Hove in the Past: Walsingham Road, Hove.

Judy Middleton 2003 (revised 2022)

Background

The land on which this road was laid out was in the hands of the Ingram Family by the 1860s. Hugh Fuller was the previous owner, and before him it was Edward Knight, the elder, and Edward Knight, the younger. Then followed a series of transactions until 1880 when the land was owned jointly by George Gallard, Joseph Harris Stretton, Evan Vaughan, and William John Williams. On 2 October 1880 the first three sold their interest in the land to William John Williams. The road was still unnamed in this deed, although Sackville Villas (now Gardens) and Westbourne Villas were mentioned. There was a stipulation that the houses must be set back at least 12-ft from the road, and each house should cost in labour and materials at least £1,700. The road was to contain private dwelling houses or professional residences only.

Development

It is interesting to note that Dr Burnett, who received planning permission in 1894 to build seven houses in the road, was the father of the celebrated novelist Dame Ivy Compton-Burnett (1884-1969). The family lived in The Drive, where a blue plaque in her honour is to be seen, and Dr Burnett had other property interests in Hove including St Leonard’s Avenue and St Leonard’s Road. A favourite Sunday afternoon walk was from The Drive to St Leonard’s Church when he could check on how his properties were getting along.

In September 1895 Major Conyers D’Arcy asked Hove Commissioners for permission to build a small hut on the foreshore opposite to Walsingham Road in which to store a boat and sails, but he was not allowed to proceed with his scheme.

In September 1895 it was stated that if house-owners erected three street lamps at their own expense, then the Commissioners would pay for them to be lit. This was the usual practice for developments at the time. By December 1896 there were still only three street lamps in the road, and the surveyor recommended that five more should be installed. Hove Commissioners were happy to oblige if the house-owners paid for the cost of purchase and erection.

It is strange to note that in November 1896 the houses were re-numbered. It must be the case that some builders had arbitrarily applied numbers to their structures. It was just as well because the house building was steaming ahead. In December 1896 the surveyor was able to report that 41 houses had already been constructed in Walsingham Road, and that 36 of them were occupied. It appears that the local authority kept a strict eye of the building process because the Brighton Gazette (11 June 1898) recorded that Mr A. E. Lewer had appeared several times before the bench in Hove Petty Sessions with reference to certain infractions of local building bye-laws at houses built by him in Walsingham Road. Mr Lewer was responsible for many other houses in Hove, and perhaps his most impressive achievement are the handsome buildings on the south side of Church Road, west of Hove Library to the intersection, which was once known as Lewer’s Terrace.

Trees

In November 1899 the house-owners asked Hove Council to plant trees along the sides of their road. The reply was that the council would be happy to oblige if the home-owners paid for the trees. However, it seemed to take some time to implement, and it was not until November 1905 that it was decided to plant trees, and the cost was put at £54.

On 3 October 1938 a tree was blown down in a gale.

Road Works

In July 1898 Hove Council accepted the tender submitted by Parsons & Sons to undertake new street works for £1,227. In April 1902 the road was declared a public highway.

Miscellaneous

Peter Harlow – He lived in the road in the 1960s. He designed glass mosaics, which were then hand-made by a staff of seven in his workshop in Westbourne Place.

George and Dorothy Parsons – They lived in the road for thirty years. George Parsons was the founder of the Crescent Operatic Society, and the couple remained leading members for many years. During the Second World War George Parsons served as a sergeant major, which stood him in good stead when he became Brighton’s first Town Crier. He died aged 76 in December 1988.

House Notes

Number 1 – Henry Middleton (1853-1932) moved from Slough to Hove in 1899 and lived in this house for little more than a year or so. Middleton was a citizen of the United States, but had come to England to study engineering and mathematics at Cambridge University.

Henry’s family played a central roll in his Country’s history, his great grandfather was Arthur Middleton, a Founding Father of the United States and a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence from Great Britain.

