Hove in the Past: Eaton Grove, Hove.

29 October 2020

Eaton Grove, Hove.

Judy Middleton 2002 (revised 2020)

Background

Eaton Grove is situated west of The Drive, north of Cromwell Road, and south of The Drive bridge. It is in entered down a slope and under an impressive arch. The buildings are of red brick with decorative red and white cornices; there are still cobbles to be seen. There was no access to the first floor by steps and a gallery as there were, for example, in the older mews developments off Farm Road. It is no surprise that Eaton Grove was laid out by the famous builder William Willett, who at the time was busily engaged in building other houses in Hove such as nearby Cromwell Road, and a Willett house is a guarantee of sound building work.

Although the road was private, the lamps were lit at public expense from 1899, after Willett had paid for the erection and installation of them. This was the standard practice in new developments at Hove.

Name Changing

However, William Willett seems to have been indecisive about the name of the mews. At first it was called Eaton Stables, no doubt because wealthy residents of Eaton Gardens kept their horses there. Then it became Eaton Mews but in 1899 William Willett wrote to Hove Council asking if the name could be changed back to Eaton Stables again. The council was in no rush to oblige, saying they wanted to take the opinion of various owners involved. The general view must have been favourable to the proposal because back it went to being Eaton Stables.

This lasted until 1913 when finally it became Eaton Grove. This time there was some reason behind losing the ‘stables’ of the title because it was no longer just for the sole use of horses – already by 1913 there was a garage there.

The Poole Family

People who wished to have riding lessons would come here, where they would encounter the gallant figure of Sergeant Major Poole, a Crimean war veteran, and the riding master at the Eaton Riding Stables. He lived in Connaught Road, and during the First World War he had to endure the worry of what might happen to his five sons, all serving in the armed forces.

Private Ernest Arthur Poole was born in Brighton Barracks on 21 February 1870 and enlisted in November 1914. He joined the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, and served in France for two years before contracting a disease, being honourably discharged on 4 November 1916; he died on 17 February 1917.

Major Poole’s other four sons survived the war. They were:

Rifleman Henry Poole, Rifle Brigade

Private Charles Poole, 7^th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment

Private William Poole, 2/6 Royal Sussex Regiment, served in India

Private John Poole, Royal Field Artillery

copyright © G. Osborne
'A' Battery, 106^th Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery at Eaton Grove in 1915, it is possible that Private John Pool is amongst these soldiers.

Changes

By 1927 Sussex Motors were based at Eaton Grove, the business being run by Walter Harris Wrighton and Ernest Brown. In 1927 they were granted a licence for a char-a-banc to ply for hire on Kingsway offering customers excursions to places outside the borough.

No doubt the men who worked as grooms and mucked out the stables, would be amused to know that many years down the line, a mews cottage was considered to be a genteel residence. Although some stables became garages, it proved more profitable to turn the whole building into a home. Humble beginning forgotten, such residences were described as luxury town houses. For example, two such houses were up for sale in 1990 and came complete with fitted carpets, and fitted kitchen appliances. Number 7 was on offer at £107,500, and number 7A was priced at £119,500.

Sources

Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade

Hove Council Minute Books

Hove Roll of Honour

Middleton, J. Hove and the Great War (2014)