Hove in the Past: Wish Road, Hove.

Judy Middleton 2003 (revised 2023)

The Name

It is a charming and unusual name but has nothing to do with fairy-dust or good fortune, instead it is rooted in past times. Wish derives from the Old English word ‘wisc’ meaning a marshy meadow, and was the term generally applied to the land in Aldrington close to the sea. People continue to like the word ‘Wish’ and still prefer to call the officially-named Aldrington Recreation Ground by a shorter term – Wish Park.

Historically, there was an old boundary marker called the Wish Post, which was situated south of the tidal pond, near its extremity, above high-water mark, and south-east of the pub now known as The Gather Inn. It is probable that Wish Post related to the old mouth of the River Adur before a new cut was made to Shoreham Harbour. A map of the 1840s marks the landmark although it was called the Wash Post, probably a misprint.

There was also a Wish Cottage situated at the foot of where Woodhouse Avenue is today. The 1841 census recorded that Thomas Pumphrey, a 37-year old agricultural labourer, lived in Wish Cottage with his wife Eliza, aged 32, and their children Thomas, 5, George, 4, and one year old Eliza. By 1851 conditions must have been a little cramped because the Pumphreys were joined by William Comber, also an agricultural labourer, and his family. In 1861 it was 29-year old William Walker who lived with the Pumphreys.

During the First World War Wish Cottage was occupied by Mr and Mrs R. J. Barnett, and it is interesting to note that they gave their address as New Church Road. Their son, Frederick William James Barnett was born at Hove – perhaps in this very cottage. But he later became a resident of Battersea, and when he enlisted in the armed forces it was at Camberwell. He served as a private in the 7^th Battalion of the London Regiment, and was only aged nineteen when he died of his wounds on 13 February 1918 at Rouen. At least his parents had the consolation of knowing he had received a proper burial because battles were often so brutal that dead soldiers were never recovered – their remains still being discovered to this day. Private Barnett was buried in St Server Cemetery Extension, Rouen.

Wish Cottage occupied a unique site because although it was situated in Aldrington, the land was what was known technically as a detached part of Portslade Parish. Wish Cottage was demolished in 1928.

Wish Meadow

A map drawn in 1833 by Figg & Son of Lewes showed that Wish Mead extended for some 17 acres with Wish Barn and buildings on the north side. At that time Wish Mead formed part of Red House Farm in Station Road, Portslade, which consisted of 75 acres, 3 roods, and 39 perches in Portslade, and 383 acres, 3 roods and 25 perches in Aldrington.

By 1925 the area was known as Wish Meadow and in July of that year Hove Council received a letter from Messrs Woodroffe & Son, the Duke of Portland’s agents, stating that plans had been submitted for laying-out a portion of Wish Meadow. The letter referred to a 10-ft strip of land extending from Wish Road to the back of houses in Langdale Gardens. Hove Corporation had purchased this strip of land on the understanding that they made it into a foot-path with walls. But now the agent did not think such a foot-path was necessary as the envisaged new roads would run from north to south. Instead, the agent wanted the strip of land to become part of the gardens at the side of the corporation’s land. Hove Council agreed to the proposal for a yearly rental of 10/- for each house concerned for a period of 21 years.

In the Hove Council Minute Book for February 1926, some more information was forthcoming about this piece of land. It was stated that in 1909 Hove Council purchased a strip of land 10-ft wide from Stretton’s Trustees and the Duke of Portland extending from Wish Road to within around 70-ft of Langdale Gardens for the purpose of laying a sewer east to west across Wish Meadow. Hove Council were supposed to have built a brick wall 5-ft 6-in high and made up a foot-path, but they had never got around to doing it. It was estimated that if the council were now to build a wall 900-ft in length, and make up a path, which would be a cul-de-sac, it would cost £900. However, the land through which it would run was now owned completely by the Duke of Portland, and he would like it back. Although the strip of land had cost £430, the Works Committee thought it was an excellent idea to divest themselves of it, as well as the liability to spend £900, provided of course there was easement for access to the sewer, which had already been built.