The 1891 census recorded him living in Woburn Square, London, with his wife Mary, who hailed from the Channel Islands, and whom he married in 1885; there were six children and two servants. Such a large household obviously required a considerable income. But in his letters home he often complained he was short of money, and the situation became so serious that a bailiff turned up at this property in Walsingham Road. The bailiff was not to be put off by his failure to be allowed in through the front door, and instead procured a ladder, attempting to gain access through an upstairs window.

However, this greatly upset the young lady who was languishing ill in bed, and she died suddenly at the young age of 27. Of course there had to be an inquest, and the question of the bailiff’s actions were brought up for consideration although the coroner did not consider that they precipitated the woman’s death. Instead, it was clear that she had never made a full recovery from the birth of her ten-month old baby Catherine. The situation was described in the Brighton Herald on 20 October 1900.

The young lady’s name was given as Mrs Beatrice Esther Middleton. But what had happened to Mary? Had Mary left, or been left, divorced or died? If Henry Middleton was legally married to Esther, there is no sign of a wedding certificate.

The 1901 census records the astonishing information that there were no less than fifteen children living at 1 Walsingham Road. Their names were as follows; Helen, Maud, Henry, Arthur, Algernon, Reginald, George, Edward, Lily, Emily, Dorothy, Hal, Ronald, Norman and Catherine.

Meanwhile, Middleton who was described as a civil, electrical, marine and mechanical engineer, continued to carry out his experiments with model submarines in a large water tank inside the house. A newspaper article about his work carried the banner headline ‘Middleton to Save the Country’. In fact, it was not mere dabbling because in 1917 he was granted a patent. He is also credited with the invention of the electric bicycle and steam tricycle. Henry made fourteen applications for patents between the years 1893 and 1919, from such diverse subjects, as bolting doors to flying machines.

Henry Middleton then moved to 31 Goldstone Villas where he remained until 1908 before moving back to London.(See also 31 Goldstone Villas)

(When Dorothy Emma Middleton, the eleventh child of the Middleton brood, grew up, she married Major Gordon Bryce Seymour Cousens MC, and the couple emigrated to Canada. Perhaps the lady had nostalgic memories of her early childhood in Hove because when she became a widow in 1956, she decided to return to Hove where she died in 1962 at 30 Adelaide Crescent.)

Number 4 - In May 1981 this house became a Carr-Gomm Hostel for the lonely and homeless. In 1987 Jimmy Eddery, former Irish champion jockey, was a resident. He was the father of champion jockey Pat Eddery.

Number 6 – Many years later this house became a nursing home. On 27 February 1970 Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart died there.

Number 14 – In 2006 this house was called the Fairdene Lodge Nursing Home, and when the actress Hilda Braid (1929-2007) took a tumble at her home, she spent several months living here. Then she went to stay with an old theatrical friend, Brian Ralfe, who lived at 6 Eaton Manor. Hilda Braid was born at Northfleet in Kent and studied at RADA. It was ironic in a way, that she won an award for her clear diction, suitable perhaps for a grand Shakespearean actress, but instead became famous for character parts in various productions on TV. She had a remarkably long career, soldiering on until she was aged 76, and had completed 50 years in the profession. She became famous for her part in Citizen Kane, and appeared in Eastenders in over 200 episodes as Nana Moon – quite an achievement. She married Brian Badcoe, a fellow actor, and the couple had two children. She died at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in 2007. It is a curious co-incidence that another stalwart of the ‘soaps’ Margot Bryant who played the part of Minnie Caldwell in Coronation Street also had a Hove connection because she lived in Fourth Avenue, and was a friend of Brian Ralfe as well.

