James Gray: These two bungalows (see following) are not identified so far as their locations are concerned. At the left, a social gathering of dog lovers, probably in the mid or late 1920s. It looks as if the bungalow is fronting Warren Road but the angle is deceptive as one sees the rear roof of the Downs Hotel, which had been opened on 7 September 1925. jgc_33_049
2018: Given the position of the Downs Hotel in the background of the photograph, it can only be assumed that these bungalows were situated just off the Warren Road. The site is now occupied by a small garage. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: An unidentified bungalow, somewhere in Woodingdean, at about the same period. It would need a lot of patient research to find this today, if it is still there. One day, perhaps, I may have time to do this. jgc_33_050
2018: There are no named or numbered buildings mentioned in contemporary street directories but an anecdotal account suggests that there were some wooden bungalows near to the site of the garage on this stretch of Warren Road. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Two very early photographs of Woodingdean and the Downs Estate, both then described as ‘near Brighton’. I think these scenes were taken in the mid 1920s and the area was incorporated with Brighton on 1 April 1928. The view at the right shows a very rural Warren Road with a clutch of bungalows, shacks and outbuildings. Compare this with the 1930 photograph on a nearby page, as both show the same part of this now busy thoroughfare. jgc_33_055
James Gray: [See caption for jgc_33_055 above.] This is the second of the early photographs, looks from high ground across Downs Road (now Falmer Road) partly concealed by the drop in the ground, to the Ridgeway and Crescent Drive beyond. The photographs emphasise the loneliness and hardships experienced by the early settlers. Truly they had plenty of land and fresh air, but little else. jgc_33_056
2018: No comment. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Warren Road looking towards Warren Farm Schools in 1930. This shows the sporadic nature of the early development. Note the School cottage, a close up view of which is seen on another page. Crescent Drive North is clearly seen on the ridge to the right. jgc_33_060
2018: The Warren Farm Industrial School operated until the discontinuation of the workhouse system in the 1930s and then continued as a children’s home until the early 1950s.
James Gray: In 1925, Magnus Volk got the sanction of Brighton Council to run a regular service, during the holiday months, from Volk’s Railway Terminus at Black Rock up to the Downs at Woodingdean. The route was via Wilson Avenue, and along Warren Road to finish near to the Downs Hotel. There were two cars, which passed each other en route. The distance was about two miles and the single fare was 5d. The cars were registered CD 9455 and CD 9456. In this photograph the car is standing at the Downs terminus, the road (extreme right) being Falmer Road, then called Downs Road. Woodingdean was then remote from Brighton, with few attractions so the venture was not very successful, and the service ran only for a year or two. CD 9456 finished up as a snack bar outside Portslade Station. jgc_33_061
James Gray: At Christmas 1927, a freak snowstorm hit Brighton. In the town and at Rottingdean the snowfall was nothing out of the ordinary, just about 2 inches, but up on the heights of Woodingdean it was quite another matter as can be seen by these photographs. At this period there were but few houses on the Downs Estate and little to break the winds, which swept across it. A strong north-east wind drove the snow across the Downs and it piled up in a drift against the wall of Warren Farm Schools. jgc_33_062
James Gray: [See caption for jgc_33_062 above.] Before long Warren Road was completely blocked with snow which reached to the top of the wall. Falmer Road was also blocked, so with the only two roads into Woodingdean closed, the little community was cut off and remained so for 5 days. In this photograph can be seen Warren Road, near Warren Avenue looking towards the Downs Hotel, while the previous one shows the view in the opposite direction. jgc_33_063
2019: Even without the snow the scene is distinctly urban rather than rural nowadays. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: This and the next photograph [jgc_33_064 on the Warren Way page] show bleak scenes of the severe snowstorm at Christmas, 1927. Both are of Warren Road, and, of course, the Richmond Stores are still there, No. 114. jgc_33_065
2018: The Auction House now occupies the site of the former Richmond Stores. Famous at one time for its loquacious green parrot, the business traded until the late 1960s. NB Warren Way becomes Warren Road where it crosses Falmer Road. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: For comparison the third photograph has been included. The date of this is 11 December 1954, and it can be seen how comparatively little Warren Road had changed in 27 years. The intensive development of this part of Woodingdean started just a year or two later. jgc_33_066
2019: The building visible on the skyline in the original photograph appears to be Warren House. This substantial house with its attractive gardens existed for barely four decades before being demolished in the late 1960s to make way for what is now known as Warren Close. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Three more photographs [jgc_33_067, 068 and 069] of the scenes in this then remote area during the severe snowstorms of Christmas 1927. Two of these photographs are almost identical with those on a previous page and they were probably taken within a few minutes of the others. jgc_33_067
