Hove in the Past: Hove Railway Station

Judy Middleton 2002 (revised 2019)

Holland Road Halt

It may surprise some people to learn that the original railway station serving the Hove area was not at Goldstone Villas but further east, situated north of what was later called Holland Road. It was a sensible decision at that time because whereas Hove village was a small settlement amidst rural surroundings, Brunswick Town was new and fashionable.

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
The original Hove Railway Station (Holland Road Halt) can be seen in this early Hove map, to the left is Cliftonville Railway Station (the present day Hove Railway Station)

According to Henry Porter in The History of Hove (1897) the original station opened on 14 November 1845, although other sources state that it had been in operation since 1840.

It was later known as Holland Road Halt, and closed for good on 1 March 1880.

The Second Railway Station

The next station was east of the present-day railway foot-bridge. It became operational on 1 October 1865. Rather confusingly, it was known by different names, as set out below:

Cliftonville Station from1865 until 30 June 1879

West Brighton Station from 1 July 1879 until 1 October 1894

Hove and West Brighton Station from 1894 to 1 July 1895

Hove Station thereafter

The changing names reflect the tremendous growth of Hove in Victorian times. After Brunswick Town, the next big development was the Cliftonville area, followed later on by The Avenues, which was popularly known as West Brighton. In 1894 Hove received the status of an Urban District Council, and so naturally the councillors wished this to be reflected in the name of the station. The request to the railway authorities to change the name to just ‘Hove’ was made on 14 June 1894 but obviously it took a few months before it happened.

Thirteen years later improvements were made to the station. The Cliftonville & Hove Mercury (25 October 1878) announced that in around three weeks time the platform would be covered and the extensive alterations finished. The reporter wrote that it would be a great improvement on the ‘inconvenient structure, which has hitherto done duty for passengers’.

F. D. Banister (1823-1897)

copyright © J.Middleton
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
monogram can still be seen here on a tall pillar
beside the Station's entrance.

Banister was the resident engineer to the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway from 1860 to 1896. He was also an architect and surveyor: most probably he designed the second Hove Station, which was built in the Italianate style and is remarkably similar to Portslade Railway Station, constructed in 1881. Banister was also busy with alterations to Brighton Railway Station in the 1880s. In 1889 / 1890 Banister designed and oversaw the construction of the foot-bridge at Hove Station.

It is interesting to note that Banister lived locally – in 1850 he was to be found in Queen’s Road, Brighton, while in 1854 he was at Medina Villas, Hove, and in 1861 he resided in Ivy Lodge, near Hove Street (since demolished). It must have been a busy household and there were just two live-in servants to look after things. Mr Banister’s parents lived in Ivy Lodge together with Mr Banister and his wife Nancy and their children – daughters Catherine, 12, Eleanor, 11, Emily, 7, Alice, 5, and sons Frederick, 8, Edward, 3, and Frank aged one.

It seems that Banister’s influence on Hove covered more than the railway station because Henry Porter, author of The History of Hove (1897), credits him with having designed the lay-out of the Cliftonville area.

Brighton Herald 13 October 1849

Enlargement

In 1893 Hove Commissioners and J. D. Banister were in communication with each other regarding the proposed plans for alterations to Hove Station. It was hoped to enlarge the booking office from 29-ft by 15-ft to 41-ft by 20-ft; there would also be two flights of steps and entrances, plus two doorways leading from the booking office to the platform instead of the single one. The existing verandah roof at the entrance was to be enlarged from 42-ft by 23-ft to 65-ft by 35-ft. The north platform would also be enlarged by doing away with one set of rails, and moving the waiting room and offices to the centre. The north platform would then be 15-ft instead of 11-ft.

As for the new approach to the station, negotiations were still on-going with the landowners involved. Mr J. G. Blaker offered to give up a 15-ft strip of land in front of the station on condition that Hove Commissioners would pay for the construction of a footpath and maintain it, as well as lighting the area and looking after the lamps. The addition of this piece of land meant that the approach road would be 94-ft, of which the railway company proposed to retain 35-ft in its ownership.

A formal agreement concerning the approach road was signed in July 1893 between the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, the Hove Commissioners, Mrs Ellen Benett-Stanford on behalf of the Stanford Estate, and Mr John George Blaker. Meanwhile, railway users living north of the station grumbled that no approach road was being made for their convenience.

