Hove in the Past: Goldstone Farm, Hove

Judy Middleton 2002 (revised 2022)

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove
Goldstone House (former farmhouse) and Goldstone Barn engulfed in the urban sprawl of Hove in 1909

The farmhouse at Goldstone Farm, which was later called Goldstone House, was built in the 1870s on the brow of what later became Fonthill Road. In the Argus (16 June 2001) an interesting photograph was published showing the boundary wall of Goldstone House, which included a magnificent classical balustrade along the wall. Apparently, the wall was only visible from the back of a few houses in Goldstone Lane.

This photograph was taken in 1955 when Goldstone House was being demolished. It is a somewhat sad image because in its heyday it must have been a handsome property (Brighton Herald)

Modern houses replaced historic Goldstone House (Brighton Herald)

The land was part of the extensive Stanford Estate. It may be that William Marsh Rigden ran Goldstone Farm at the same time as he was running Long Barn Farm, also in Hove, and belonging to the Stanford Estate too. When Rigden left Hove in 1877 he moved to a house called Ashcroft in Kingston-be-Sea.

William Marsh Rigden

W. M. Rigden was born at Southwick, Sussex. No doubt it was his father or other close relative who had dealings with the Shoreham Harbour Commissioners in 1816 when the new entrance to Shoreham Harbour was being constructed. W. G. Rigden’s tender to supply chalk was not the lowest in price, but he had the advantage of being closer to the harbour. In 1819 he supplied chalk for the in-filling behind the piles, and in 1820 he delivered 2,000 tons of large chalk at 4/- a ton for the sluices.

William Marsh Rigden rented Long Barn Farm on the east side of Hove from the Stanford Estate in the late 1830s, the land stretching from the top of the hill in Dyke Road and down to the coast. This meant that he had hill pasture for his flock of sheep, and arable land on the flatter ground. The old farmhouse was situated where Wilbury Road was later built. The 1851 census recorded the family living in Long Barn Farm as follows:

William Marsh Rigden, aged 32, farmer of 750 acres, and employing 50 labourers

Wife Ellen, aged 32, and their children

Ellen, 9

Catherine, 8

Martha, 7

William, 6

John, 2

Louisa, two months

The household included a governess born in Halifax, USA, and four servants.

Ten years later Rigden’s acreage had gone down to 700 acres, and he employed 45 men and 10 boys. His 12-year old son John attended a small private school at 64 Brunswick Terrace, and there was a new addition to the family – six-year old Charles.

It is interesting to note that in 1871 John Hunter Rigden, by then aged 22, had decided not to follow his father into farming, but was a civil engineer who happened to be home on census night. Ellen and Catherine were still at home and unmarried with a young sister Edith aged five. Louisa was educated at a school in Medina Villas, and proved very useful to her father because she was able to converse with French dealers in their own language when they crossed the Channel to buy pedigree Southdown sheep. Apparently, Rigden’s annual sheep sale was legendary, and people came from far and wide to purchase the animals. By 1873 Rigden’s flock of Southdown had been established for 30 years, and the event attracted ‘a very large attendance of gentlemen’.

In 1877 it was announced that Rigden would be leaving Hove after a period of 40 years. Rigden said, ‘One could not live in a place so long and leave it without regret.’ It seems he had suffered many annoyances (unspecified) during the last few years; the final straw came when he had prepared land for his sheep and it was taken away from him without the slightest notice.

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove
A notice in the Brighton Herald 6 October 1877, to the effect that
Mr Rigden was leaving Hove because the urban sprawl of Brighton
was taking away his farmland

Rigden was also involved in local matters, and served as churchwarden of St Andrew’s Old Church for 40 years. The ‘flock-master’ was chairman of Steyning Board of Guardians, and on 10 November 1858 he was presented by his colleagues with a ‘handsome solid silver salver richly engraved as a mark of their esteem’. There were no less than 28 subscribers to the cost of the salver, including well-known names such as Edward Blaker, William Stanford, and Alfred Hardwick. The Brighton Gazette commented that the ‘name of Rigden has been so long associated with affairs in Hove that we are sure his removal will be a source of regret to an extensive circle of the inhabitants.’

