Judy Middleton 2002 (revised 2022)
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| copyright © J.Middleton This photograph of Hove Park was taken on 20 April 2009 |
In former days the piece of land now covered by
Hove Park, was known as Goldstone Bottom. It has some interesting
associations – please see under separate headings Ancient Hove,
Goldstone Bottom, and Execution at Goldstone Bottom.
Creating the Park
By the 19th
century Goldstone Bottom was part of the extensive Stanford Estate
that included a great deal of land in Hove. On 30 October 1899 Hove
Borough Council agreed to purchase Goldstone Bottom for the purposes
of establishing a park for public use.
The decision to create a new park was by no means
unanimous among the councillors. In fact, seven councillors tried to
call a special meeting to reconsider the purchase, and, if necessary,
to rescind this decision. Fortunately, council solicitors advised
them against taking such a course of action.
It is
interesting to read what a contemporary source, namely the Brighton
Herald (14
July 1900) had to say about the issue:
‘So, after all, Hove is to have its Park. The
strenuous opposition to the scheme has failed to impress the Local
Government Board, who have this week given their assent to the
borrowing of the loan of £15,000 required for the purchase of 40
acres. The idea of a long, narrow Park, extending from the
south-western corner of the existing Recreation Ground away to the
Goldstone Waterworks, for a stretch of something under half a mile,
has never struck us as being the best of all possible schemes, though
we are bound to being strongly impressed by the fact that those who
did their very best to defeat the undertaking, never attempted to
indicate where a cheaper and more favourable site could be found.’
The actual cost of the land came to £14,600 with
an additional £3,552 to pay compensation to tenants who were
cultivating the land. The area was a prime market gardening site, and
Hove resident Ernie Mason had fond memories of the gooseberry bushes
in the area that produced juicy fruit as large as plums.
In
December 1903 the Brighton
Herald carried
another article about a recent Hove Council meeting in which
Councillor Bruce Morison was reported as being dead against the idea
of a new park, stating that it was useless expenditure and the money
would be better laid out on artisans’ dwellings. It is a delicious
irony that some three years later, it was Bruce Morison, in his
capacity as Mayor of Hove, who formally opened Hove Park.
Hove councillors could not even agree on the name
for the new park. On 26 February 1903 it was decided that the name
should be Goldstone Park. But the following month the decision was
referred back to the councillors, and this time the name Hove Park
was chosen.
Work for the Unemployed
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| copyright © J.Middleton This somewhat bleak postcard view reminds us of how Hove Park looked in its early stages with the Goldstone Waterworks dominating the scene |
Councillor Barney Marks wanted to know if there
was not some way of giving work to the unemployed in the creation of
a new park.
The idea caught on and in 1906 it was stated that
work on the park had provided employment for several months. On one
day alone 130 men were busy laying paths, putting up fences and
planting trees or shrubs.
Roads
In the conveyance of the land from the Stanford
Estate Trustees to Hove Borough Council, there was a clause that the
council must make and maintain two roads. One road was from Fonthill
Road to Hove Recreation Ground, and the other road was northwards
opposite Fonthill Road for a distance of 1,840 feet to where it
intersected a new road (to be made by the Stanford Estate Trustees).
Original Scheme Too Expensive
In
1903 Hove councillors decided to pay £21 to Messrs Cheal & Son
of Crawley to draw up a grandiose scheme for the new park. They
considered the valley would be a perfect site for an ornamental water
feature with suggestions that two or three lakes might be made for
model yachts. Then, perhaps a rose garden near the pumping station, a
flag tower costing £400 with a rustic terrace on high ground, tennis
courts, a croquet lawn, a lodge, greenhouses, trees and shrubs, and a
carriageway on either side. The total cost of the scheme came to
£8,097-5s.
Not surprisingly, this scheme was a little too costly for the
councillors.
There was also a serious difficulty over the right
of way that ran from the pumping station across the land. Messrs
Cheal suggested a light suspension bridge over the valley would leave
the park independent of the right of way.