Development of Wish Road

Winnie Mainstone’s father, Mr Mainstone, was bailiff to the Duke of Portland. She stated that Mr Mainstone built up a large pig farm on land now covered by Wish Road. Mr and Mrs Mainstone had a large family of twelve children and lived in a cottage on a lane that later came to be called Mainstone Road on the express wishes of the Duke of Portland.

Wish Road was part of the Sea Front Road Development; the other roads being Glendor Road, Tennis Road, Norman Road, Tandridge Road, and Recreation Avenue (later re-named Marine Avenue).

Mr G. Payne received planning permission from Hove Council on 3 July 1902 to develop the new roads, but there seemed to have been no great rush to build properties. Then the First World War intervened, and all street works were suspended for the duration. It was said that during the war Wish Road resembled a cart track. In November 1919 the council considered using some of the unemployed men to undertake some street works to ease their plight, but nothing seems to have come of the idea. It was not until November 1925 that councillors were informed that the estimated cost of new street works in Wish Road came to £4,695-5s.

The 1921 Directory listed only eight names of people living in Wish Road. If you turned north from Kingsway, the first dwelling you would have come across was The Bungalow, occupied by the Whitlock family for some years, but it was not numbered. There were ten houses by 1926, and by 1930 there were twenty-four. It is interesting to note that at number 30 lived Frederick Thomas Knott, a London physician with a string of letters after his name, and his phone number was Portslade 8417; he was still there in 1947.

Also in 1947 Revd Albert J. Yorke, a Methodist minister, lived at number 9 while a solicitor with an inspiring Christian name, Lancelot F. Andrews, lived at number 15. Miss Edith Dolton ran an extensive nursing home business located at numbers 16 / 18 on the east side and numbers 18 / 20 on the west side.

Wish Road could be described as a very ‘leafy’ road with old elm trees plus the boundary of trees and hedges at Wish Park on the west side. For this reason, a tarmac pavement was thought necessary here, although over the years the many tree roots underneath have rendered the surface somewhat bumpy. Further south, near Kingsway, there is the usual slab pavement. The lovely old red pillar box bears the cipher ‘GR’ from the reign of George V (1910-1936).

Dame Henrietta Barnett (1851-1936)

This venerable lady, the pioneer of world-famous Hampstead Garden Suburb, came to live at Hove with her husband in 1913 and took a house in King’s Esplanade. Unhappily, her husband died in the very same year and she moved to 12 Wish Road, on the west side.

copyright © National Portrait Gallery
Samuel Augustus Barnett; Dame Henrietta Barnett
by Elliott & Fry, circa 1905, NPG x696

Then in around 1930 she moved to 45 Wish Road on the east side. When she died in 1936, her ashes were buried in the churchyard of St Helen’s Hangleton, where her husband was also buried. In 1985 a plaque to commemorate Dame Henrietta Barnett was unveiled at 45 Wish Road, having been funded by the Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust.

In recent times further information about Dame Barnett’s time at Hove has come to light. She was good friends with Revd Vicars Armstrong Boyle, vicar of St Nicolas Church, Portslade, and his wife Ada, and they shared the same political views, particularly concerning the rights of women and the welfare of the working classes. At the old vicarage, since demolished, there were lively conversations around the dining table because guests could include Lord Sackville, the Marquess of Cholmondeley, Sidney and Beatrice Webb, as well Dame Barnett.

Also present in the dining room because she was on duty there was the parlour maid Bess (Annie Elizabeth Passiful 1895-1982). Bess was fascinated by all she heard and always maintained that her time in the dining room was an education. Dame Barnett and Bess became friends, and never mind the social divide that usually prevailed between classes in those days. At first, Bess had been terrified when Mrs Boyle told her she must ‘maid’ an important guest because the girl had never been trained as a lady’s maid. But Dame Barnett suffered from rheumatism and needed help to wash and dress, and especially to do her hair. The two of them got on so well that Bess was complimented on her efforts.