Historic Film

The year 1897 was a historic occasion in the history of Hove Station because it became the first in the world to be recorded in a short film entitled Passenger Train. The film provided a fascinating glimpse of a train arriving at Hove Station in a cloud of steam, followed by passengers wearing fashionable Victorian clothes dis-embarking and getting on the train. The film was shot by George Albert Smith (1864-1959) one of the brilliant Hove Film pioneers, now rated as of world-wide importance. Smith built his first movie camera in !896, and the following year produced 31 short films, one of which was Passenger Train.

1898

On 1 July 1898 the first Pullman service from the south coast to London was instituted. It seemed that the new service took some time to become popular because on that first occasion, when the train arrived at Hove from Worthing, there were no passengers aboard, but five gentlemen boarded the train at Hove. (How present-day commuters would sigh at the thought of all those lovely empty seats!).

In the Hove Gazette (3 September 1898) there was an amusing letter from a passenger about the hazards of waiting on the platform. ‘It is very pleasant to get milk free of charge providing it is put into a proper utensil. It is very unpleasant when one has to receive it in drops on one’s clothes as was recently my experience at Hove Station. While waiting on the platform for my train some officials were carrying cans of milk across the line and without any warning until too late I was favoured by a shower bath when they hurled the churns down with a bang. I unfortunately had a black coat on, the cleaning of which has cost me three and sixpence.’

The Foot-bridge

It was not until the 1880s that consideration was given to the needs of people who might wish to cross the railway line in safety. At first it seems that a subway was envisaged. But in May 1888 Mr A. Searle, secretary and general manager of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, suggested to the Hove Commissioners that a foot-bridge should be provided instead of a subway. The Hove Commissioners agreed provided that the whole project did not cost more then £1,200 and that the relevant landowners came up with two-thirds of the cost. By July 1888 it had been agreed that landowners and Hove Commissioners should advance the sum of £800 towards the cost of the foot-bridge, and this amount was deposited in the railway company’s account the following month.

F. D. Banister designed the foot-bridge. It seemed that the project was taking longer to complete than Hove Commissioners thought it should, and so the town clerk wrote to Mr Banister in June 1890 to ascertain the reason for the delay in opening the structure to the public. Mr Banister replied that the non-delivery of ironwork was the cause of the delay but he hoped the footbridge would be completed by July 1890.

The newly completed foot-bridge became a magnet for local children, and in October 1894 the delightfully-named Mr Tickle complained to the authorities about children playing there. By 1895 the foot-bridge had become a favourite vantage point from which to watch the arrival and departure of trains. The Hove authorities did not like this, and asked the railway company to board up the sides. While the company were happy to comply with the request, they required £100 to be paid for the work. The Hove authorities replied rather haughtily that they could not see their way to paying the money. Furthermore, they wrote that ‘in their opinion the time has arrived when a properly covered access to Hove Railway Station from the north side should be provided by the company.’

copyright © J.Middleton
There are still interesting views to be enjoyed from the north side of
the foot-bridge – to the east you look down on Hove Park Villas

The company refused, and so Hove sent a deputation to talk to the company’s directors. Finally, on 23 September 1896 an agreement was reached whereby the company would pay half the cost of roofing and closing in the sides to a height of 5-ft, while Hove should stump up for the other half, as well as maintain the foot-bridge in the future. Sir Alan Sarle wrote to ask for confirmation of this agreement in writing. In March 1897 the surveyor, (Mr Banister was no longer working for the company) produced plans for roofing and boarding up the sides.

In October 1895 it was decided to affix notices to the side of the bridge stating ‘Persons are requested not to spit on the Bridge’.

In May 1897 the surveyor reported that there was insufficient lighting on the foot-bridge but he could nor recommend incandescent gas lighting because of the vibrations. Instead, he recommended that ten candle-power tantallum lamps should be installed at a cost of £20 with the annual expenditure expected to be £26-8s.

In 1917 it was decided that the lamps on the foot-bridge should be kept lit all night.

copyright © J.Middleton
Another interesting view to be enjoyed from the north side of the foot-bridge – to the west is the wonderful mosaic lettering still adorning the erstwhile Dubarry Perfumery

In March 1913 Hove Council decreed that new steps should be installed at both ends of the foot-bridge. It seems probable that there had been complaints about the steepness of the flight of steps because the proposal was to replace the rise of 7-in with a rise of 5½. This led to another exchange between the council and the company because Hove wanted the company to do the work for an estimated cost of £190. But the company replied that the estimate was far too low and the most likely cost would be around £322. In August 1913 Hove councillors decided not to proceed – only to change their minds two months later. The company then undertook to construct the new flights for £300. It is interesting to note that because of the slight rise in the gradient to the north, there are more steps on the south side.

