between Russell Road and Regency Road
James Gray: A group of children in the playground of St Paul’s School, about 1925. The school was hidden away behind the Church. Opened in 1850, it was demolished in the 1960s. jgc_07_019
2020: The site of St Paul’s School in West Street is now occupied by a variety of modern buildings. St Paul’s School is now located in St Nicholas Road. (Photographer: Chris Nichols)
James Gray: Showing the small shops and cottages, Nos 15 – 18 on the west side and (far right) the large house occupied by A Sinclair, Surgeon Dentist. However, the focal point is St Paul’s Church, (RC Carpenter, 1846/1848) with its temporary wooden cap. The present lantern of timber and lead replaced this in 1875. A print from the waxed paper negative owned by Philippe Garner. jgc_07_012
2019: Carpenter’s church survives intact amidst the redevelopment of West Street. (Photographer: Chris Nichols)
James Gray: Here is an [un]usual view of the church, without its steeple. It was erected in 1848 and it was intended to complete the tower with a stone spire. It was feared that the additional weight would make the tower unsafe, so the spire was never added. Instead, a temporary cap, here shown, was provided, until the erection of the present wooden steeple in 1875. jgc_07_014
James Gray: This is a copy of a very old photograph, the original of which was taken by Edward Fox in 1859. St Paul’s Church had then been built only a few years. No 20 above the church was then occupied as a private house. jgc_07_044
James Gray: The central section, in its early stages of reconstruction. The frontage of the Ocean Insurance Company’s building at No 20 has been set back, and Nos 21-24 demolished. The forecourt of St Paul’s Church and adjoining property to the south has yet to be dealt with.
James Gray: This photograph is one of the oldest original photographs of West Street in my entire collection. It must date from the late 1860s and is remarkably clear for this age. The other [jgc_07_018 below] is of a few years later, when the present lead and timber lantern had replaced the temporary wooden cap. jgc_07_017
2019: See caption for jgc_07_012 above. (Photographer: Chris Nichols)
James Gray: This photograph is taken a little later than the previous one [jgc_07_017 above], when the present lead and timber lantern had replaced the temporary wooden one. jgc_07_018
2019: See caption for jgc_07_012 above. (Photographer: Chris Nichols)
James Gray: At the time I had this photograph taken, on 13 March 1974, it was rumoured that the derelict Odeon Cinema (left) and the empty Sports Stadium site (a car park) would be used for the erection of a new large hotel. Now as I write nearly ten years later, nothing happened as the scene is exactly the same. jgc_07_025
James Gray: This photograph of the newly opened Oak Hotel taken in January 1992 is included purely for comparison and shows redevelopment taking place on the Odeon Cinema site. jgc_07_123
2019: St Paul’s Church is still very much in evidence in all three images of the western side of West Street. The former site of the sports stadium and Odeon cinema is now occupied by a Travelodge, an Italian restaurant and the offices of a finance company. (Photographer: Clare Hughes)
James Gray: A photograph, taken on 15 March 1987, showing old houses, Nos 70-74, on the east side of the street, empty and awaiting demolition. They have since been removed. Incised in the high wall of No 70 were the words WHITE’S LIBRARY AND CARVING WORKS, a link with the Brighton of a century or more ago.
James Gray: A view of the same area some years later, showing William Carden’s greengrocers shop, No 17 and next door, William Eves, the shoemakers shop. No 20 had by this time been rebuilt and was occupied as a pianoforte gallery. jgc_07_043
James Gray: The lower central section awaits the housebreakers. The road has already been widened between St Paul’s Church and No 25, and from No 34 onwards. Above Little Russell Street, Nos 14-16 have been removed. This site was vacant for some years until the Odeon Cinema was built on it. At the side of the photograph in the foreground, is the entrance to West Street Cottages, last of the remaining Courts on this side of West Street. By now the buses have commenced to use the street. jgc_07_094
James Gray: Close-up of William Eves’s shop, 18 West Street, with old Mr and Mrs Eves in the doorway. He was the churchwarden of St Paul’s for more than 50 years and lived in this house for about that period. This was copied from a very ancient photograph, which accounts for the blemishes. jgc_07_045
2019: The space where the old cottages stood is now occupied by a complex of apartments called Avalon. The metal gate in the 2019 image was created by Sussex artist Christian Funnell. (Photographer: Clare Hughes)
James Gray: This photograph shows the street, which is familiar to most present Brightonians, except for the disappearance of the Ice Stadium and the George Inn (far left). These were removed in 1966 and 1963 respectively. Photograph taken about 1960. jgc_07_048
James Gray: West Street is one of the historical streets of Brighton and dates at least from the 16th century. Its name indicates the western boundary of the old town. About 150 years ago, when it was purely residential, it had some of the finest houses in Brighton of which only No 77 now remains. Its condition deteriorated with the years as private dwellings gave way to shops of a nature designed to attract the custom of the many trippers making their way from the Station to the sea front. This photograph shows West Street in 1898. No traffic problems in those days! jgc_07_059
James Gray: Another view of old West Street about 1910. Slightly more traffic about, but no change in the appearance or character of the street. Animated photography, evidently early motion pictures, were on show in the building later known as Sherry’s. Brighton Corporation decided to widen West Street, by setting back the west side, in 1926. A start was made in the following year at the north west corner of the street. jgc_07_061
