James Gray: Houses at the foot of Hova Villas, said to be about 1902. Hova Villas is one of Hove’s streets which has hardly altered since it was built 130 years ago. jgc_13_143
2018: This image is wrongly labelled, in that the name ‘Osborne Villas’ (rather than ‘Hove Villas’) can be seen on the first house on the left. The date may also be a few years later than shown, as this end of the road was originally known as Osborne Street before being renumbered and renamed in 1903. Osborne Villas, named after Queen Victoria’s house on the Isle of Wight, was the first road to be completed in Lower Cliftonville in the early 1850s, with smaller plots than in adjacent Medina or Albany Villas. This may have been its saving grace however, as the road remains largely as built, with fine ‘Italianate’ terraces on both sides. Only the television aerials are new. (Photographer: David Sears)
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