In 1928 Hove Council made an application to the
Quarter Sessions to stop up the right of way. The reasons given were
that the path was not well used, the state of the fencing was
unsightly, and there were alternative routes to the Old Shoreham Road
via The Droveway and Goldstone Crescent. Hove Council’s application
did not succeed.
Grand Opening
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| copyright © J.Middleton Although the railings have long since gone, the original gate piers and plaque remain in place |
Hove Park was officially opened on Empire Day 24
May 1906. But it should be remembered that this applied only to the
southern portion of the park, that is the land south of the vexatious
right of way.
Fortunately, it was a day of bright sunshine, and
some 3,000 Hove children attended the event – the girls wearing
white dresses with red sashes and rosettes of red, white and blue,
while the boys carried flags. During the celebrations there was a
display of maypole dancing. The children were given free oranges and
buns.
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| copyright © Brighton & Hove City Libraries This souvenir postcard shows part of the massive crowd celebrating the opening of Hove Park |
The grand processions started off from Hove Town Hall at 2.30 p.m. and proceeded via The Drive, Wilbury Avenue, Hove
Park Villas, and Old Shoreham Road to the main entrance. The order of
procession was as follows:
Mounted police under the command of Thomas Davies,
Chief Constable
RNVR Band
RNVR with large gun under Sir Theodore Angier
Mayor of Hove, Alderman Bruce Morison, in robes
and ceremonial chain
Mr H. Endacott, Town Clerk, in wig and gown
Mace Bearer with mace
Aldermen and Councillors
Hove Fire Brigade with steamer under Chief Officer
Dumbrell
Steyning Workhouse Bugle Band
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| copyright © Brighton & Hove City Libraries A close-up of some of the children. In the left background a banner proclaims Portland Road Schools |
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| copyright © R. Jeeves Maypole dancing provided a delightful scene |
The Mayor of Hove performed the opening ceremony
using a key of solid silver-gilt embellished with the Hove coat of
arms. In his speech the Mayor of Hove gave a rundown of the costs,
thus:
Cost of the work done £6,828
Amount spent on labour £3,750
Number of trees and shrubs planted 7,040
Cost of fencing £1,937
Length of paths 4,950 yards
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| copyright © Brighton & Hove City Libraries The procession has arrived at the entrance to Hove Park – note the impressive ironwork of gates and railings |
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| copyright © J.Middleton The lonely, but historic gate piers, were photographed on 27 October 2018 |
Tennis
In July 1906 councillors decided that a lawn tennis court should be created. The ground would be levelled and re-turfed at a cost of £15. By September 1906 it was recorded that there were four tennis courts.
In July 1906 councillors decided that a lawn tennis court should be created. The ground would be levelled and re-turfed at a cost of £15. By September 1906 it was recorded that there were four tennis courts.
In June 1910 councillors were annoyed when they
heard that turf on the tennis courts had been damaged by players
wearing hard-healed shoes. In future it was decreed that all players
must wear rubber-soled shoes.
By 1955 five hard tennis courts had been created,
making a total of seven.
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| copyright © J.Middleton The present courts might not be popular with everyone but they provide a vivid splash of blue in this photograph taken in October 2018 |
In January 2017 it was stated that Hove Park
Tennis Club had been playing at Hove Park since 1987 and Mick Cox,
the captain, said the club could boast of nearly 90 members, ranging
in age from 12 to 80. Therefore they were horrified to hear that
Brighton & Hove City Council was considering cuts to the cost of
maintenance for the courts. Tennis court users got up a petition
signed by 700 people asking that they should be consulted before any
such decision was made. The council stated that the cost of
maintenance of each tennis court came to £2,149-38 a year, and that
the total for Hove Park courts came to an annual £25,792-58.
On 16 December 2017 it was revealed that a
decision to resurface some of the tennis courts had been taken five
weeks previously. Five courts were already covered with artificial
grass and needed to be replaced in any case. Unfortunately, the new
surface, made from recycled tyres, made the courts exclusively
suitable for five-a-side football, and not for tennis. Apparently,
the money for this project came not from City coffers, but as a
result of Section 106 contributions made by housing developers. Angry
tennis players disputed the council’s interpretation of Section 106
contributions.
