Pavilion Parade

James Gray: 1 and 2 Pavilion Parade, in 1927, during which year they were demolished as the first stage towards widening Edward Street, and rounding off the corner. The building to the left is the side wall of 83 Grand Parade. jgc_24_001

2019: Edward Street has been widened. Nos 1 and 2 Pavilion Parade faced south and their facades would have been approximately in line with the pedestrian refuge in the middle of the street. All the original buildings were removed to make way for the rounded corner on the left-hand side of Edward Street. Royal View flats on the left of the image are numbered 80 Grand Parade and curve into Edward Street. (Photographer: Ruthie Martin)

James Gray: Pavilion Parade and the bottom of Edward Street, in 1907. The photograph gives a good view of the very narrow Edward Street of this period. jgc_24_002

2019: Edward Street has been widened and there is now a busy pedestrian crossing just before the traffic coming down the street turns out into Pavilion Parade. Old buildings, including 1 and 2 Pavilion Parade, were demolished to make way for the increased width of the road on the left-hand side, while those on the right [3 and 4 Pavilion Parade] remain intact. (Photographer: Ruthie Martin)

James Gray: 12, 13 and 14 Pavilion Parade, in 1933, shortly before their demolition. 1 and 2, Old Steine, which adjoined these houses to the South had been removed in 1929, and after the clearance of these three houses, the roadway was widened by several feet. Pavilion Parade was built about 1800, and, of course, derived its name from the Royal Pavilion which it faces. jgc_24_003

James Gray: The first trolley bus making an experimental run in April 1939, shortly before the inauguration of the regular service. jgc_28_085

2018: The trolley bus system became operational in May 1939 and was in service until Friday, 30 June 1961. An image of the same vehicle, FUF 1, leaving the Lewes Road depot to make the last run at 11.30 pm on that day can be viewed on the Lewes Road (4) page at jgc_28_086.  This recent bus was photographed in roughly the same position as the trolley bus in the 1939 image. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)

James Gray: Despite the 1930 postmark, the period is earlier as it shows 1&2 Pavilion Parade, removed in 1927. Also the traffic is going in both directions and one-way traffic was introduced in 1926. jgc_30_002

2020: The low pierced wall round the Royal Pavilion grounds seen in both these images was built in the early 1920s when the gardens were redesigned and the road on the Steine was widened. Access problems meant the 2020 image had to be taken from a different angle. The pond is still covered with lilies. Nos 1 and 2 Pavilion Parade were demolished to allow Edward Street to be widened.  (Photographer: Jane Southern) 

James Gray: Another view [see also jgc_30_025 on the Old Steine (6) page and jgc_30_026 on this page]. jgc_30_027

2020: There are now flagstaffs by the war memorial seen in the background of the James Gray image. To the right of the contemporary image, in a section of Old Steine Gardens, there is a Grade II listed former tram shelter designed by David Edwards. It was built in 1926 and became a café in the late 20th century. (Photographer: Jane Southern)

James Gray: Two photographs from the window of 6, Pavilion Parade, in 1924 [see also jgc_30_031 on the Royal Pavilion (1) page]. The tramcar seen is car No. 54, working on the Elm Grove route. Note how extremely narrow the roadway then was just opposite Edward Street, where the first widening took place in 1928.  jgc_30_030

2020: The 2020 image was taken from outside 6 Pavilion Parade. Queen Victoria’s statue is visible in both photos but little can be seen through the trees in 2020.  (Photographer: Jane Southern)

James Gray: Not by any means a regal procession! With an escort of only a few workmen, the statue passes along Pavilion Parade, the façades of which are little altered from the time when George IV looked at them from the windows of the Royal Pavilion. This photograph gives a good view of the substantial corner house, 1 Old Steine. jgc_30_026

2020: Numbers 1 and 2 Old Steine were demolished in 1929, followed by 12, 13 and 14 Pavilion Parade (between Princes Street and Old Steine) in 1933. The 2020 image shows the Glass Pavilion which has been built on this site, stretching along Pavilion Street to Princes Street and with the address 2 Princes Street. The first apartment in this mostly residential block was sold in 2006. There is also a doctors’ surgery in the Glass Pavilion, with the address 2-3 Old Steine. Numbers 3 and 4 Old Steine are extant and Grade II listed.  (Photographer: Jane Southern)

James Gray: An unusual view from the Pavilion Grounds 26 April 1930. This site at the foot of Edward Street had been empty since 1927 when 6 houses in Grand Parade and 1 and 2, Pavilion Parade were demolished. jgc_30_159

2022: Because of the extra trees and bushes, it has been impossible to reproduce the 1930 photograph without moving outside the perimeter of the Pavilion grounds. The site on the corner of Grand Parade and Edward Street is now the Royal View apartment block (80 Grand Parade), built in 2000 and seen more clearly, along with its predecessor building, in jgc_24_006. On the far left of the photo, behind the traffic lights, one can glimpse the 19th century buildings in Grand Parade (Nos 74-77) seen on the left of the 1930 image. On the opposite side of Edward Street, a row of early 19th century buildings, Nos 3-11 Pavilion Parade, have survived and are all Grade II listed. The corner property with its distinctive painted cobble front is now the home of Fitzhugh Gates Solicitors. (Photographer: Lyn Turpin)