At Goldstone Farm Rigden kept up the old tradition known as Holling-pot, which was a much-anticipated celebration of harvest home. Rigden, who was known as a generous employer, ensured that all his farm hands were provided with liberal quantities of beer on this occasion, which was celebrated in the foreman’s cottage, situated where St Agnes Church was later built. Frank Upton, Rigden’s shepherd, had fond memories of those celebrations.

It is a truism that hard work and good deeds are soon forgotten, while if William Marsh Rigden is remembered at all today, it is because he ordered two employees – Churcher and Terry – to bury the famous Goldstone. Today we would regard such an act as vandalism, but Rigden was trying to protect his crops, which thoughtless people were trampling all over in order to have a good look at the Goldstone. (For more information, please see separate page Ancient Hove).

John Jackson Clark (1845-1928)

J. J. Clark was born in Cumberland but when he was around seven years old the family moved to London. On leaving school, he worked at a firm of colonial brokers, and at the young age of 24 he was taken into partnership. In 1874 he retired from the City and turned his attention to farming, purchasing a farm at Patcham. On 30 September 1877 he moved into Goldstone Farm, renting it from the Stanford Estate. He did not follow his predecessor in sheep farming, but instead ‘created one of the most successful and productive market gardens in the country’. The 1881 census records the family living at Goldstone Farm as follows:

John Jackson Clark, farmer of 205 acres

Wife Georgina, and their children

Kate, 8

Maud, 6

Florence, 3

Constance, 1

Their son Arthur must have been away at school at the time, but he appears in the 1891 census when he was aged 20 and worked as a baker, presumably in his father’s bakery.

It was not all plain sailing in the market gardening business. For example, in September 1898, after a summer drought, an invasion of caterpillars (large and green with black spots) appeared in a field belonging to Mr Clark, north of Lansdowne Road. It was a 700-acre field full of cauliflowers, and the caterpillars caused damage estimated at £100.

By 1920 Clark had completed 40 years of unbroken service to Hove – first as a Hove Commissioner, and then as a Hove Councillor. It is amusing to note that when Brighton proposed to annexe Hove, Clark was in favour of such a move initially but later changed his mind. Indeed, he became such a supporter of Hove’s independence that when a Charter of Incorporation was granted, Clark was one of two names on the document – the other being G. B. Woodruff, both being described as ‘well beloved and trusted subjects’. Clark was so esteemed that he was invited to stand as Mayor of Hove several times but always declined. Clark celebrated his 40 years of service by throwing a celebratory dinner at Hove Town Hall for fellow councillors and friends. They presented him with a handsome silver cigar box.

J. J. Clark must have possessed boundless energy as can be seen from the following list of his interests:

Chairman of Brighton and Rottingdean Seashore Electric Railway (‘Daddy Longlegs’)

Chairman of Brighton, Hove & Preston Omnibus Company, until sold to Tilling’s

Chairman of the Food Committee during the First World War for Steyning East Rural District

Chairman of the local Market Gardeners’ Association

Chairman of the Military Tribunal during the First World War for Steyning East Rural District

Chairman of Steyning East Rural Council for 33 years

Director of Brighton West Pier Company for 20 years, elected chairman in 1919

Director of Maynard’s, the popular confectionery firm

Director of Southdown Motor Services

Magistrate on Hove Bench

Member of the Freemasons, Stanford Lodge

Member of Shoreham Port Authority

President of Brighton, Hove & District Master Bakers’ Association

At the Employment Problem of Belgian Refugees Conference at Brighton on the 20 February 1915. Alderman J. J. Clark stated, 'he was sure employers of labour in the district would be glad to assist Belgians who wanted to work. Personally, he could take a few farm labourers, but he was afraid there were not many men of that class on the list. He had one working for him, and would be glad of a dozen more like him'. (see Belgian Refugees in Portslade page).