James Gray: It would be no exaggeration to say that not one Brightonian in a hundred knew that these cottages existed or where they were to be found. Between 72 and 73 West Street is a narrow passageway only three feet wide, at the far end of which, behind the houses of West Street, stood Willow Cottages from the middle of the last century until 1935. Early Brighton builders had a passion for building little courts, hidden away behind other houses, of which this was a good example. There were three cottages, the other being out of view on the right. Date of photograph, January 1935. Additional Information: Note the swing and sash windows common at that time in these small cottages. jgc_07_049
2019: See caption for jgc_07_045 above. (Photographer: Clare Hughes)
James Gray: Old West Street showing the narrow entrance to Chuters Gardens. jgc_07_060
2019: The entrance porch to St Paul’s church looks similar in both photographs but the red external door must be a later edition as it is not in the early image. The building next to the entrance has gone, possibly when the road was widened. The space alongside the porch is now occupied by the entrance area to the One Family finance company. The bicycle leaning on the railings is part of the Brighton bike share scheme which was started in 2017. (Photographer: Clare Hughes)
James Gray: Old houses of varying age, adjoining Little Russell Street. This was poor class property given over to cheap shops and eating-in houses designed to catch the eyes of trippers and formed part of the extensive Stoll site purchased by the Corporation in 1929. The whole area down to the George Hotel was cleared in 1932 and the extent of this clearance can be gauged by the photographs overleaf [jgc_07_032 and 033 on the West Street (Brighton) (South) A page and jgc_07_034 on the West Street (Brighton) (South) page]. jgc_07_029
James Gray: Like those on the previous page, these three photographs [see also jgc_07_036 on the North Street (Brighton (1) page and 037 on this page] show West Street as it was some 30 years ago. Taken in 1925 by the late Mr Harold Clunn, a trenchant critic of Brighton as it then was, they were intended by him to draw attention to parts of the town he loved so well, which were in need of improvement. jgc_07_035
2019: Almost 100 years separates these two images and, other than the tower of St Paul’s Church, little on the James Gray image remains. (Photographer: Clare Hughes)
James Gray: St Paul’s Vicarage, 21 West Street in 1910. This was a single house, the main entrance being in the centre, and the lower door, the staff entrance. It was an eighteenth century house in flint and brick and was demolished in 1932 in the course of street widening. jgc_07_069
2020: 21 West Street is now home to a pub called The Bright Helm, part of the J D Wetherspoon chain.
James Gray: After the demolition of West Street Tabernacle early in 1966, the Vicarage of St Paul’s Church was revealed to the public gaze for the first time since it was built in the mid 1930s. On the left note the roof of St Paul’s School which has since been demolished. jgc_07_086
James Gray: The Baptist Tabernacle in 1947. This was erected in 1834 and demolished in 1965. jgc_07_092
James Gray: The two photographs are of the interior of the then well patronised St Paul’s Church in West Street. They were taken in 1873, or thereabouts, when the church was only 25 years old. jgc_07_046 and jgc_07_047
2019: St Paul’s was opened in 1848 and was the fourth of six churches in Brighton to have been built on the instruction of Reverend Henry Michell Wagner (1792-1870) who was Vicar of Brighton from 1824 until his death. It is the only one of the six churches which remains in Anglican use and only one of two which remain standing, the other being St John the Evangelist’s on Carlton Hill now home to the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity. Services are held daily at St Paul’s which is Grade II listed. The magnificent stained glass windows were designed by A W N Pugin (1812-1852), renowned Gothic revival architect and designer. The altar and surrounding area have been modified since the James Gray images were taken but the remaining candlesticks look identical. The corona light above the altar in one of the nineteenth century images is no longer in the church. (Photographer: Clare Hughes)
James Gray: This photograph shows the cloister of St Paul’s Church, leading from West Street through to Russell Place which still exists, but the buildings seen in the others [jgc_07_051 on the West Street (Brighton) (South) A page and jgc_07_053 on the West Street (Brighton) (North) page] have long since disappeared. jgc_07_052
2019: The cloister still remains. (Photographer: Clare Hughes)
James Gray: The street decorated in May 1935, for the George Vth Jubilee Celebrations. All the buildings on the left below Cranbourne Street had been built in the previous four years. jgc_07_085
James Gray: Three photographs [jgc_07_102 and 103 on the West Street (Brighton) (South A) page and jgc_07_104] of the lower end of this famous street, with little to commend them or even write about. The dates are unknown and even the periods are difficult to determine. These two photographs [this and jgc_07_103] could date from either before or after the Second World War – car enthusiasts could probably decide by looking at the cars. Obviously there were no particular parking problems at these times. jgc_07_104
James Gray: 1 December 1930 5/6. One of the first large buildings erected in the newly widened West Street was Bostel House, at the corner of Cranbourne Street. These six snapshot photographs show the work in progress during 1930 and 1931. jgc_07_081
James Gray: Nos 32-34 West Street shortly before their demolition. On the vacant site beyond, the erection of Bostel House has been commenced and, during the next four years, imposing Insurance Companies buildings were completed, completely changing the character of the street. Manville House, No 34, was for many years occupied as a brewer’s store. Note the narrow entrance to Bunker’s Hill, a warren of ten very ancient cottages. jgc_07_083