The foot-bridge has not kept up with the times. The pressure group Hove Station Neighbourhood Forum thinks that with all the new housing and re-development going on in the area, something needs to be done. For example, in these days when shops and public spaces have to be disabled-access friendly by law, at the foot-bridge there is no help for disabled people, nor for that matter for mothers struggling with buggies, although there is a metal trough to enable bicyclists to wheel their machines up and down in comfort. In 2017 David Kemp, a Forum member, said he had drawn up plans for a replacement foot-bridge over three years ago: another Forum member Mike Gibson stated that the cost of installing lifts would require the expenditure of a minimum of £1 million.

Also in 2017, Councillor Gill Mitchell, transport committee chairwoman, Brighton & Hove Council City Council stated that while the foot-bridge was ‘currently structurally sound (it) was fast approaching the end of its design life’.

But there are no easy answers. The logistics of demolishing the foot-bridge and building a new one over a busy working railway are horrendous, and never mind the cost. Network Rail owns and maintains the foot-bridge while the City Council is responsible for keeping it clean and tidy. Many residents feel more should be done by the latter authority and want Cityclean to monitor it carefully. They say there is a problem with pigeon droppings, and mess from dogs and even urban foxes.

Incidents and Accidents

1843 – According to Henry Porter, on 3 January 1843 the tubes of an engine called Brighton burst while it was standing at Hove Station seriously scalding William Cavan, the engine driver.

1878 – In October 1878 Samuel Cheesman, goods guard, lost a leg while engaged in shunting and coupling trucks.

1879 – On 4 March 1879 William Harris, a 37-year old labourer at Hove Station, was completing the task of unloading coal for a Mr Bayley. Unfortunately he stepped between two trucks to retrieve some fallen coal, which he should not have done because shunting was in progress. Although he was crushed between the trucks, witnesses saw him running away from the scene. His colleagues ran after him and caught him so that he could be taken to hospital. An arm had to be amputated and he died two days later. At the inquest one of the witnesses was Jesse Jones, who had worked at Hove Station for around 30 years. He was employed at the yard as foreman to Messrs Cockerell & Co. Mr Jones stated that shunting took place every day between 12 noon and 2 p.m.

1897 – In May 1879 William Eggs, aged over 40 and a luggage porter at Hove Station, committed suicide by taking oxalic acid. He was discovered on the ground in Brunswick Street West. He had purchased the acid at Skenington’s, 6 Waterloo Street, saying he needed it in order clean copper. At the inquest, despite the facts, an open verdict was returned because the jury refused to bring a verdict of suicide in case the unfortunate William Eggs was refused a proper Christian burial.

1898 – In the summer of 1898 Barnum & Bailey’s Circus - ‘the greatest show on earth’ - arrived at Hove. The circus had 70 of its own specially constructed railway cars (each one being 60-ft in length) which made four separate trains consisting of seventeen coaches each. Two of the coaches had been loaded after the show at Hove and the drivers were given orders to start. Unfortunately, one train was going forward while the other was banking up a siding, and they met with a terrific crash – the engine of one forcing its way onto the rear of the other train. Three of the cars were telescoped and had to be left behind, together with seven show cars, the lamp van, and the band wagon. Men worked all Saturday night and Sunday night repairing the damage.

1898 – In September 1898 Henry Morris of 91 Wordsworth Street had one of his fingers so badly crushed while loading a van with timber that he was obliged to go to hospital to have the top of his finger amputated.

The Third Railway Station

copyright © D.Sharp
The view from the The Drive railway bridge looking west to Hove Station and the former Dubarry Perfumery.

This was constructed in 1905 on a site west of the second railways station, and it is in fact the same railway station that is in use to the present day. F. D. Banister was not involved in the project because he had retired from the company in 1896 and died the following year.

It is sometimes stated that the third railway station dates back to 1893. If that were the case, why were discussions going on between Hove Commissioners and F.D. Banister in 1893 regarding the enlargement of the ticket hall and canopy? Such considerations would be redundant if a new station had been built. Besides, the legal formalities about ownership of the land south of the station were still going on. (See under ‘Enlargement’.)

