Hove in the Past: Hove Beach

Judy Middleton 2001 (revised 2024)

It takes some imagination to visualise, but when William the Conqueror stumbled ashore in Sussex in 1066, the parish of Hove stretched for 150 acres further south than the shoreline we are familiar with today. This land was lost to the sea sometime between 1296 and 1341, whereas Brighton only lost 50 acres.

In 1699 It was reported that the sea had gained six perches, and Bishop Warburton was quoted as saying that ‘Hove was a ruinous village, which the sea is daily eating up.’ A map of 1723 showed that the sea had encroached 33 yards further up the beach since 1699, while in 1738 Hove was described as ‘almost entirely swallowed up by the sea.’

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove
Panoramic view of the beaches from Brunswick Terrace to German Place The print shows the towns of Hove and Brighton in 1743.

Even in the nineteenth century Hove beach looked different from today. For example, Constable’s paintings show it as a long, shelving, and somewhat sandy foreshore. When Hove Regatta was first held in around 1877, part of the fun was races along the sand. However, by 1918 it was stated that the lower steps leading down to the beach had been completely covered by shingle.

It was the development of housing that necessitated the construction of sea walls and groynes to protect valuable property. (see Hove Esplanade).This led to the accumulation of shingle caused by the currents, but the shingle also acts as a buffer between violent seas and the sea wall. However, the shingle can be shifted eastwards during storms, leaving Hove beach vulnerable until more shingle can be brought in. It is a constant headache to maintain the status quo, and of course the battle will continue due to global warming and rising sea levels.

Although houses such as Courtenay Terrace used to have gardens running down to the sea, their rights to private property ended where the tide reached. The foreshore and immediate coast was the property of the Crown. There is a fascinating entry in Hove Council Minutes for May 1903 to the effect that the 21-year lease of the foreshore opposite to Brunswick Lawns was to expire in October, and therefore a new application was to be made to the Commissioner of His Majesty’s Woods and Forests for renewal; this was granted in November 1903 from John Francis Fortescue Horner, Commissioner. Another entry in 1908 revealed that four pieces of foreshore between Fourth Avenue and the borough boundary were leased from the Crown too.

copyright © R. Jeeves
Only shingle in view in this 'On the Sands' Edwardian photograph

The beach was regarded as a valuable resource and rights to remove shingle were jealously guarded.

In 1818 when William Seymour purchased three fourth-parts in the Rectory of Kingston, and tenements, it also gave him rights to ‘sea beach’ at Southwick, Kingston Bowsey, Portslade and Aldrington. Flints from the beach were used to build cottages, barns, walls, and even churches.

In 1851 it transpired that Isaac Lyon Goldsmid (1778-1859), who had purchased the Wick Estate, wanted to retain his right to remove beach and shingle from in front of Adelaide Crescent. There was also some conflict with the Hove Commissioners about his wish to place drainage from his land into the town’s sewers. However, the matter was eventually resolved satisfactorily, and when the enlarged Hove Commissioners met, Goldsmid was in the chair.

Wrecks found on the beach were technically the property of the Lord High Admiral but in practice the Lord of the Manor usually took charge. For example, in the seventeenth century the Lord of Portslade Manor was entitled to all wrecks of the sea found between the west hedge of Aldrington and the ditch of Hove.

It is a fascinating detail that one Lord of the Manor was still exercising his rights over the foreshore in the 1920s. When Hove Council began work on constructing Hove Lagoon, there was a set-back when it was discovered that although the council owned the land, the Lord of Lancing Manor still held some rights to the foreshore. Work was put on hold for years while the legal tangle was sorted out.(see Western Esplanade).

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove
'Mixed Bathing Swimming Taught' advertised on the side of the Bathing Machine on Hove Beach

By late Victorian times there were strict regulations governing the use of the beach. Hove Council had bye-laws enforcing decency, whereas in earlier times nobody thought anything of men taking a dip in the sea without any garment covering their nether regions. Some beaches were also segregated with men bathing in one area and females in another. When mixed bathing was allowed in the early twentieth century, it was quite a novelty.