Number 20 – In January 1986 it was stated that East Sussex County Council planned to purchase the property, and convert it into a training unit for up to twelve mentally handicapped youngsters aged from sixteen to nineteen. They would learn cooking and household skills. A petition against the scheme was drawn up and signed by 77 people, and in addition there were seventeen letters of protest. It was stated that Walsingham Road already had three rest homes, a holiday home for handicapped children, and a hotel. East Sussex County Council decided to ignore such protests, and give itself planning permission. However, the whole scheme collapsed when the owner had second thoughts and did not wish to sell the property after all.

Number 47 – In June 1993 the property was for sale at £179,950. The house contained two large reception rooms, kitchen, five bedrooms, and two bathrooms. The garden measured around 90-ft.

Number 51 – Estate agent David Tanat-Jones set about restoring this house to its former glory. The front path was laid with period tiles rescued from St Joseph’s Convent, Old Shoreham Road, before demolition, while the conservatory was graced with a tessellated floor containing Minton tiles saved from a house in Denmark Villas before demolition. There were five double bedrooms, a Victorian bathroom, and two large reception rooms. In July 1989 the house was put up for sale at £264,950.

Number 69 – Thomas Harrison Roberts lived here in 1903. He was a publisher and he took a great interest in the survivors of the famous Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava, and had written two articles on the subject for The Times in 1902.

Number 70

In 1971 Walsingham House was established to provide a holiday home for children from Chailey Heritage. Later on it offered holiday accommodation for children from London boroughs as well. In May 1988 TV personality Leslie Crowther came to Hove to present a £15,000 mini-bus to the home provided by the Lord’s Taverners, of which Crowther was a member. He handed over the keys to Jane Sullivan, house-parent. Also in 1988 the Shaftesbury Society took over the management. In 1991 Walsingham House was closed for a year while major structural repairs were carried out. A fundraising campaign realised £100,000 to cover the cost. The house re-opened in November 1992 for self-catering groups, and aimed to become a respite care centre by 1994 to give parents and carers a break as well. On 9 May 2000 Jenny Langston. Mayor of Brighton & Hove, re-opened Walsingham House. It was now the Grace Eyre Foundation’s new centre for adults with learning difficulties. A Lottery grant of £350,000 helped with the project. In 2020 scaffolding was in place once more.

Hove Planning Approvals

1894 – T. Washington, five pairs of semi-detached villas with stables at the rear

1894 – T. Washington for A. Briant, four villas

1894 – T. P. Lund, two villas

1894 – T. Taverner for Dr Burnett, seven houses

1894 – T. Taverner, two houses on the east side

1894 – Mr Parnacott for Mr Tottenham, four houses

1894 – E. J. Ockenden, detached villa, west side

1895 – T. P. Lund, three detached villas, six semi-detached villas, west side

1895 – A. E. Lewer, two semi-detached villas, west side

1895 – E. Keenor for V. Young, three pairs of semi-detached villas, east side

1895 – E. J. Hamilton for Mr Chadwell, house and stable, east side

1895 – T. Taverner, three houses, east side

1895 – T. Washington, detached villas, west side

1896 – T. Washington for A. E. Briant, detached villa

1896 – H. C. Smith for Mr Chadwell. senior, house and stable, east side

1897 – W. C. F. Gillam for G. R. Lockyer, one pair semi-detached villas, east side

1897 – C. Nye for A. E. Lewer, nine pairs semi-detached villas, west side

1897 – G. Burstow for A. Burstow, one detached house, west side

1897 – G. M. Jay for C. Chadwell, detached villa, east side

1898 – A. E. Lewer, detached house

1898 – G. M. Jaye for A. E. Lewer, three houses, east side

1899 – W. R. Purchase, bicycle house, number 60

1900 – C. Nye for A. E. Lewer, eight terraced houses, east side

1904 – W. A. McKeller, one block with two flats, west side

1905 – W. A. McKellar, three houses, west side

1905 – W. A. McKellar, one pair semi-detached houses, west side

Sources

Argus

Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade

Hove Council Minute Books

Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove

18 November 2020

Walsingham Road, Hove.