Although Clark was approaching 70 years of age when the First World War broke out, he was determined to play his part, and besides the committee work, he became a Special Police Constable at Hove.

J. J. Clark was responsible for laying out two estates at Hove – one situated south of New Church Road comprising of Carlisle Road, Langdale Road and Langdale Gardens, no doubt choosing the names as a reminder of his childhood in Cumberland. The other estate was situated north of Hove Railway Station, which the local Press dubbed ‘Clarkville’. Clark also laid out Goldstone Football Ground – originally for Hove Football Club, and later leased to Brighton & Hove Albion. Clark made fifteen tennis courts for six clubs, and laid out West Hove Golf Course in Benfield Valley. He was one of the pioneers in the development of the coal industry in east Kent.

During the war the Clarks celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary, having been married at the fashionable church of St Margaret’s, Westminster. The following day their 320 employees – at both farm and bakery – were invited to a high tea and concert at Hove Town Hall. In return, the workers gave them a silver tea service.

Mrs Clark died on 6 April 1923 and the chief mourners at her funeral, beside the widower, were:

Mr & Mrs A. J. Clark (son and daughter-in-law)

Miss K. F. Clark (daughter)

Mr & Mrs T. H. Drakeford (son-in-law and daughter)

Mr & Mrs Habben (son-in-law and daughter)

Mr & Mrs S. Herbert (son-in-law and daughter)

Mr S. R. Walker and Miss Walker (grand-daughter)

E. J. Herbert and G. Herbert (grandsons)

Mr J. C. J. Clark (grandson) and his wife

John Jackson Clark died on 30 September 1928 in his 83^rd year, and the funeral took place on Friday 5 October. The Clarks’ family grave is at Hove Cemetery and the inscription concerning J. J. Clark reads for 48 years a member of Hove Council, first deputy mayor and senior alderman of the borough for 30 years.

Also buried there were their daughters:

Maud Georgina Clark, died 18 February 1916 (second daughter)

Kate Frances Clark, died 4 February 1947 aged 74 (eldest daughter)

Clark’s Bread Company

It is said that when John Jackson Clark arrived in the area he was unable to find any bread to his taste, and so he decided to establish his own model bakery. He started this business on 13 September 1887 on land belonging to Goldstone Farm – this site eventually became 12 Fonthill Road. From this modest start, a flourishing company grew.

By 1890 advertisements described the business as Clark’s Bread and Cake Factory. This was because Clark’s became the first bread company in the south to install a fully automatic plant, and the resulting products won many prizes.

For example, Clark’s won a gold medal at the Brighton & Hove International Exhibition in 1889, and a prize medal for excellence in 1890 at the Brighton Health Exposition. Local historian Henry Porter was obviously a keen fan of Clark’s because in his History of Hove (1897) he penned the following glowing endorsement:

‘The merits of the articles not only appeal to the eye and the palette, but are so pre-eminently healthy that all the eminent medical specialists recommend Clark’s famous cakes and bread in cases of diabetes, dyspepsia, dropsy, debility, obesity and where dietetic nourishment needs to be delicately diffused.’

Clark’s was extended in 1905, 1914, and 1919, and there was a special wing devoted to cakes and confectionery. In 1890 the first Clark’s shop was opened in North Street, Brighton, and by 1929 there were eight shops in Brighton. Clark’s shops at Hove were as follows:

62 Boundary Road

28 Church Road

197 Church Road

56A George Street

70 Portland Road

4 Stoneham Road

110 Western Road

The two photographs seen here were published by the Brighton Herald, which began life in 1806, becoming the first newspaper in the Brighton area, changing its name to the Brighton Herald and Hove Chronicle in 1902, and to the Brighton and Hove Herald 1922; it ceased to be a separate title in 1971 and became part of the Brighton and Hove Gazette. In the earlier photograph dating from the 1900s, it is interesting to note the lettering on the roof does not face the north frontage. In the second photograph, probably dating from the 1950s, the factory has extended so far that it could not all fit into the frame, while the road looks remarkably smooth.

