James Gray: Looking across an almost rural Millers Road to the railway, and Preston Village beyond. The period is about 1906. In the centre distance, the long white road devoid of houses is the present Cornwall gardens. At the extreme right is Preston Drove, with just a glimpse of the cricket ground in Preston Park. jgc_26_069
2018: The one house and three cottages hidden behind the wall are no longer isolated but are numbered 37 to 45 (odds). On the opposite side of the road, where vegetables were growing in 1906, there is now a wooded area at the bottom of the gardens of houses in Inwood Crescent. This is why the two views do not correspond exactly. In the distance, above the roofs of the three cottages, Varndean College can be seen, together with the surrounding residential area. (Photographer: Jane Southern)
James Gray: Behind the houses, the railway line and the Pullman Camping Coach, near the Pullman Car Shed. Beyond the backs of the houses in Millers Road. Year of the photograph unknown. jgc_18_119
2019: This 2019 image was taken across the tracks from the top of Preston Rock Garden (or The Rockery) in Preston Road. It is no longer possible to get a closer image because of the high wire fence Network Rail has put at the top of the park. The train is on a nearer section of track than the train in the original image. The houses in Millers Road can be seen in the background but the Pullman sheds were demolished in 2008-2009. (Photographer: Jane Southern)
James Gray: The view in the opposite direction. In the foreground can be seen the almost rural Millers Road, so called after Trusler’s Mill which formerly stood near the Dyke Road. Across the valley the new road devoid of houses is the present Cornwall Gardens. jgc_18_202
James Gray: Photographs of the Baker’s shop at the corner of these roads. Above, in 1907, the Compton Steam Bread Co. It is still a baker’s shop today, in 1968. jgc_26_067
2018: Today 2 Compton Road is a house, not a shop and there is an extension to the side. The original garden wall has been rendered, the buttresses have lost their tops and the metal railings have been replaced by wooden fencing. The chimney pots have been removed to allow for the loft extension next door. (Photographer: Jane Southern)
James Gray: Perry Brothers, bakers and post office. It is still a baker’s shop today, in 1968. jgc_026_068
2018: The windows of the lower ground floor on the Millers Road side which were once hidden behind hedging can now be seen. See also image jgc_026_067. (Photographer: Jane Southern)