2019: The same image as shown in jgc 33_062 above, now the location of the Nuffield Health Brighton Hospital. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: [See caption for jgc_33_067 above.] jgc_33_068
2019: Gray’s photograph appears to have been taken on the Warren Road looking towards Warren Farm School or the four cottages (Beech, Hazel, Oak and Ash) opposite Warren Avenue. This updated image shows the corner of Beech Cottage. Unlike the school, the cottages survive to this day although used for commercial rather than residential purposes. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: This photograph is fresh and shows drifts almost up to the wall in front of Warren Farm School, in Warren Road. jgc_33_069
2019: Another photograph [see jgc_33_065 above] of the premises of Brighton and Hove Auctions, now occupying the site of the former Richmond Stores. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: A lone shack said to have been in Warren Road, but who can now say where it was. jgc_33_071
2019: None of the original shacks survive to the present day. (There is just one possible exception; see jgc_33_081 for further information.) This caravan providing temporary accommodation for stable workers just off the Warren Road is probably the nearest equivalent today. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: One can only guess at the period of this photograph, but it must have been after 1941, because in that year the Holy Cross Church had been consecrated to replace the original building which then became a church hall. By now the road Downsway had replaced the old narrow track. It was channelled and paved and many houses had been built along the north side. Plenty of grass along the verges, though. jgc_33_076
James Gray: About twenty years or so later, and more changes. Warren Road, the main entrance to Woodingdean from Brighton, had been considerably widened when this photograph was taken in 1966. A bus shelter and guard rails had been erected and the bungalow brought much nearer to the now busy main road. It still stands (1985) and is the present No.6 Warren Road. jgc_33_077
2019: The bungalows have been replaced by shops, a petrol station and a Tesco Express. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: A very early photograph, probably 1920. Today the busiest corner in Woodingdean, it shows the junction of Downs Road (now Falmer Road) with Warren Road. In the background the dirt tracks are the Ridgeway and Balsdean Road. By the wooden tub is the standpipe and tank, then one of the few sources of fresh water, from which the nearby residents fetched their water in pails. jgc_33_078
2019: The same junction today – normally much busier than shown here. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Examples of the primitive shacks inhabited by the early settlers. Land was cheap and there were no planning restrictions. Wood and corrugated iron sheds, old army huts, caravans, even old motor vans, anything did as long as it kept out the rain and wind. All this was stopped when Brighton incorporated Woodingdean in 1928, although many of these shacks remained for several years. jgc_33_080
2019: Whilst the original settler habitats have gone, some people still live in vans, whether by choice or necessity. This contemporary photograph was taken just off Warren Road. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Across Warren Road from the Downs Hotel, opened in 7 September 1925, was a standpipe, one of the few sources of water for the early houses. One of the local characters, Mr Pitteway, is seen here filling a bin with water to be conveyed home by donkey and cart. jgc_33_085
James Gray: A cottage in Warren Road, built 1879, it adjoined Warren Farm School and may well have been occupied by someone on the staff. It was photographed on 16 October 1960 and was demolished soon afterwards during the widening of Warren Road. jgc_33_094
2019: Research using a reproduction of a painting by local artist Douglas Holland reveals this building was known as Meadow Cottage. This is the approximate site where the cottage once stood in the open space in front of Beech House, opposite Warren Avenue. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: Looking at this aerial photograph, taken in 1969, it is hard to realise that this estate was not built all at the same time and that some of the houses are nearly 50 years older than others in the estate. Careful study of the houses, particularly of those lying well back in large gardens, reveal the houses which date from the 1920s, before the estate was taken into Brighton. jgc_33_109
James Gray: Photographed in March 1967, these buildings will soon be removed. The Church of the Holy Cross, built in 1942, and the adjoining Church Hall which dates from the early 1920s, are to be replaced by a new church seating 200 and a larger hall. jgc_33_112
2019: The Church of the Holy Cross featured in the original photograph was replaced by the present building in 1968 due to structural problems and being too small for its needs at the time. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)
James Gray: The quiet scene at Woodingdean crossroads in July 1931. Although by then this area was within the Brighton Borough boundaries it was still a remote spot to the majority of Brightonians. The Tilling’s motor bus is standing at its terminus outside the Downs Hotel, opened in September 1925. The people are headed south down the present Falmer Road, then known as Downs Road. jgc_33_031
2020: The Downs Hotel at the junction of Falmer Road and Warren Road is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Woodingdean. Whilst the main part of the structure remains substantially the same there is a later glazed extension on the western side of the hotel. The adjacent roads are busy, congested thoroughfares today. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)