Shortly before J. J. Clark died in 1928, the business was converted from a private company (founded in 1893) into a public company with Sir James Hawkey as chairman. Clark’s continued to expand – in 1926 the old established firm of Napper’s was acquired, and in 1931 Clark’s took over Gigin’s.The company was now running around 50 shops in Sussex. In June 1936 the trading profit was £21,283-2-2d.

In June 1945 the 52^nd ordinary general meeting of the company was held at 161 North Street, Brighton. The chairman was Sir James Hawkey, and the directors were Councillor A. J. Clark and Mr J. C. J. Clark. Up to the 31 March 1945 the net profits for the year were £16,669-13-8d as compared with the profits of the previous year of £16,682-7-3d. This was after making allowances for tax and excess profits that were taxed at 100 per cent. Production was up by 25 per cent when compared to 1939-1940. During the Second World War Clark’s were large suppliers of cakes and pastries to the Army, Navy and NAAFI Canteens in Sussex and Surrey, but this had practically ceased by 1945. After the war there was growing national concern at labour problems in bread making departments. At Clark’s many of the workers were elderly men who had worked long hours under difficult conditions during the war. But the strain was getting too much and would soon be critical, while at the same time demand for bread was increasing. The confectionery side had fallen considerately because of the difficulty of obtaining supplies. Many of the company’s properties had been war-damaged and repaired, and there were no claims outstanding against the War Damage Commission. On the other hand, the replacement of such items as plant, linen, glass, china, cutlery, and plate had fallen into arrears, and £2,500 had been put into a special fund to replace them when conditions improved. General Manager J. C. Smith was stated to have rendered conspicuous service during a very difficult and trying period.

Clark’s best-known bread was called ‘Cream o’ the South’ and by the 1950s Clark’s Vienna bread and wedding cakes were their speciality. In 1957 the firm celebrated its 70^th anniversary with a grand dinner and dance at Hove Town Hall. It was recorded that Alderman A. J. Clark, son of the founder, had, as a young man, studied the latest improvements in flour milling in France and Germany.

In May 1976 Clark’s sold off its bread interest to Rank, Hovis, McDougall. Most of the delivery vans were also set to go because it was planned to reduce the number of its Sussex shops to around twenty. There were some redundancies, but it was said the firm would still be baking bread for its own shops, and would continue with its frozen food interests. The chairman was Leon Keene. However, in October 1976 Clark’s went bankrupt with the loss of 368 jobs.

Farming Matters at Goldstone Farm

In August 1881 J. J. Clark wrote to the chairman of the Police Committee pointing out the unsatisfactory state of the water supply in the event of a fire breaking out at Goldstone Farm. As well as his house, there were seven cottages nearby, stabling and cow-stalls containing over 30 horses and around 40 cows. Besides these, there were other buildings and valuable equipment too. The Chief Superintendent replied that the nearest water-main in Hove – except for a 2-inch pipe – was in Conway Street, and there was a hydrant in this main at the top of Goldstone Street. The Hove Commissioners agreed they would install a fire-plug near Goldstone Farm as soon as the water-main was laid there.

In 1901 Hove Council needed some of Clark’s land north of Old Shoreham in order to create Hove Park. It was stated that Clark had invested a large outlay in bringing the land into tip-top condition by continuous trenching, manuring, and cultivation, thus converting sheep grazing and corn production to a first-class market garden. Consequently, Clark was awarded compensation amounting to £2,501, while Hove Council had to find £14,600 to purchase the land from the Stanford Estate. It is interesting to note the exact nature of the crops Clark grew, as recorded in Council Minutes:

390 rods – asparagus beds (7 years old)

167 rods – asparagus beds (6 years old)

226 rods – asparagus roots for forcing (6 years old)

178 rods – asparagus roots for forcing (5 years old)

