Historic and Contemporary Images of Brighton and Hove
Based on the Regency Society James Gray Collection
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RICHMOND PLACE

Richmond Place

Neighbourhood:
Valley Gardens
1956
2018

James Gray: The houses 13/14/15, boarded up and awaiting demolition November 21 1956. They stood like this for a year or two and were then replaced by the present office building. jgc_20_002

2018: The office building, seen here and on the left of jgc_20_004, still stands but is now a residential block of flats. (Photographer: Max Page)

1987
2018

James Gray: The northern block of buildings 1-7 photographed early in 1987. 1 and 2 are off the photograph to the left but were similar to 3. The passage leads to the five cottages of Richmond Gardens, which it is devoutly hoped will be spared the indignity of demolition and redevelopment. The three central houses were for some years used as a Catholic Students’ Hostel. It was demolished in early 1989. jgc_20_003

2018: 4-6 Richmond Place has been replaced by a block of flats (Blake Court), as shown in the present-day photograph. 1-3 and 7 Richmond Place remain unaltered. Down the twitten between 3 and 4-6, the cobbled-fronted cottages of Richmond Gardens have survived ‘the indignity of demolition and redevelopment’ feared by James Gray. (Photographer: Max Page)

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1967
2018

James Gray: Further south, numbers 14-18, seen on 12 February 1967. Noting the For Sale board, I assumed that this fine building was fated with demolition so I had this photograph taken. At least we would then have a record of what had been there. Certain alterations have been made, but much remains. jgc_20_004

2018: Gray’s fears were realised. 16-18 Richmond Place was demolished and rebuilt in a similar style in the 1980s, with an additional floor set into the mansard roof. It was designed by Philip Andrews, completed in 1986 and jointly won the council’s 1987 design award. From 1988 it has been the home of the University of Brighton’s humanities, art and design library, known as St Peter’s House Library. (Photographer: Max Page)

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1912
2018

James Gray: By Brighton standards a fairly old street. It was built between 1800 and 1820, the Richmond Arms dating from 1807. A photograph of 1912, showing St Peter’s Church enclosed in railings, which were removed in 1921.  jgc_20_001

2018: Both the 1912 and 2018 photographs show almost the entire length of Richmond Place although both fail to capture the Richmond Arms (later The Richmond) on the southern corner. The row of trees on the east side has disappeared and several of the houses have been rebuilt but most still have some space in front of the building with a low wall separating it from the pavement.  (Photographer: Max Page)

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pre 1914
2018
c 1900
c 1870
1880s

James Gray: The view at the Fountain and St Peter’s Church was probably taken before the 1914-18 War. jgc_10_058

2018: Looking north at the junction of Richmond & York Place. St Peter’s Church is unrecognisable surrounded by cladding and scaffolding whilst it undergoes a heritage restoration programme. Hopefully, the drinking fountain, now in a state of disrepair, will also be included. The road taken by the tram between the fountain and church is now a garden pathway used as a shortcut between the roads. (Photographer: Jane Jordan)

1929
2018

James Gray: The Richmond Hotel in 1929. Situated at the corner of Richmond Place and Richmond Street, it was opened in 1807 as the Richmond Arms, by Mr Fairs who transferred to it the licence from the Spotted Dog, which then existed at 35 Middle Street. The old hotel was demolished and rebuilt in 1931, opportunity being taken to round off the corner and set back the frontage to Richmond Street. jgc_27_102

2018: There has been a hotel or inn located on this corner of Richmond Place and Richmond Parade ((previously Richmond Street) since at least 1839 and it has been substantially rebuilt several times since. The current building, designed by local architect John Leopold Denman, dates from 1931 and is a locally listed heritage asset. Brightonians of a certain age will remember some of the rock and punk concerts held in the upstairs room in the 1960s to 1980s. In the 1990s the venue became ‘The Pressure Point’ and then briefly became a backpacker’s hostel. It re-opened as a bar and music venue and became The Richmond again in 2017. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)

Historic and Contemporary Images of Brighton and Hove
This website has been prepared by the Regency Society of Brighton and Hove. All historic maps are provided with kind permission of the National Library of Scotland (https://www.nls.uk/) regencysociety.org

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