Bowls
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| copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museum,
Brighton & Hove An Edwardian photograph of the Goldstone, in the background people can be seen dressed in white playing bowls. |
In September 1906 it was decided that a bowling
green would be created, measuring 135 feet by 84 feet. The cost of
levelling the ground and turfing it came to £82. The north bowling
green was open from May 1907, and the south bowling green was opened
on 1 July 1907. The charge for each player was two pennies an hour,
but a season ticket might be purchased for 5/-. Players were required
to find their own woods, but rubber mats were provided for footing
purposes. However, the south bowling green did not see much
action, and in March 1911 it was decided to convert it into a croquet
lawn instead.
In 1908 a shelter was provided near the tennis courts and bowling greens, and in 1909 additional seats were installed.
In 1908 a shelter was provided near the tennis courts and bowling greens, and in 1909 additional seats were installed.
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| copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museum,
Brighton & Hove Brighton & Hove Libraries describe this photograph as 'Hove Fire Brigade assembled in Hove Park for the Coronation Day celebrations on 22 June 1911' |
In 1913 a dressing-room was erected at the
north-east side of the pumping station. The building was 26 feet in
length, 12 feet wide and 9 feet high – it was constructed of
timber, lined inside with match boarding and covered with a roof of
corrugated iron.
In 1922 it was decided to form a new bowling green
on the north side of the tennis courts at a cost of £340. It was a
cheaper option that attempting to make the bowling green already in
use 42 yards square. Perhaps Hove Council cut their costs by
providing inferior turf because in September 1927 a petition was sent
to the council requesting that Cumberland turf should be laid on the
bowling green. The petition was signed by 93 members of Hove Park
Bowling Club plus some members of other clubs. In January 1928 Messrs
Conways of Halifax won the contract to lay Cumberland turf at a cost
of £576-13s.
In 1973 a new bowls pavilion and toilet block were
constructed.
In May 1988 Coucillor John Broadley, Mayor of
Hove, unveiled a plaque on the bowls pavilion to name the Horace Kemp
Room after Hove Park Bowling Club’s most outstanding member. Mr
Kemp, by then aged 87 and club president, had been playing bowls for
43 years. He had been club secretary from 1963 to 1967, captain in
1977, 1978 and 1980, and president since 1977. He won a pairs
competition in 1964, a singles competition in 1965, and was club
champion in 1980.
In recent times bowls has gone through a very hard
time, and greens have been disappearing from the City’s amenities.
For example, there are no longer bowling greens at Hove Park, the
Ladies Bowling Club at Hove Lawns has been disbanded, while bowling
greens at Preston Park have been turned into wild-flower meadows. The
reasons, as ever, is expense. However, the current council obsession
with recruiting volunteers instead of employing trained staff – for
example, in libraries – would not work with bowling greens, which
require skills in manipulating heavy machinery and the careful
application of chemicals.
Cricket
The cricket pitches at Hove Park were reserved for
youngsters – the boys had to belong to a club and must not be older
then seventeen years of age. Consequently, it only cost 2/- a match,
whereas at Aldrington Recreation Ground the cost was 3/- while at
Hove Recreation Ground the charge was 5/-.
In June 1928 it was decided to dispense with a
number of small paths in the central portion of the park between the
bridle path and The Droveway. The paths were little used while being
labour intensive. Instead there would be more space for cricket and
football.
Rugby
In 1952 a pitch was allocated to the newly-formed
Hove Rugby Club. It has been stated that rugby had been played at
Hove Park since the 1930s.
In the 1990s Hove Rugby Club caused a great deal
of controversy by wanting to move to Hove Recreation Ground. The
issue arose because at Hove Park there was only one pitch but the
club was so popular that there were around 300 youngsters eager to
play. Hove Rugby Club did eventually move to Hove Recreation Ground
amidst strenuous opposition from locals who today feel that the club
has now more or less taken over the whole ground, especially with the
new clubhouse being used for social events.
Stoolball
An official stoolball pitch was not laid out until
1920. But members of the Girls’ Friendly Society were already
playing netball and stoolball in the park in 1912.