Dame Barnett was interested in the working conditions of the men employed at Portslade Brewery, which was at no great distance from the Vicarage, and she asked Bess for information. Soon Bess was invited to take afternoon tea on a Sunday at the Barnett house in Hove; moreover Bess was given a beautiful calender with a famous painting for each month so that she could learn about art. Bess was also shown a painting the Dame had done herself – she was a firm believer in the elevating power of great art. Dame Henrietta Barnett and Samuel Barnett are both buried a few miles away in St Helen's Churchyard, Hangleton.

Dr Forde Everard de Wend Cayley M.B.E. (1915-2004)

This remarkable man lived at 47 Wish Road for over forty years, spending his career as Physician Superintendent of Bevendean Hospital where he was appointed in 1951. In those days tuberculosis was still a scourge, and this hospital specialised in treating those affected. He became an expert in this field and researched new treatments. But it was his experiences between qualifying as a doctor in 1939 and surviving brutal war conditions that made him such an outstanding character.

It is not surprising that Forde Cayley joined the Royal Army Medical Corps when war broke out but all too soon he found himself in retreat at Dunkirk. He came through that, and in September 1941 married Eileen Dalton. It is fascinating to note that one of their wedding presents was from the famous composer Roger Quilter who gave them autographed compositions – Quilter also had associations with Hove.

Photo Credit - M. F. Cayley
Captain F. E. de W. Cayley M.B.E.

The honeymoon period was short-lived because Forde Cayley was soon despatched to the Far East, having been attached to the 5^th Suffolk Regiment. Unfortunately, military collapses seem to dog his footsteps because he was in the thick of it when Singapore fell in 1942. The Japanese sent him to the infamous Changi jail, and then on to the River Kwai. Like all the other British prisoners of war he was exposed to malnutrition and recurrent bouts of malaria not to mention parasitic insects. Indeed, when he was safely back home in England he continued to experience the fall-out from those horrendous years.

However, he managed to concentrate his mind on treating his fellow prisoners as best he could, and walked miles between camps. He was described in a history of the 5^th Suffolk Regiment as a ‘gallant and indefatigable medical officer’. He would treat other diseases such as cholera or dysentery, and even extract teeth. He devised medicines from what was available locally, and hung on to his precious surgical instruments like grim death. There came a time when the Japanese wanted to confiscate the instruments for the exclusive use on their own people, but Forde Cayley refused to let them go. He was rewarded with a harsh beating.

When the Japanese were losing, Forde Cayley and other Britishers retreated to Thailand, and were placed in the Nong Pladuk prisoner of war camp in the Ban Pong district. This camp was bombed by allied aircraft, and twice he evaded death.

It is remarkable that when Forde Cayley was eventually repatriated in a poor state of health, he did not hold a grudge against the people of Japan, and amazingly he hung on to his Christian faith and became a lay-reader at Hove. He enjoyed simple pleasures such as playing the piano, doing a cross-word, walking along the promenade, and he was proud of the produce from his allotment.

Hove Planning Approvals

1905 – J. W. Blackman for T. Whillier, seven pairs of semi-detached villas

1909 – Barnard & Son, six pairs of semi-detached houses, west side

1914 - A. W. Leney, one bungalow, west side

1928 – E. J. Love for D. S. Barclay, twenty semi-detached houses

1928 – E. J. Love for D. S. Barclay, eighteen semi-detached houses

Sources

Cayley M. F.

Census returns

Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade

Hove Council Minute Books

Middleton, J. A History of Women’s lives in Hove and Portslade (2018)

National Portrait Gallery

Pelling, G. Reminiscences of my Aunt Bess (Annie Elizabeth Passiful) Brunel University: Burnett Archive of Working Class Autobiographies

Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove

Street Directories

The Keep – map of 1840s A5379/48/16

27 February 2023

Wish Road, Hove.