For any commercial activity, the appropriate licence had to be obtained from Hove Council. These included the following:

Owners of sailing boats, fishing boats and rowing boats

People who hired out bathing machines or bathing tents

Men who pushed invalids along the promenade in bath-chairs

People who sold confectionery, or took photographs

Those who wanted to put on a Punch & Judy show

copyright © J.Middleton
An Edwardian view of Hove Beach In the background St Aubyn’s Mansions and Medina Baths can be seen.

The creation of fishing lockers was controlled, and permission had to be sought before a capstan could be erected.

In June 1917 it was stated that there were three boatmen’s huts measuring 20-ft 9-in by 8-ft 9-in by 7-ft 3-in, for which an annual rent of £2 or £5 was paid. There were four lockers measuring 16-ft by 4-ft by 4-ft at an annual rent of £1, and one hut belonging to Hove Deep Sea Anglers that also cost £1 a year. However, there were eleven other lockers belonging to seven owners, and it appeared that no rent had been paid. Councillors therefore decided to tighten up the regulations, and either remove the offending lockers or insist on rent being paid.

One man who wanted to rent a locker was unable to do so because Councillors thought he would be unable to obtain the necessary wood due to wartime restrictions. But there were two special exceptions, and Mr McCarthy (discharged from the Royal Navy since the Dardanelles campaign) and Mr W. S. S. Inight, discharged solider, were allowed to have lockers.

Another consequence of the war was that all the deck-chair attendants had been called to the colours and so women had to do the job instead. But old-style deck-chairs had heavy wooden frames, and it was tough work, needing more female workers to manhandle them. As a result the cost of hiring a deck-chair had risen to two pennies.

The lively scene on Hove beach in the summer of 1925 can be summed up from the following facts, when there were:

61 bathing tents

33 bathing machines

69 rowing boats

6 sailing boats

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove
Hove Beach in the 1920s with bathing machines and Brighton's West Pier in the background.

Three professional photographers were allowed to ply their trade

Mr F. Wiltshire of 84A Church Road, Hove

Mr W. Carrington of Ellen Street, Hove

Mr H. Jackson of Grand Parade, Brighton

Two men and one woman paid 5/- each to hawk fruit and confectionery on the beaches east of Hove Street.

copyright © J.Middleton
The bathing tents look somewhat incongruous against the classical backdrop of Brunswick Terrace.

No doubt there was considerable interest in the twelve Aquaplane bathing yachts that British Novelty Works had been given permission to place on the beach for hire. The Aquaplane was in the shape of a collapsible skeleton boat supported on three balloons of heavy rubber so that it could not sink or overturn.

In 1926 Mr J. Davies from Manchester set up a Punch & Judy show at the foot of Hove Street. The licence cost him £10, and the Chief Constable had taken the precaution of enquiring into his character beforehand.

During the Second World War the beaches were out of bounds to the local populace. This was because a German invasion was expected, and therefore the beaches were mined, and machine-nests placed on the esplanade, while both piers at Brighton had decking removed to prevent the enemy from using them as a landing stage. Barbed wire was used to cordon off Grand Avenue, many of the buildings having been requisitioned by the Admiralty. The beaches were re-opened for public use on 29 March 1945, just in time for the Easter holidays.

In January 1994 Roger Hobbs discovered on the beach a pre-Second World War German CID tag marked Staaliche Kriminapolizei. When the story was printed in the Evening Argus, a man came forward and said he had found a similar tag five years earlier on the beach opposite Brunswick Terrace. The tag was a Gestapo one inscribed Geheime Staatspolizei.

In October 1994 angler Chris Donovan was fishing off the beach, and while waiting for something to bite, he wandered along the shore where he spotted two worn-down cannon balls among the pebbles.

In early 1990 Hove beaches were black-listed in a national survey. Hove councillors were furious because the trouble had been caused by the sewage outfall at Southwick. Happily, by June 1990 the beaches had reached the required standard. In August 1990 the Tidy Britain Group described the beach as ‘one very good beach’. Also in 1990 dogs were banned from some beaches from 1 May to 30 September.

In October 1993 it was stated that tests of seawater off Hove that year showed it was 100 times cleaner than EC minimum regulations. On only one day had it failed to reach National River Authority standard. It was hoped that when the Stormwater Tunnel was completed, water quality would be good at all times.

In May 1994 Hove Council decided to allow the sale of fresh fish from a stall on the west beach, provided the fish was caught locally.

