Lewes Road (2)

James Gray: The horses and carts of Harris & Co, Mineral water manufacturers. In the photograph above the cart is outside their premises at 84/85 Lewes Road, a few doors north of the Congregational Church. Note the railway arch and the trees, which were removed soon after the introduction of the trams. Compare the height of these trees with those seen in the 1870s photographs. jgc_28_022

2018: James Gray’s image was taken from the west side of Lewes Road, looking towards the railway arch on the east side. In the 2018 photo, the arch is long gone and the uniformity of the houses on the east side has been replaced by an assortment of retail establishments. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)

James Gray: Above is a photograph taken from the viaduct on 26 June 1971, looking down on the Lewes Road, and giving an unusual view of the backs of houses in Upper Lewes Road and Inverness Road. jgc_28_035

2018: The viaduct from which this picture was taken was demolished in 1976. A Google view image gives some idea of what the scene looks like today. The façade is all that remains of the Lewes Road Congregational Church, built in 1878-79 and designed by A Harford in an Italianate Gothic style. The site was converted into studio flats and has been managed as Stanley Court by the YMCA since 1997, with 31 places for homeless people. (Photographer: Google)

James Gray: See caption to jgc_28_050 above. jgc_28_051

2018: See caption to jgc_28_050 above. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)

James Gray: These are probably the earliest photographs of Lewes Road in existence.  This photograph is of a few years earlier, probably 1865, and is a copy of the original by Edward Fox. The few houses seen were built in the 1850s. Powers to construct the railway from Brighton Central to Kemp Town were obtained on May 13, 1864, and the first sod was turned by the Mayor, Alderman Martin, on February 17, 1866. The building seen on the extreme left (north of Melbourne Street) was removed so that the eastern pier of the central arch seen above could be built on the exact spot. Hence we can date this photograph.

James Gray: Rooke’s premises at 97 Lewes Road, on the west side. Period unknown. The monumental works were established here about 1854, in what was then called Cemetery Terrace, and remained until 1939. jgc_28_014

2018: This business and the address no longer exist. J Rooke & Sons are shown in Pikes & Kelly’s directories until 1931 but then a map from 1935 shows the address as then being part of a garage. Since the early 1980s this whole area has been subsumed into the Vogue Gyratory scheme and the site is now a BP filling station. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)

James Gray: For comparison, the same area in 1966, but looking in the opposite direction from south east to north west.  The Allen Arms Inn is just off the photograph to the right. The oft-renamed cinema, finally the Vogue and the Classic, is seen in the background. After being used for films and Bingo it closed in 1980, being removed in 1983. jgc_28_061

2018: The area around the junction of Lewes and Upper Lewes Roads where the original photo was taken was cleared in favour of the Vogue Gyratory system and a Sainsbury’s supermarket.

James Gray: The Allen Arms, as it was before being reconstructed in the following year. It was built in 1847, somewhat in advance of the other buildings in the Lewes Road. The reasons for its name are obscure though there were a few houses known as Allen Terrace in neighbouring Hollingdean Road, so possibly someone of this name owned the land in this area. Above the bars was a long narrow room, ambitiously known as the Assembly Room, in which I often attended cheap dances in 1924. jgc_28_019

James Gray: The Allen Arms in 1931, after reconstruction and before the Gaiety Cinema was built on the adjoining site. jgc_28_021

2018: Vogue Studios, the student accommodation block in the centre of the Vogue Gyratory, replaced The White Crow (the final name of the Allen Arms) in 2017. See jgc_28_019 above for an image of the pub awaiting demolition and for the various names by which the Allen Arms was known. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)

James Gray: This building is little changed though it is now a motor showroom, first opened in 1927. That shown on the opposite corner was demolished just a year or two ago and a new building has replaced it. jgc_28_030