It is interesting to note that a stoolball pitch
was still being marked out as late as the 1980s.
Conveniences
Although the park had been open since 1906 it was
to be six years before Hove Council got around to providing
conveniences for both sexes in 1912. The men’s urinal cost £70 and
the women’s lavatory cost £50.
Drinking Fountain
In June 1906 Alderman Howlett donated £28 for a
drinking fountain to be installed.
Nearly 30 years later Alderman Jeremiah Colman
donated the cost of a new drinking fountain. Councillor C. S.
Loadsman, Mayor of Hove, inaugurated it on 22 July 1935.
Trees
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| copyright © J.Middleton This sepia view shows the trees are flourishing, and the drinking fountain can be seen in the background. However, the well-stocked formal flower beds are now a distant memory |
The northern area of the park began to be laid out
from 1909. In the winter of that year £30 was expended on tree
planting with a further £30 spent on more trees the following
winter.
In 1912 it was decided that a row of trees should
be planted on either side of the road on the north-east side of the
park with occasional clumps between the gate at the north end and the
one on the east side.
First World War
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| copyright © J.Middleton Rows of trees and the Goldstone (Druids Stone) Hove Park c1925 |
First World War
The use of the park changed with the outbreak of
the First World War. In December 1914 leave was granted to the RFA to
perform drill there every day. In September 1915 permission was given
for the Royal Medical Corps Transport Corps to play football on Saturday
afternoons free of charge.
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| copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museum,
Brighton & Hove The Royal Medical Corps Transport Corps of the 2nd Eastern Hospital (BHASVIC & Portland Road Schools Hospital) playing against the Army Service Corps on 4 March 1916 |
By 1917 food shortages led to the ploughing up of
some land to make allotments, and Hove Council was reported to be
planting potatoes. In January 1918 permission was given to turn a
further three acres, up to the bridle path, into allotments.
These allotments were not given up as soon as the
war ended. Some allotment tenancies terminated at the end of 1920,
while other gardeners were permitted to stay on until 29 September
1921. But there must have been protests because the tenancies were
extended with the final date for giving them up being set at 31
August 1923.
A Tank called Hova
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| copyright © Brighton & Hove City Libraries Lieutenant A. R. Roberts MC directing the 'Hova Tank' into Hove Park on 23 September 1919 |
In recognition of Hove’s sterling work in
raising funds for the war effort, the town was awarded its own tank
as a war relic. The tank was a mark IV female tank, number 2591, and
it was 30 feet in length, and 9 feet 4 inches in height. When in
action the tank had been armed with six Lewis guns, and 24,000 rounds
of ammunition – there was a crew of one officer, one sergeant, and
six men. The tank was a veteran of Battle of Cambrai in 1917.
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| copyright
© Brighton & Hove Libraries Hove's former Coat of Arms |
The
tank, named Hova after the town’s Latin motto Floreat
Hova (May
Hove Flourish), arrived at Hove on 23 September 1919, straight from
France. Lieutenant A. R. Roberts MC was in charge of the crew
designated to take the tank from the railway depot in Sackville Road
to Hove Park. The tank looked ‘grim and battle-scarred’ and flew
the Union Jack and the Tank Corps colours.
Captain W. F. Farrar MC, who had actually fought
inside the tank, formally presented Hova to the town, which was
accepted by Alderman A. R. Sargeant. In his speech Captain Farrar
said he realised that some people did not want such relics in their
public parks because they were a constant reminder of the recent
dreadful slaughter. On the other hand, tanks were symbols of British
ingenuity, resource and pluck, and had saved many British lives.
Hova stood just inside the south-west gate of Hove
Park. The tank lasted until 1937, when it was disposed of as scrap
metal.
The 1920s
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| copyright © J.Middleton A 1928 photograph of Hove's Salvation Army Band in Hove Park |
In 1922 Mr A. E. Nash of 83 Livingstone Road was
given permission to sell refreshments from a tent, but he had to pay
the council a rent of £12 a year.