In August 1995 a two-year old boy suffered burns to his feet, legs, arms and side after he stumbled on hot pebbles thrown over an abandoned barbecue on the beach west of the King Alfred. Hove Council launched an investigation because the beaches were supposed to be checked every morning.

In January 1998 it was reported that people had found a peculiar-looking fish washed up on the beach. Charlie King, Sea-front Officer, thought the fish were probably gurnards, washed out of their rock pools by rough weather and deposited on the beach. Gurnards are between 8 and 10-in long, and although they have small teeth and wing-like fins, they are harmless.

On 11 March 1998 a walker saw a suspected bomb on the beach and Army Bomb Disposal experts were soon on the scene. But the object turned out to be French-made air-launch flare full of phosphorous and magnesium. The cylinder was grey and silver, and around 18-in in length. Toxic drums had also come ashore lately, and they were thought to have originated from a ship sunk off the Dorset coast eight years ago.

Oil slicks continued to be a problem. In January 1989 there was an oil spill, which necessitated a clean-up costing at least £3,000. In December 1999 the Maltese-registered tanker Erika carrying 30,000 tonnes of fuel oil sank off the coast of Brittany. By January 2000 there were around 100 signs erected on beaches from the Palace Pier warning the public about the possibility of oil being washed up.

In August 1998 a family of dolphins was spotted near Hove Lagoon on several occasions. The group of bottlenose dolphins consisted of a mother, father, and two youngsters aged about two or three – sometimes they swam as close as 50 yards from the shore. Members of the Sussex Branch of Sea Watch Foundation listed a record 21 sightings of bottlenose dolphins in 1998, many of them between Worthing and Brighton.

Also in August 1998 it was reported that raw sewage had seeped into the sea near Hove Lagoon and Adelaide Crescent. It seems incredible but apparently the problem stemmed from illegal connections to the surface drainage system instead of the proper sewerage system. There were said to be at least 130 homes in Brighton and Hove that had been wrongly connected.

In September 1999 it was reported that the sea temperature off Brighton and Hove was 19c. (67f) – more than peak readings in the height of summer.

On 27 October 1999 people looking out to sea thought the object they saw must be a capsized boat, but it turned out to be a huge bundle of driftwood thought to have drifted across the Atlantic to end up on local beaches. As in the days of old, people soon arrived to help themselves to some free wood, and by Monday it had nearly all vanished.

On 2 December 2000 Brighton & Hove City Council’s seafront officers closed all the beaches from Saltdean to Portslade because of fat deposits. Sam Edden, duty manager of Hove Lagoon Watersports Centre said, ‘I have never seen anything like it before. There was a sticky yellow stuff on all the pebbles.’ It is thought the deposits could be made up of lard and cooking fat washed out of the sewers by recent rain.

Strombolo

This is a local word for a form of lignite, or fossilized wood sometimes found washed up on the beach. In times past impoverished people used it for fuel, but unfortunately it gave off a dreadful stench. The Sussex Weekly Advertiser (25 March 1793) reported that because of the scarcity of coal in Brighton, many poor people were searching the shore for strombolo. It is thought the word might derive from the Dutch word stroomballen meaning ‘tide balls’ dating back to the days when there were Flemish people living in Brighton. J. D. Parry wrote about the substance in 1833 as follows:


copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museum Dr Richard Russell (1687-1759)

‘All along the sea-coast between Shoreham and Brighthelmstone is found washed up bituminous substances … called by the inhabitants strumbolo (sic) and which, til (sic) of late years, was the chief fuel of the poor inhabitants … who were very careful to pick it up after it was brought up by the tide, but since the town became more populous, by the resort of gentry, it has grown out of use, on account of the nauseous smell it emits on burning.’

Brighton's celebrated Dr Russell (1687-1759) found it a useful practice to place his scrofulous patients in the fumes given off by burning strombolo. No doubt this was on the premise that often foul-tasting medicine is beneficial, and therefore the ‘fragrance’ given off by strombolo might have done them a power of good. (Scrofula was also known as the king’s evil, but was tuberculosis, particularly of the lymphatic glands).