2018: The buildings in these photographs are located on the corner of Lewes Road and the south side of Gladstone Place. Kelly’s Directory for 1973 shows the building trading as Tyre Auto Services Ltd, which by the 1980s had been taken over by Kwik Fit services. The ornate pillars visible either side of the arched windows on the original photograph are still retained on the current structure. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)

James Gray: The offices and works of Arthur H Cox and Co Ltd at 93 Lewes Road. Period between 1911 and 1914, soon after they first occupied these premises. This building was erected in the 1860s as a Laundry and continued to be used as such until taken over by Cox’s about 1911.  jgc_28_058

2018: Cox’s closed in June 1979 and the building demolished in 1983 in preparation for the building of the Vogue Gyratory. The Lewes Road Sainsbury’s stands approximately on the site today. The clock visible in the original photo was saved and incorporated into the the new building. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)

James Gray: A later view, probably of the 1930s, showing the open area between the Works and the Lewes Road Viaduct. Note the covered stairway, which led to Lewes Road Station on the Kemp Town branch railway. Passenger services ceased running on this line on 31 December 1932. jgc_28_059

2018: Everything in this scene had gone by the late 1970s/early 1980s. The area in the photo now lies somewhere in the area now occupied by Sainsbury’s car park. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)

James Gray: The peaceful scene at the junction of Lewes Road, Bear Road and Hollingdean Road in the early 1930s. Was there really so little traffic in our main roads sixty years ago? Otherwise there is not much to comment about except that there is no sign of the Gaiety Cinema, built in 1936 on the corner adjoining the Allen Arms Inn. Additional Information: Now the site of the infamous Vogue Gyratory System. jgc_28_060 

2018: With the exception of the building on the far left of the picture (now an undertaker’s) every building and structure in the original image has gone.

James Gray: These three photographs [jgc_28_062, 063 and 064] were taken on 28 October 1979, when the scheme for the construction of the new traffic layout at this busy junction had been announced but not started. Such is the delay in getting things commenced nowadays, that it was not until well into 1983, nearly three years later, that demolitions began. First to go were the remains of the Viaduct and the Cox’s offices and works. Then the Vogue Cinema went along with a few of the lower houses in Hollingdean Road. It now remains to be seen whether the impending redevelopment is worth all this upheaval and destruction. jgc_28_062

James Gray: See caption for jgc_28_062. jgc_28_063

2018: The cinema started life as the Gaiety in 1937, became the Ace in 1965, the Vogue in 1971 and finally the Classic in 1979 not long before closure. It was demolished in 1983 to make way for the Vogue Gyratory, named after the cinema. On the left of the 2018 photo are the Vogue Studios, a student accommodation block opened in 2017. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)

James Gray: See caption to jgc_28_062 above. jgc_28_064

2018: The northern edge of Cox’s Pill Factory is visible to the left of the James Gray image. It closed in June 1979 and the building and the remains of the Kemp Town railway viaduct were demolished in 1983 in preparation for the building of the Vogue Gyratory. The Lewes Road Sainsbury’s stands on the site today. On the right of both photos can be seen the same white three-storey building. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)

James Gray: Looking north, from just below Pevensey Road, on 12 April 1954. This gives a good clear view of the Kemp Town Railway Viaduct. At the time of this photograph just one coal train crossed the viaduct daily. The final train ran on 26 June 1971, and the viaduct was demolished during 1976. It thus had a life of 107 years. jgc_28_034

James Gray: Dominated by the viaduct of the Kemp Town Railway, this photograph was taken on 21 October 1973. Melbourne Street was crossed by two bridges, the street being older than the railway. With the decision to clear the viaduct, the more easterly brick arch was speedily removed. The steel girder, topped by wood, which incidentally was the final stage of the viaduct, when built in 1869, was still standing. jgc_26_037

James Gray: Soldiers returning to Preston Barracks after Church Parade at the Garrison Church of St Martin’s. Period 1903-1910. On the right are the forecourts of houses, 88/92 Lewes Road. jgc_28_012