In
1925 A. W. Leeney of 49 Goldstone Villas erected a new pavilion for
£983. It contained dressing rooms and lavatories, as well as being a
place where catering was possible. Hove Council then invited tenders
to be submitted, but were surprised when the only person to come
forward was Herbert James Penny of 48 Highdown Road. It seems that Mr
Penny was also in charge of refreshments at St Ann’s Well Gardens.
In 1927 Mr Penny paid the council £7-10s
for
the use of the pavilion, and the exclusive right to serve
refreshments from May to September.
Druids
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| copyright © J.Middleton Is this the same tree planted by the Ancient order of Druids? |
In July 1928 members of the Ancient Order of
Druids paraded through Hove Park on their way to plant an oak tree
near the Goldstone to celebrate King George V’s recovery from a
serious illness. The Druids were clad in white garments extending to
just below the knee, with a white head-dress rising to a peak and
secured by a circlet around the forehead. They carried long staffs,
similar to a shepherd’s crook. Captain A. B. Wales, Mayor of Hove,
brought up the rear. The director of ceremonies was the most
excellent Royal Arch Brother Torrance.
The small commemorative stone, with inscription,
had vanished by 1996.
Dogs
By 1928 there had been so many complaints about
dog fouling that Hove Council made a bye-law requiring dogs to be
kept on a lead at all times and this bye-law must be strictly
enforced.
The Second World War
The Fort Gary Horse Regiment from Canada was
stationed at Hove Park from 1940 to 1944.
In 1946 Police Sergeant S. J. Innes was appointed
Park Keeper on his retirement from Hove Police.
The Circus
In 1950 Mr and Mrs Kinney of Goldstone Crescent
took legal action to try and prevent Chipperfield’s Circus from
setting up business in Hove Park. They lost their case, and
Chipperfield’s duly set up the big top in September 1950.
Indeed various circuses continued to visit Hove
Park at intervals right up until the 1990s. (See The Circus Comes to Hove).
The Moscow State Circus stayed in Hove Park from
12 to 21 August 1996. But since at least 2000 visits from the circus
have been relegated to number one Western Lawns where it does not
occupy sports pitches.
Miniature Railway
The miniature railway track in Hove Park first
opened in 1951. In 1957 the Brighton and Hove Society of Model
Engineers laid a 5-in track alongside the original track. Both tracks
were extended to 90 yards the following year. Rides were available on
Mondays and Saturdays during the summer months.
In 1962 the Brighton & Hove Society of
Miniature Locomotives, who had separated from the society already
mentioned, took over maintenance of the track. By then the track was
111 yards in length and could accommodate model locomotives of 2½-in,
3½-in, and 5-in. The locomotives were stoked with coal and could run
at a speed of 15 mph, but with children aboard the speed dropped to 6
mph.
By 1972 the track was 333-ft in length, and the
club had no less than 45 locomotives, either already built, or in the
process of construction, each weighing approximately 2 cwt each.
The Great Gale of October 1987 caused havoc
because falling trees devastated the track. It took five long years
of patient work, plus £13,000 in costs, to restore the track, which
was stated to be 2,000 ft in length and one of the longest of its
kind in Britain. The Stoner Concrete Company created the concrete
arches of the new railway track to the designs of Mr Smithard. The
track re-opened in June 1992.
In
1996 around 20 society members worked together to organise the
‘running’ days. Different engines were used on the track
including Bluebell,
made in 1947 and owned by Alan Croucher, and the Great
Western owned
by Bernie Carter.
By 1998 the engines ran once a month in May, June,
July and October, three times in August, and twice in December.
It is pleasant to report that the miniature
railway is still in operation.
The 1980s
In 1983 Councillor Barry Saunders, Mayor of Hove,
opened a new ‘Trim Track’ for runners through the park, and there
were exercise points at regular intervals.
In May 1985 around 20,000 people attended Hove
Lions Carnival at the park – the highest figure for ten years. A
highlight of the event was the appearance of the White Helmets
motorcycle display from the Royal Signals Regiment. Their stunts
included ten men on one bike, and a 13-man 3-bike human pyramid.