Strombolo was also to be found in the canal bed at Fishersgate and in the Tertiary Beds at Furze Hill, where it must have imparted its pungent tones to the famous and beneficial spring water, later known as St Ann’s Well.

The engineer William Chapman in his report on Shoreham Harbour in 1815 was of the opinion that strombolo was compressed peat moss. His test bores carried out almost opposite to Kingston-by-sea revealed that after passing through a 15-ft 6-in layer of shingle, he came to a 1-ft seam of strombolo; underneath this was 6-ft of hard blue clay, and beneath this strata was clay/chalk rock.

It is interesting to note that strombolo is still washed up on the beach from time to time, although people finding such items are more inclined to think that the lumps of black and sticky coal are the result of an oil spill. Strombolo was found on the beach in 1999, but Charlie King, sea-front officer was able to reassure worried people that it was a natural substance. However, he did warn people not to burn it.

Sea Creatures

According to Ernie Mason who was born at Hove in 1904, it used to be a common sight to see dolphins swimming near the shoreline.

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove
Hove Beach in the early 1960s with the King Alfred in the background.

In 1957 there was an invasion of Portuguese man ‘o war jellyfish, and some people were badly stung. Council workers patrolled the beach looking for the ‘blue devils’ while sanitary inspectors stood by with disinfectants.

In May 1990 a number of large jellyfish were spotted. They were multi-coloured and some were 3-ft long. Bathers were warned of the situation in case there were any Portuguese man ‘o war.

In August 1993 Richard Hemsley was night-fishing near Hove Lagoon when he hooked five smooth hound sharks, similar to dog-fish. Each one took 30 minutes to reel in, and the largest was more than 4-ft long and weighed 14-lbs.

In August 1993 Sarah Siney, owner of Mrs Bumble’s Teashop on the esplanade, spotted a shark attacking a seagull that was sitting on the water. It was thought to be a blue shark around 5-ft long.

During 1990-1994 the following were seen or caught off Hove:

Angler fish, Armed bullhead, Basking shark, Broad-clawed porcelain crab, Cod, Common shore crab, Corkwing wrasse, Cuttlefish, Dog-fish, Dover sole, Edible crab, Flounder, Grey Mullet, Gurnard, Hairy crab, Herring, Jellyfish, including Portuguese man ‘o war, Lemon sole, Mackerel, Mako shark, Octopus, Pipe fish, Plaice, Porbeagle shark, Sand eels, Sea trout, Skate, Spider crab, Sprats, Spring spider crab, Squid, Thresher shark, Tope, Trigger fish, Weaver fish, Whiting.

Shells washed up on the beach include:

Bonnet limpets, Cockles, Common mussel, Dog whelks, Oyster, Periwinkle, Razor shell, Scallops, Slipper limpets, Thin tellins, Tortoiseshell limpets, Tower shells.

The following mammals were seen:

Bottlenose dolphin, Common dolphin, Porpoise.

Surfers Against Sewage

It is unfortunate to have to report, and even scandalous in these supposedly more enlightened times, that raw sewage still sometimes escapes into the sea. This is a matter of concern for public health, especially if people do not know about it, which means they unwittingly swim in polluted waters, and some become ill as a result. Surfers Against Sewage carefully log such reports from people in England and Wales, and state that in 2020 there were 153 ill-health reports, of which 21 per cent were from the area covered by Southern Water with the highest number being located from the sea fronting Hove Lawns. In 2019 Ofwat insisted that Southern Water pay the incredible sum of £126 million in penalty fines for deliberate misrepresentation and failures in sewage treatment. In 2020 Southern Water failed to alert the charity Safer Seas Service about all sewage overflows. Southern Water state they are upgrading a voluntary notification scheme called Beachbuoy and that the failures of this summer are the result of teething difficulties with the software. (Argus 11/11/20).

