Historic and Contemporary Images of Brighton and Hove
Based on the Regency Society James Gray Collection
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RUSSELL SQUARE DEMOLITIONS

Russell Square

Neighbourhood:
Regency
1964
2018

James Gray: Part of this old square being included in the West Street area redevelopment, demolition began early in 1964. The first to go was No.8 (seen in these photographs of 9 February 1964) and before long the adjoining houses, 4 to 10 inclusive, had been removed. jgc_29_216

2018: The cream-painted Churchill Square building on the left of the picture stands on the former site of Nos 1-10 Russell Square. A close up of No 4 Russell Square is shown in jgc_29_218.  (Photographer: Suzanne Hinton)

1964

James Gray: A view into the gardens. jgc_29_217

2018: The 1964 image was taken shortly after the demolition of No 8 Russell Square and shows the view through the gap it left. Beyond the back garden of No 8 can be seen the backs of Nos 48-55 Clarence Square, as shown on the map. In 2018 all the buildings of Nos 1-12 Russell Square and Nos 48-55 Clarence Square have been demolished and the land they stood on has been absorbed into the development of the Churchill Square shopping centre. (Photographer: Suzanne Hinton)

1964
2018

James Gray: Another view of the square. jgc_29_218

2018: The bakers and confectioners shop on the far right of the 1964 image is No 4 Russell Square, on the north-east corner of the square and Clarence Street. The building and its neighbours, Nos 5-10, were demolished in 1965. No 11 now occupies the north-east corner of Russell Square, bordering on Cannon Place. It can be seen in the centre of the 2018 picture. The exact spot where No 4 stood is under the goods lorry exit from Grenville Street on the extreme lower right-hand side of the 2018 image.

The houses just seen on the lower left of the 1965 image were The Cannon Inn at 1 Russell Square, Nos 2-3 Russell Square and on the corner, No 26 Cannon Place. They have now completely disappeared beneath a bin store and a small car park at the foot of Chartwell Court, a block of flats rising from Churchill Square. In the far distance of the 1965 image is the façade of Moore’s Garage. The garage has been demolished and on its site are gates to Russell House, a gated housing development, now dominating the skyline in the distance. The arched window beyond the gates is part of Russell House.  (Photographer: Suzanne Hinton)
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1985
2018

James Gray: Two photographs [(jgc_29_048 and 049] of 19 May 1985. The purpose of this photograph is to show the entrance to Moore’s garage and workshop premises. Built in 1923 it was a large site which extended back into the extensive area of Regency Mews. Before this building was erected, Nye & Co., Job Masters occupied the site, with a forge in nearby Castle Street. jgc_29_048

2018: This looks west along the north side of Russell Square.  The little white outhouse formerly attached to No 28 Russell Square on the left (south) has been demolished.

Moore’s garage had an office building at its entrance which has been replaced by gates leading to Russell Mews, a gated courtyard housing development combining townhouses built in 1989 and Russell House, an apartment block of 53 flats, completed in 2017. For a very distant view of the Moore’s offices from the west, see jgc_29_144. (Photographer: Suzanne Hinton)
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1914-20
1914-20
Unknown
2018

James Gray: Two photographs [jgc_29_059 and 060] of the period 1914-1920. Apart from the removal of the railings and the substitution of parking meters, it is little changed 50 years afterwards. jgc_29_059 and jgc_29_060

James Gray: Three photographs (jgc_29_219, 220 and 221) of the Square taken at different unknown times since the War. They all look to the west and two of them show the narrow twitten giving access to Regency Square. One of Brighton’s oldest squares, built about 1825, it has mercifully avoided external change and probably looks little different from when first built. Long may it remain so! jgc_29_221

2018: The first floor windows of the house on the corner of Russell Square and Cannon Place have been unblocked and glazed. The buildings along the south side have all now been rendered above balcony level, thus masking the original fine yellow brick. The railings, which were removed in WW2, have been replaced. (Photographer: Suzanne Hinton)

Unknown
2019

James Gray: See caption for jgc_29_221 above.  jgc_29_220

2019: The same tree seems to have survived in the north (right-hand) part of the garden. Most of the houses have been stuccoed above balcony level, with the laudable exception of No 38.

The shop on the ground floor of No 35 (the slightly taller terrace building) survived until the mid-1970s. It has recently been converted into a studio flat. The elephant-in-the-square is Sussex Heights which rises up immediately south of the square.  (Photographer: Suzanne Hinton)
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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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