Hove in the Past: Victoria Cottages, Hove

Judy Middleton 2003 (revised 2023)

Development

The cottages were built in 1830 and are an important part of Hove’s more humble past because they are one of the few remaining parts of Hove village, which was concentrated around what is now Hove Street. Of course at the eastern border with Brighton the Brunswick Town development was under way, but for a rather more exclusive clientele than the people inhabiting Victoria Cottages. It would be interesting to know if the cottages had a name in the early days because Queen Victoria did not come to the throne until 1837.

Victoria Cottages are nearer to the sea today than when they were built, and in Constable’s paintings of Hove beach it is clear that in those days there was a long, shelving beach. Indeed, there were even buildings on the beach as well as some cottages.

In 1877 Hove Commissioners decreed that owners of property in Victoria Cottages should supply water to the privies.

In February 1878 it was recorded that there were no less than 260 inhabitants living in Victoria Cottages and nearby Sussex Road. The cottages must have been very over-crowded, but the situation was the same at Robin’s Row in Portslade, as well as parts of Brighton.

Some interesting details about the people can be discovered from census returns:

1851 Census

There were sixteen inhabited houses, and one unoccupied house.

James Holes brick-maker, born in Kent, wife, daughter, son and lodger. (James Holes earned a good living out of the brick business, enabling him to purchase two plots in George Street in 1858, and by 1861 he was living at 26 Hova Villas. It is thought that Holes Road in Portslade was named after him, although it was later changed to Beaconsfield Road).

George Batts, land-man, born in Hove, wife, son and daughter

Richard Murphy, labourer, born Ballywilliam, Ireland, and wife

James Batts, land-man, born in Hampshire, wife and daughter; he employed two labourers

George Coppard, labourer, born in Rottingdean, and wife

Thomas Evans, hog jobber, born in Patching, Sussex, wife and servant

Sarah Harland, widow, laundress, born in Berwick, Sussex, two sons, two daughters, daughter-in-law, and two grandsons

Francis Bennet, born in Albourne, Sussex, and wife

William Chatfield, agricultural labourer, born in Ditchling, wife, son, and two daughters

John Wyatt, labourer on the beach, born in Hove, wife and son

Thomas King, brick-maker, born in Hampshire, wife, and three daughters

William Jones, cook, born in Havant, wife, four sons, three daughters, and one lodger

Sarah Hunter, laundress / ironer, born in Brighton

John Cook, brick-maker, born in Fletching, Sussex, wife, two daughters, and one son

James Sherlock, brick-maker’s labourer, born in Hove, wife, two sons, three daughters, and one lodger

It is interesting to note that only three heads-of-families were Hove-born. It is often assumed that because the cottages were so close to the sea, they must have been occupied by fishermen or sailors. There was only one man who came close to this idea, but he was only a labourer on the beach. The identification of ‘land-man’ was that he definitely had no connection with the sea and the word simply meant a ‘countryman’.

1861 Census

Solomon Gatton, aged 44, agricultural labourer, wife Charlotte aged 42, children Eliza 10, Harriet 9, Mary Ann 7, William 2 (the last three having been born in Hove). Their address was given as ‘Bath House’

James Stoner, aged 37, fly-driver, wife Ann 35, children Jesse 19, Elizabeth 12, Emily 10, Alicia 8, Margaret 6, Ellen 4, Rhoda 2, Nathan aged one year, and one-month old George – this family too must have lived at the Bath House

1) Timothy Minall, boatman, wife Sarah aged 39, charwoman, children Charles 17 servant, Thomas 16 pot-boy, Susan 13, Sarah 11, William 9, Timothy 7, Jesse 6, James 4, Jane 3, - the last seven children having been born in Hove. (In 1874 Timothy Minall lived at 26 Osborne Street, Hove, and he owned two 18-ft sailing boats for hire on Hove beach called Flying Scud and Kittiwake. Charles Minall was also a registered boatman for the former. In addition Timothy Minall owned a 14-ft rowing boat called Friends Goodwill and William Minall was the registered boatman for that vessel. Perhaps the three boats did not generate as much revenue as hoped because in 1876 Timothy Minall owned just the Kittiwake).

2) James Marsh, aged 47, brick-layer’s labourer, wife Ann 43, children Charlotte 16 servant, William 13 servant, Henry 10, Matilda 4, one visitor, one milkman

3) William Adams, 25, brick-layer, wife Eliza 26, daughter Louise 5, cousin Emma Batts 10, James Batts aged 70, labourer (sand-man)

4) John Dewdney, aged 41, butcher, wife Charlotte aged 34; laundress

5) Sarah Harland, aged 63, widow, laundress, daughters Sarah 29, Sophia 27, Eliza 24, and niece Susan White 23 – all ironers – plus grand-daughter Sophia Harland 6

6) Ann Wood, aged 45, widow, servant, and children Ruth 20 dressmaker, Ann 18, and Jane 16, both servants, Alfred 13, Ellen 9, Harriet 6, plus two visitors aged 7 and 3

7) Edward Baker, aged 50, brick-layer’s labourer, wife Jane 51, and daughters Fanny 11, and Caroline 7

8) John Cook, aged 49, brick-maker, wife Sarah Ann 40, laundress, and children Charlotte 26 servant, John 13, Jane 7, and Alfred 3

