Judy Middleton 2001 (revised 2020)
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| copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museum,
Brighton & Hove "Beach Cottages, Hove" by W. Cobbett (1905) |
These cottages were built in around 1830 and were
situated south of the coast road (Kingsway) in a row running north to
south with frontages facing east, while there was a smithy attached
to the south end.
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| copyright © Brighton & Hove City Libraries Beach Cottages had flint walls with red brick dressings and slates on the roof |
Like so many small dwellings at that time, the seven cottages were overcrowded with no less than 33 names being recorded in the 1861 census, including the following:
James Steadman, blacksmith
Nathan Steadman, blacksmith
William Pullen, labourer
James Court, labourer
Henry Stevens, agricultural labourer
James Stevens, agricultural labourer
John Friar, agricultural labourer
David Funnell, agricultural labourer
Emma Pollard, nurse
Jane Stevens, laundress
William Pullin, engine driver
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| copyright © J.Middleton A hand chairman in action on Hove seafront |
By 1871 the number had increased to 36 souls.
James Steadman, David Funnell, and Henry Stevens were still there,
but James Stevens had become a brewer’s labourer and John Friar was
a hand chairman, which probably meant he propelled those in fragile
health along the esplanade to take the sea air. In addition, there
were George Stevens, a builder’s labourer, and Charles Hayman, a
coachman.
By 1881 the number had climbed again, and there
were now 38 names recorded, including the following:
George Stevens, brewer’s dray-man, his wife,
three sons, two daughters
David Funnell, who received parish relief, his
wife, daughter, grandson and a boarder
George Slater, blacksmith, his wife, three
daughters, one son
James Stevens, brewer’s cellar-man, his wife,
three sons, three daughters
John Wrapson, car-man, his sister, and a boarder
George Braw, coach-man, wife, uncle, and son
Alfred Powell, farrier, three sons, one daughter
In 1889 it was reported to the authorities that
there was no proper water supply to the privy at number 7.
The Annual
Report of
1897 contained an uncomfortable report concerning Beach Cottages. The
Surveyor stated that the first case in the recent outbreak of
diphtheria had been ‘traced to the unsanitary condition of the
dwelling houses situated on the beach … east of the Coast Guard Station. These dwellings are in my opinion unfit for human
habitation, and I would recommend their being removed.’
Four cottages were indeed removed in 1909 but not
in the interest of public health – it was in order to make the
coast road (Kingsway) wider. The remaining three cottages and other
buildings such as the smithy were demolished in 1928.
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| copyright © J.Middleton The Sussex Room in Hove Museum with the bricks on the floor from Beach Cottages |
When the Sussex Room was being created at Hove Museum, a touch of authenticity was the bricks on the floor, which came from Beach Cottages. The bricks were laid by a member of the Minall family who had apparently lived in Beach Cottages for three generations.
The Woolgars and Beach Cottages
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| copyright © Bill Woolgar This evocative photo shows Harry Woolgar holding Ponto the dog with ‘Jerry’ Woolgar on the right. The large wheels of the bathing machines are of particular note – they prevented the machine from sinking into the shingle |
In
1905 Harry Woolgar lived at 5 Beach Cottages. He was born in the
1880s. He joined the Merchant Navy, and once worked aboard the famous
Cutty Sark.
In Bristol he met his sweetheart Amelia, whom he promised to marry when he returned from his next voyage. She must have been an extremely patient lady because it was seven years before he arrived back to claim her hand – having jumped ship in Australia. They married and had two children. Harry Woolgar became something of a character, and cultivated his ‘Old Salt’ image; he was rarely seen without his nautical headgear and pipe, and he sported a beard.
Harry was popular with visiting children, and knew how to entertain sightseers. Sometimes he would appear with a live octopus that he allowed to climb up his arm with its tentacles to gasps of horror from onlookers – local fisherman would often give him an octopus in the summer months if discovered on top of a lobster pot, having sucked all the goodness out of the lobster.
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| copyright © Bill Woolgar This photograph dates from around 1921 shows Harry Woolgar on the left and his son on the right, with Ponto the dog on Hove seafront |
In Bristol he met his sweetheart Amelia, whom he promised to marry when he returned from his next voyage. She must have been an extremely patient lady because it was seven years before he arrived back to claim her hand – having jumped ship in Australia. They married and had two children. Harry Woolgar became something of a character, and cultivated his ‘Old Salt’ image; he was rarely seen without his nautical headgear and pipe, and he sported a beard.
Harry was popular with visiting children, and knew how to entertain sightseers. Sometimes he would appear with a live octopus that he allowed to climb up his arm with its tentacles to gasps of horror from onlookers – local fisherman would often give him an octopus in the summer months if discovered on top of a lobster pot, having sucked all the goodness out of the lobster.
Also
present in the household was Jacko, the pet monkey, brought back by
his son William Charles Woolgar from a trip to West Africa while
serving in the Merchant Navy aboard the cable ship Collona.
One
day when the family was out, Jacko pulled the tablecloth off the
table, thereby upsetting the paraffin lamp and setting fire to the
cottage. Jacko escaped, somewhat singed, and the family de-camped to
number 2 Beach Cottages. Another family pet was Ponto, the dog.
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| copyright © Bill Woolgar The Princess on Hove Beach |
In
1921 Woolgar & Son of 2 Beach Cottages held licences from Hove
Council for twenty-one bathing machines, while T. & H. Woolgar of
3 Beach Cottages held a licence for a rowing boat. Harry’s son was
always called Jerry in the family. It was not that he minded his
Christian names but he was mortified at having the initials W. C.
Later on, Jerry Woolgar owned two boats, the Leader,
a
sailing lugger, and Princess,
a
motor boat, both of them based on Hove beach.
Then came Four Winds, built in 1930 and sold in 1948, and the replacement was the Phoebe Hessell built at the Lady Bee Yard in Southwick. Unhappily, Jerry could not hold on to her for long because the amount of money he earned from her was not enough to pay the mortgage, and two years later she had to go. Harry Woolgar died in 1952.
See also 'Hove and its Boats'
Then came Four Winds, built in 1930 and sold in 1948, and the replacement was the Phoebe Hessell built at the Lady Bee Yard in Southwick. Unhappily, Jerry could not hold on to her for long because the amount of money he earned from her was not enough to pay the mortgage, and two years later she had to go. Harry Woolgar died in 1952.
See also 'Hove and its Boats'
Sources
Brighton & Hove City Libraries
Census returns
Census returns
Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
Hove Council Minute Books
Middleton,
H. Portslade and
Hove Memories (2004)
Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove
Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove
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| copyright © Bill Woolgar The Leader on Hove Beach with Harry Woolgar and ‘Jerry’ |
Copyright © J.Middleton 2020
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