There is also the case that the opening of a new station in 1893 receives no mention in Henry Porter’s exhaustive list of Hove events at the end of his book. Other events – such as the opening of the Seaside Home for Police in Portland Road on 21 July 1893 – are recorded. It seems logical that such an important structure as a new station happening under his nose, so to speak, would find a place in his chronicles.

Shunting

In October 1909 a petition signed by 67 people was presented to the management complaining about the ‘great annoyance and discomfort arising fr leading toom the continual shunting of Goods Trains at Hove Station at night’.

Apparently, shunting started in the evening and continued all through the night, every weekday night, whereas in 1879 shunting took place between 12 midday and 2 p.m.

The petition must have been ignored because shunting was still taking place in the 1950s until there was a rail strike and an eerie silence fell upon the shunting yard. Near neighbours had grown so used to the noise that it constituted the backdrop to their lives. Indeed, Mrs Sharp told her family that she could not sleep a wink because it was so quiet.

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
Hove Station in the 1930s with the Dubarry Perfumery in the background.

Personnel

Robert Cressy – The Sussex Daily News (16 September 1937) carried a short report about Mr Cressy, who had been manager of W. H. Smith’s bookstall at Hove Station for 20 years. He died aged 57 after a long illness and was buried in the churchyard of St Helen’s, Hangleton, on 15 September. Little more than a month previously, his wife had committed suicide, her body being found in a field at Falmer – this event had upset him greatly.

John Egan – The 1851 census recorded Dublin-born John Egan living at Hove Station – he was a 41-year old station clerk. He lived with his wife, aged 40, who had been born in Liverpool, and six children – three of whom had been born in Dublin while the three youngest were born at Brighton – perhaps Catherine was his second wife. The children were as follows:

John, aged 19, railway engineer

Emily, aged 17

Edwin, aged 15, railway lamp-maker

Albert, 11

George, 5

Ernest, 2

The Egans were still there in 1861, but Edwin had become an engine-fitter while Albert was an engine cleaner.

C. Staples and F. Evans – In April 1903 Mr Staples, late goods guard at Hove Station, was presented with a handsome gladstone bag when he left to take up a position in the Cape Government Railway. Mr Evans, ticket collector, did the presentation, and Mr Evans himself was leaving shortly for Canada.

William Yeomanson – Margate-born Mr Yeomanson was stationmaster at Hove from 1885. In 1891 he was aged 45, and lived with his wife, two sons, and two daughters. He retired in 1908, having spent 44 years in the service of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. He continued to live in Hove where he died on 21 February 1935 at his home 6 Avondale Road.

The 1990s

In July 1994 Hove Station won the ‘best-kept large station’ category in the Sussex area of Network South Central.

In January 1995 it was reported that Hove had been left off the list of ‘core’ stations – this meant that after the company was privatised in 1996, travellers at Hove would probably not be able to purchase the full range of tickets to any destination in the country as they could at present.

In April 1998 it was stated that Connex South-Central closed the large yellow doors at the front of the station at 9.45 p.m. to prevent vandalism. People who were not regular customers assumed the place was shut up for the night but in fact there was still access via the foot-bridge.

In August 1999 Hove Station was nominated as one of the three finalists in the ‘most passenger-friendly’ category of a competition run by Railtrack in conjunction with Rotary International. The other finalists were Nuneaton and Oxford, out of a total of 2,500 U.K. stations. Tim Flude, Hove Station supervisor, has worked at Hove for nine years and he had no idea they had been nominated, although he did stress that the staff tried to be friendly. Asif Zaidi, who has run the newspaper kiosk for ten years, said they all worked together well, and because the station was relatively small, they could get to know the regulars. Fred Shipton was the senior staff night-worker, and he often brought in his own brushes and paint to do some voluntary decorating.

However, all was not convenient because the toilets remained closed.

Face-lift

In August 2000 the scaffolding that obscured the exterior of Hove Station for two years was at last removed. The building had been given a £1 million face-lift. The steel and glass canopy was re-built and painted, while the platform canopies and station roof were renewed. Attention was also given to the surfacing of the platform and the structural steelwork in the sub-way. There were now also automatic ticket barriers, that had been installed a few months previously.

Sources

Argus

Census Returns

Cliftonville & Hove Mercury (25 October 1878)

Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade

Hove Council Minute Books

Hove Gazette (3 September 1898)

Hove Mercury (7 March 1879)

Porter, H. A History of Hove (1897)

Sussex Daily News (16 September 1937)

page layout by D.Sharp

13 December 2019

Hove Railway Station