Unfortunately, the Red Devils parachute jump had to be cancelled
because of low cloud. On other occasions at the Hove Lions Carnival,
the Red Devils failed to descend because of high winds.
In September 1987 it was stated that £11,600
would be spent on floodlighting the multi-sport area so that people
could utilise it in the evening all year round. In 1989 it fell to
Councillor Margaret Adams, Mayor of Hove, to unveil the new
floodlighting, plus opening a new sports pavilion, and a new scented
garden.
The Great Gale and its Aftermath
During the dreadful night of the 15/16 October
1987 two-thirds of the trees in Hove Park were destroyed. The noise,
composed of the howling wind together with the crash of falling
trees, was tremendous. Unfortunately, many of the stately elms went
over in a domino effect. It did seem a little unfair that Hove had
been successful in fighting the scourge of Dutch elm disease only to
see much of its precious stock destroyed in a single night. The great
avenue of elms in the west part was flattened. There was also a
sudden revelation of the Alliance and Leicester headquarters in all
its bleak bulk from every vantage point in the park, whereas before
it had been decently screened by trees. One rare survivor of the
storm was an Oriental plane tree. In November 1987 it became clear
that after the dangerous and damaged specimens had been removed, Hove
Park would have lost 450 trees with only 250 trees remaining.
However, John Phillips, Head of Parks &
Cemeteries, said it was a chance to take a fresh look at the park’s
lay-out. Although some elms would be planted, it would be a good time
to plant a greater variety of species. It was also the intention not
to replace a large line of trees in the centre of the park because
leaving it open would provide longer vistas.
A lime tree was the first new tree to be planted
after the storm. Residents were horrified at the great loss of trees
and rallied around to contribute towards the cost of re-planting. In
1988 Hove Council spent £800 on providing a commemorative stone of
granite that recorded the destruction of over 450 trees and thanking
residents for their help in providing 460 new ones.
In January 1989 Councillor Jim Buttimer, Mayor of
Hove, planted some 40 trees, including lime, copper beech and
Himalayan birch, with the assistance of Jewish children. The trees
were purchased with £1,000 donated by the synagogues of Brighton and
Hove.
The opportunity was also taken to move the
children’s playground to a sunnier site on the east side of the
park near the houses in Goldstone Crescent. The project cost £40,000
and included new play equipment and a sand-pit. The move was not too
popular with nearby residents, but children and parents flocked to
it.
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| copyright © J.Middleton The new children’s playground photographed in 2009 |
Another unpopular innovation was the creation of a
conservation area where wild flowers could flourish. To those
accustomed to the short grass of a traditional park, this new venture
looked just plain untidy. Since then of course, wild areas have
become the norm in every park. Such area are also a valuable
educational experience for children.
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| copyright © J.Middleton The south section of the new children’s playground photographed in 2009 |
In January 1993 twelve lime trees were planted at
the north end to commemorate the opening of the European Single
Market. The idea came from Hove Lions Club and was sponsored by
Brighton solicitors Griffith Smith.
Treasure Trove
One
beneficiary of the fallen trees was a lumberjack who came to help
clear up the mess. During the course of his duties he came across
three dirty old mugs that he threw into the back of his van. It was
six months before he did anything about the mugs, and then he was
astonished to learn that they were solid silver German tankards from
the 17th
century. The most valuable tankard was made in Nuremberg in around
1680 and was worth in the region of £9,000. The other two were
slightly smaller; one was ornately decorated and was worth around
£6,000, while the other was plain but there was an intricate figure
on the lid and the tankard was worth around £4,000.
This discovery was announced in December 1988 and
Hove Police then had the unenviable task of trying to work out who
might have owned the tankards in the past. In August 1989 a special
inquest at Hove found that the tankards were treasure trove and
should go to the Crown, but since the Crown did not want them, they
should go to the finder – the tree surgeon from Mevagissey.
It
seemed probable that the tankards were stolen property and perhaps
buried hurriedly around the turn of the 20th
century.
The 1990s
Hove Council and Legal and General jointly funded
a new basketball court. Players from Worthing Bears basketball team
opened it on 24 April 1993.
