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

Warren Way

Neighbourhood:
Woodingdean
1928
2018

James Gray: Woodingdean, as we now know it, dates from 1911 when the Brighton Downs Estate Co. Ltd. bought 350 acres of land east of the Falmer Road from Mr. Steyning Beard of Rottingdean. The Company then sold off the land in plots. Those adjoining the roads, such as they were, measuring 40’ x 200’ were sold for £30 and those in the back lands, consisting of an acre apiece, fetched £50! By 1920 some 50 or 60 bungalows and shacks had been erected though water could only be obtained from one stand pipe at the crossroads and had to be carried from there in pails. At this time the area was part of Newhaven Rural District Council and was administered by Rottingdean Parish Council.

During a severe snowstorm in the 1920s the district was completely isolated from both Brighton and Rottingdean, for six days. On 1 April 1928, Woodingdean was incorporated with Brighton and before long the essential services of water, gas and electricity were provided. The Downs Hotel was built in 1925, opening on 7 September of that year and a Tilling’s bus service commenced. Even so development was slow because the district was both isolated and exposed. At the incorporation, Woodingdean’s rates were fixed at 3 shillings below Brighton’s rates, advancing by 4 pence per year for 9 years until equality was reached. This and the next photograph [jgc_33_047 on the Downland Road page] show the little community as it was in 1928, the year of incorporation. They provide a good illustration of the size of the plots, which the early settlers obtained so cheaply. jgc_33_046

2018: The same view at the end of 2018. Despite the apparent large increase in development, the population of just under 10,000 can still be considered as a ‘small community’ accounting for just 3.45% of Brighton’s inhabitants. This is presumably due to the fact that most of the development has been of low-rise housing with no buildings higher than three storeys and the majority being detached or semi-detached properties.  (Photographer: Ron Fitton)

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1927
late 1950s
2018

James Gray: This and the next photograph (jgc_33_065 on the Warren Road (2) 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_064

James Gray: A very much later photograph than those previously, looking west along Warren Way. By now the roadways have been paved and channelled, street lighting installed and telephones introduced. Year unknown – my guess, the late 1950s. jgc_33_057

2018: The fields on the right (northern) side of the original image were developed in the 1960s and are now covered by the parade of shops/flats along Warren Way and houses adjacent to Sandhurst Avenue. The 1950s developments on the left of the picture are still there but obscured by the growth in foliage. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)

1924
2019

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_082

2019: This building just off Warren Way has belonged to the Yeatman family since the mid 1920s. With the possible exception of the Downs Hotel, it may be the oldest surviving building in central Woodingdean. Initially trading as a laundry, the business expanded to become a hairdressers. (Photographer: Ron Fitton)

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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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