9) John Parsons, aged 45, master gardener, wife Caroline 43, and children Edwin 23 brick labourer, Lucy 18, Henry 15, William 13, John 8, Alice 5, all the children born in Hove

10) John Wilson, aged 62, superannuated coastguard, grandson John Moon 3, and Jane Murphy 63 lodger

11) Daniel Harland, aged 24, stoker, wife Rebecca 38 laundress, and children Daniel 13 milkman, John 11, Eliza 7, plus lodger Sarah Martin 50 charwoman

There were only two families living in the cottages in 1861 who had also been there in the previous census of 1851 – widow and laundress Sarah Harland, and brick-maker John Cook. Out of eleven households, no less than four of them contained a woman who earned money by taking in laundry, and one had three daughters and a niece who toiled with flat irons.

1871 Census

John Clayton, aged 40, engine man at Brill’s Baths, wife, two sons, and one daughter

William Adams, aged 34, brick-layer, three daughters, two sons, one grandson

Frances Moppett, aged 81, widow

Hannah Batts, aged 78, widow

Samuel Cooper, aged 40, labourer, unmarried

Thomas Mitchell, aged 61, coal-man

Ann Hellyer, aged 86, widow

Joseph Hellyer, aged 35, domestic servant, wife three sons, one daughter and a niece

John Standing, aged 30, milkman, wife and three sons

Edward Baker, aged 60, labourer, wife, two daughters, four lodgers (all labourers)

Robert Verrills, aged 34, horse-keeper, wife, two sons, two daughters and one lodger

Noah Marshall, aged 34

John Parsons, aged 55, gardener, wife, four sons, two daughters and one grandson

Caroline Matthews, aged 43, married woman, laundress, seven daughters, and one son

George Thompson, aged 28, porter, wife, one son plus George’s sister

David Coleman, aged 31, car-man to coal merchant

The number of people occupying a house varied from nine to one. There was a rise in single occupants with three widows living on their own as well as four working men.

1891 Census

Silas Harris, cellar-man, and his widowed mother

Caroline Minall, aged 46, married woman, charwoman, sons John 22 pastry cook, Walter 20 baker, William 19 porter, and three younger sons plus a daughter Florence

John Gorman, aged 37, domestic servant, wife Annie 36, three sons and two daughters

Alfred Friar, aged 41, general porter, wife, two sons, five daughters

Richard Bedding, aged 52, cab-driver, one son and one daughter

George H. King, groom, wife, his sister and nephew

Thomas Minall, aged 24, carter, wife and daughter

Daniel Flanagan, aged 61, general labourer, wife and two daughters

George Upward, aged 44, general labourer, wife, three sons, two daughters, and one grandson

Emily Newman, aged 47, married woman, charwoman, son and daughter

Charles ?, aged 72, plasterer, wife, daughter and grandson

William Martin, aged 26, bricklayer’s labourer, wife, son, plus three lodgers incloding a pot-boy at an inn

A Fracas

In 1898 William Waller of Victoria Cottages worked as a labourer at Goldstone Farm. He was involved in a disagreement with a fellow labourer, Barton West, who lived in Upper Portslade, although nobody knew the cause. On 2 August 1898 Edward Goff heard one of them say outside the chalk pits at the farm, ‘Let’s go in and have it out.’ So in they went and fought two rounds, with both of them ending up on the ground. Then as West was about to leave, Weller, who was drunk, pulled out a knife and stabbed West in the back. Fortunately, it was not a mortal wound, and West had recovered enough to appear in court on 20 August to give evidence, although his wound had not yet healed.

Victoria Cottages and the First World War

Number 8 – Frederick Upward was the son of George and Caroline Upward who lived in this cottage. Upward was educated at the George Street Schools, and later on lived with his wife Caroline at 96 Goldstone Road. Upward served in the Royal Navy as a 1^st class stoker aboard HMS Majestic. This ship took part in the Dardanelles campaign, and was tasked with the bombardment of Turkish Fort 9. The captain was unaware that Turkish field guns were ready for action since they were screened by woodland. On 18 March 1915 Majestic received four direct hits and although one man died, and some others were injured, the vessel was not badly damaged, and four days afterwards was again ready for action.

On 27 May 1915, off West Beach, Gallipoli, Majestic was torpedoed by submarine U-21, causing her to capsize within nine minutes with the loss of forty lives. However, Upward’s death was stated to have taken place on 14 June 1915, and so perhaps he was injured at the time, and later died of his wounds. He was buried at Beach Cemetery, Anzac.

Number 10 – John Moses and Elizabeth Wyatt lived in this cottage and it is tragic that they lost two sons in the war. The first to go was nineteen-year old William Wyatt who served in 1^st Battalion, Royal Marines Light Infantry. He died at home on 21 January 1917 but the cause of death was not given. He was buried in Hove Cemetery.

John Moses Wyatt originally served with the Bedfords, but was then assigned to the Northamptonshire Regiment, 18^th Division. He was killed in action on 18 September 1918 at the age of eighteen. He is commemorated in the Vis en Artois Memorial. This meant that his body could not be found for a proper burial.

Sources

Census returns on microfilm at Hove Library

Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade

Hove Commissioners Minute Books
Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove

29 July 2020

Victoria Cottages, Hove