary’s Church School, situated at the top of Mount Street. Opened in January 1873, as Julius Elliott Memorial Schools in memory of the young church minister, who was tragically killed in Switzerland at the age of only 28, the school, although tiny and cramped, lived through to see its century. The photographs were taken on 22 October 1972, and the buildings were demolished some years later for the upper St James’s Street housing redevelopment. It is hard today to find the exact location as the area is a mass of newly built houses and flats. jgc_22_017
James Gray: This term [Hereford Street area] is somewhat loosely applied to that dense area in Eastern Brighton bounded by Eastern Road, Lavender Street, Upper St James’s Street, Bristol Road and Montague Place. In this confined space were built during the 1830s no less than 14 streets or passages, running east and west of Upper Bedford Street. Lavender Street, incidentally, took its name from double hedges of lavender, which grew on each side of the road in its early days. The first clearance in this area took place in 1925 when Paradise Street and Manchester Row were completely swept away and the worst of the houses in Hereford Street were demolished and replaced by council houses.
Essex Place and Essex Cottages were the next to go, in 1929. Crescent Cottages were dealt with in 1934 and partially rebuilt with new council houses. In the following year Laurel Row was entirely demolished and no trace of this narrow passage now remains. Finally most of Bedford Buildings went in 1937 though a few houses survived the war and stood until 1954. If the Corporation’s plans are carried out, several of the remaining streets, such as Essex Street and Somerset Street, will be demolished so that the area can be redeveloped as a single unit. Laurel Row – This unlovely passage between Lavender Street and Upper Bedford Street gave access to no fewer than 40 houses, in various stages of decay. Victorian builders certainly had no inhibitions about the density of their houses. Removed under the terms of a slum clearance scheme in 1935. jgc_22_147
James Gray: Every large town has its Paradise Street, and Brighton was no exception. This street was immediately south of Eastern Road and ran from Lavender Street to Upper Bedford Street. At its eastern end it was but 15′ wide but it was a little wider at the Lavender Street end where the better houses were to be found, which can be seen in this photograph. jgc_22_151
James Gray: The last glimpse of Paradise Street. looking across Lavender Street to the blocked off entrance with the old malt house building to the right. Photographed in February 1967, the whole area was cleared a few months later, leaving a large empty site. jgc_22_155
James Gray: Every large town has its Paradise Street, and Brighton was no exception. The street was condemned in 1914, when these photographs were taken, but the war prevented destruction of the houses, many of which were still occupied in 1924. In the following year, however, the whole street was cleared, as well as the north side of Hereford Street. The back gardens of the rebuilt Hereford Street now cover the site. jgc_22_152
James Gray: View eastwards from about the middle of this street [Paradise Street], in 1912. Here it narrowed to a mere 14 feet and remained this width until Upper Bedford Street. On the left, the tiny house No 11. Opposite was a range of slaughter houses, numbered 26 to 33 but then disused. The feelings of the occupants of the houses, 34, extreme right, when the slaughter house was in use can best be imagined! jgc_22_153
James Gray: Old houses on the east side of Lavender Street in 1937, giving a view also of the boarded-up entrance to Laurel Row. The building on the extreme left was the Anchor Public House. Most of these buildings have now been demolished and a motor garage erected on the site. jgc_22_165
James Gray: The southern end of Lavender Street, early in 1960. Compare this with the smaller photograph [jgc_22_165] on the previous page. The entrance to Laurel Row has gone, and with it the old shops on either side. jgc_22_166
2018: This corner of Lavender Street and Upper St James’s Street is now the site of Hampshire Court, a low rise residential block. (Photographer: David Jackson)
James Gray: The view from the east towards Lavender Street. jgc_22_175
2018: Essex Place – all its buildings and even its name – has gone. It is now the site of a narrow alleyway that separates the backyards of Essex Street and Hereford Street. In the background of the November 2018 photograph, Wiltshire House and the Lavender Street Housing Office are just visible. (Photographer: David Jackson)
James Gray: The reverse view from Lavender Street. All three photographs (includes jgc_22_174, on the Esssex Street page) were taken in 1914. jgc_22_176
James Gray: In this photograph can be seen five Council houses, lying back between Hereford Street and Essex Street on 12 February 1967. Lavender Street had been widened here in 1928 and ancient cottages removed. These Council houses had a very brief life however. 40 and 41 (behind the lorry) were built in 1929 and 42, 43 and 44, by Essex Street, in 1933. All were swept away in 1967 during the stopping-up of Lavender Street. jgc_22_185
James Gray: Another old Victorian street in east Brighton which has been transformed in recent years. Houses on the south side of Essex Street, adjoining Lavender Street, photographed on 12 February 1967. No trace of these old buildings now remains as they were removed in 1968. jgc_22_181
2019: All these Victorian buildings were demolished in 1968.