In 1994 Hove Park was listed as having the
following amenities:
1 basketball court
1 rugby pitch
2 football pitches
1 bowling green (with Cumberland turf)
12 hard tennis courts – 5 having artificial
turf, floodlit in winter, and used for football and hockey practice
Teddy Bears’ Picnic
In
June 1994 thousands of children took part in a Teddy Bears’ Picnic
in a bid to earn a place in the Guinness
Book of Records. New
Zealand held the record when 16,800 teddy bears took part in their
event.
Another Teddy Bears’ Picnic was held in June
1995 to raise money for cancer charities. But bear turnout was poor,
and local newspapers could not agree on the number of bears present
nor the amount of money raised.
Chicken Run
In April 2014 James MacDonald organised a Chicken
Run in Hove Park as a fun way to raise money for charity where
participants were encouraged to dress up as chickens. Mr MacDonald
was hoping that at least 50 people would turn up but in the event
there were more than 130 runners. The money raised went to the
following charities: Pass It On Africa / Prostate Care / Honeypot
Children’s Charity.
Hove Carnival
The
28th
Hove Lions’ Carnival in 2000 attracted around 10,000 visitors.
Youngsters could look at llamas and alpacas as well as an eagle and a
vulture. There were sheepdog displays, fairground rides, Highland
dancing, plus a monster line-dance organised by the Blue Rodeo Line
Dancing Club.
In around 2012 Hove Carnival was organised to
raise funds for the Martlets Hospice in Hove. Sally Brighton and
Antonia Shepherd were heavily involved in the project from the start,
and were still on the scene in 2017 when amongst the attractions were
water orbs in the funfair section plus a horse show. On average the
event manages to raise £9,000 for the Martlets.
Hove Parks DSO
The office for Hove Parks DSO (Direct Service Organisation) was situated in the
cemetery lodge at Hove Cemetery, and it was from there that work in
parks and cemeteries in Hove and Portslade was organised. Rob Walker
was in charge, having joined Hove Council in 1988. In his spare time
he enjoyed scuba-diving and he once said his favourite place was the
seabed around the Palace Pier, Brighton. In 2018 Rob Walker was still
in the hot seat, being top boss for parks, cemeteries and gardens for
Brighton & Hove City Council.
In 2000 it was stated that the Hove Parks team had
been responsible for digging around 6,500 graves during the previous
25 years.
Hove Council workshop was situated north-west of
Hove Park. Ken Barrington ran the outfit from 1976. A large garage
was used for storing various machines, and it was also the place
where they were repaired. The machinery ranged from four tractors and
various trucks to strimmers and hedge cutters. The council’s
blacksmith was busily employed here. Mr Barrington reckoned that
during the previous 25 years, he and his team had repaired an
estimated 25,000 pieces of equipment. He remembered that after the
Great Gale of 1987 they all had to go out armed with chainsaws, which
were kept whirring away for a solid three months before all the
debris was cleared away.
In recent times the land has been utilised to
build a new school.
Cafe
In July 2017 plans for a new cafe in Hove Park
caused a bit of a rumpus with nearby residents. This was because
planning permission had been granted to demolish the old one and
build a new cafe without the residents being aware of the situation.
But Mark Pellant, the director of Koru Architects, said that
information boards about the project had been displayed in the cafe
for several days. Vanessa Brown, councillor for Hove Park Ward, said
there had been a great deal of support for a new cafe, and
information had also been displayed on the Old Shoreham Road side of
the park. The new cafe was described as a ‘Japanese inspired
low-carbon building mainly constructed of timber and glass’.
 |
| copyright © M. Horscroft This attractive feature could be seen at the southern end of Hove Park in the late 1990s |
Sources
Argus
Brighton
Herald 14
July 1900
Hove Council Minute Books
Hove Council Minute Books
Mason,
Ernie A Working
Man; A century of Hove Memories (1999)
Middleton J, Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove
Middleton J, Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove
Copyright © J.Middleton 2019
page layout by D. Sharp
page layout by D. Sharp