347 asparagus roots for planting

28 rods – sprouting broccoli

237 rods – broccoli and Brussels sprouts

496 rods – vacant after cauliflowers

248 rods – vacant after cabbages

76 rods – spring cabbages

226 rods – vacant after potatoes

36 rods – parsley

375 rods – double white narcissus

29 rods – pheasant’s eye narcissus

92 rods – green euonymus

198 rods – black and red currant trees

90 rods – chalk pit piece

Some Workers at Goldstone Farm

In 1898 two workers at the farm were William Walker of 11 Victoria Cottages, Hove, and Barton West of Upper Portslade. Unfortunately, the two two men were involved in a fracas on 2 August 1898. Witness Edward Goff stated that when they were standing outside the chalk pits, one of them said ‘Let’s go in and have it out.’ So in they went and fought each other for two rounds, both ending up on the ground. Then as West was about to leave, Weller pulled out a knife and stabbed West in the back. Nobody knew the cause of the fracas, but Weller was drunk at the time. It was fortunate that West did not suffer a fatal wounding. Indeed, by 20 August 1898 he had recovered enough to be able to give evidence in court, although the wound was not yet healed.

During the First World War Clark provided a living for 320 employees. Naturally, with so many men called to the colours, he had to employ some women too. One such worker was Lilian Bond who milked the cows and worked in the market garden. The hard work obviously did her no harm, and she was able to celebrate her 100^th birthday in 1983, by which time she was living in Falconhurst, New Church Road, Hove.

Goldstone Farm Cottages

These seven cottages occupied a site later to be covered by Fonthill Road. They were not built as a terrace and there were two semi-detached cottages. Henry Porter, writing in 1897, described them thus, ‘The crude style in vogue among our ancestors can … be discerned in contemplating the couple of antique Wealden habitations that occupy a nitch (sic) under the brow of the hill leading to Goldstone Farm.’ A watercolour drawing of them was made in 1885. When the cottages were demolished in the 20^th century, the date ‘1750’ was found under the eaves.

In census returns the occupants were listed under Goldstone Bottom, and they worked as agricultural labourers, cow-men, and shepherds, although in 1851 and 1861 William Mills, farm bailiff, also lived there.

The cottages were relatively small, and some of them were very crowded. For example, in 1891 number 2 was occupied by William Gent, his wife, four sons, and three daughters. At number 5 was Arthur Souter, aged 31, who worked as an agricultural labourer and a carter, and lived with his wife, one son and four daughters. At number 7 lived 40-year old Thomas Studart, his son, two daughters, plus two lodgers, both agricultural labourers.

In 1896 the cottages were occupied by the following men and their families:

Thomas Studart

Thomas Balcombe

William Baker

George Weller

Thomas Cruse

Arthur Souter

Richard Weller

With regard to William Baker mentioned above, it seems he moved about a bit, unless of course there were two men of the same name living in the area. But according to census records in 1891 William Baker was living at 78 Ellen Street, Hove, with his wife Eleanor, and their three daughters Eleanor 3, Amy 2, and Alice, aged two months. Then by 1901 he was to be found in West Sussex, at Broadwater, East Preston, where he had additional mouths to feed because there were three more daughters, Bessie, Amy, and Agnes, and no doubt a longed-for son Ernest aged five months. By 1911 the family occupied 1 Goldstone Farm Cottages. After the First World War, daughter Eleanor married a soldier who hailed from Glasgow, and the couple moved to South Africa. (Information kindly supplied by N. Head.)

In around 1900 Mrs Juden and Mrs Peacock lived in the semi-detached cottages, and Mrs Peacock was well-known locally because she sold sweets. In 1902 number 2 was reported to Hove Council because it was overcrowded, and it was stated that five children slept in the back bedroom. The occupants were given seven days in which to reduce the number of children in the back bedroom to three, although how this was achieved is not clear.

The date of demolition is also unclear. In August 1945 the cottages were described as having been destroyed ‘in quite modern times’. This cannot be accurate since St Agnes Church was built where some of them had been located, although the last cottage did last until 1968.

Sources

Brighton Herald
Brighton Gazette (September 1873)

Census returns

Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade

Hove Council Minutes
Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove
St Barnabas Church Hove

Sussex Daily News (18 December 1935)

09 April 2022

Goldstone Farm, Hove