Starfish

In April 2021 the combination of a cold snap and a low tide meant that many starfish were stranded on Hove beach. Their plight was so distressing to one Hove resident that she donned her wellies and began carrying them carefully back into the sea. Other walkers were quite oblivious of the starfish being present and some were accidentally squashed, while children treated them as play-things. Apparently, it is not unusual for a quantity of starfish to be stranded in this manner because they are caught out by a low tide, and perhaps being so chilly, it disoriented them. Happily, starfish are good breeders and can soon replenish their numbers. (Argus 9/4/21)

Dolphins and Whitebait

There seemed to be a great deal of activity going on around Hove beach in September 2021. Dolphins proved to be a particularly fascinating sight. For example, the Dolphin Project reported that they had received ‘some amazing footage of dolphins hunting very close to Hove beach’ taken on Thursday 2 September. Then early in the morning of 21 September between Rockwater and the West Pier, two fortunate paddle-borders were delighted to watch the antics of a bottlenose dolphin for around 40 minutes. The dolphin swam around the paddle-boards, diving underneath them, catching fish, and rolling over as if to have a better look at them. The dolphin did not seem the least bit fazed by the presence of a small dog in life-saving jacket sitting amazed on one of the boards. (Argus 6/9/21 / 23/9/21)

The appearance of hundreds of whitefish, some still alive, on Hove beach caused quite a stir. Apparently, it is a natural occurrence when the warm waters attract shoals of mackerel or bass to swim closer to the beach while hunting. The shoals of whitebait endeavour to escape, some by jumping out of the water altogether, and then land on the beach, but of course they are unable to return to the sea. Meanwhile, the larger fish are indulging in a feeding frenzy with watchful seagulls taking advantage of the situation too. This event occurred more than once. (Argus 18/9/21)

In April 2002 there was some excitement when a large seal was spotted sunning itself on the beach opposite the King Alfred. Fortunately, two marine animal medics were on the scene to ascertain that all was well with the animal. They concluded that the seal was uninjured and was just taking a much-needed rest. People forget that seals actually spend more time on dry land than cavorting around in the sea. They cordoned off this section of the beach to protect the seal from being frightened by people or attacked by dogs, which can happen.

An unknown Constable on Show

In July 2022 there came exciting news that a ‘new’ Constable is now on display at the Royal Pavilion. The painting is entitled Colliers unloading on Hove Beach, looking towards Shoreham. It is a work unknown to Constable experts, and unseen for almost 200 years. The painting emerged from obscurity in 2017, having belonged to Camille Groult, a noted French collector. Fortunately for us, Danny Katz, Brighton resident, and a leading art dealer, could not resist the opportunity to acquire the painting when it came on the market. He has now placed it on loan to the Royal Pavilion to the great delight of Hedley Swain, chief executive of the Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust. (Argus 16/7/22)

Quicksand

In August there was an alarming report of quicksand on a portion of Hove Beach near Hove Lagoon when a 70-year old woman became trapped in quicksand up to her knees, and in trying to extricate herself, fell forward and fractured her wrist. Councillor Nemeth was astonished and said, ‘The issue of a quicksand substrata on the beach in Hove is not one that I was expecting to deal with this week.’ He has asked the council to report on the matter as soon as possible. A devotee of all-the-year round swimming thought there ought to be a sign warning people of possible danger. (Argus 16/8/22)

Cormorants

In December 2022, as dawn breaks on Hove seafront, a flock of at least 60 cormorants could be seen flying low over the sea towards the west. The height at which they fly varies with the weather conditions.

A flock of crows is often to be seen on the seafront. Crows are intelligent creatures, and they have a favourite trick at Hove. This means that when they have found a mussel, they fly to a certain height, then drop the mussel down onto the hard surface of the tennis courts to crack the shell so that they can enjoy what’s inside. The gardener often has to sweep the tennis courts free of mussel shells, which was certainly not in the job description.

Washed Up

On Saturday 28 October 2023 some mysterious packages washed up on shore at Hove. They were expected to contain cocaine, as did other packages washed up at Selsey on the same day and at West Wittering on the 27^th. But the last two mentioned were inside holdalls.

Lately, there have been similar finds on other beaches such as Felpham and Ferring, and Goring and Middleton. It seems that armed police dealt with these finds, and the public were warmed not to touch them.

Further afield cocaine has turned up in Dorset and the Isle of Wight. (Argus 1/11/23)

Sources

Argus (9 February 1999)

Chapman, W. Report on Shoreham Harbour (1815)

Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade

Hove Council Minute Books

Mr Robert Jeeves of Step Back in Time 36 Queen’s Road, Brighton, BN1 3XD

Magna Britannica (1738)

Middleton, J. Development of Shoreham Harbour 1760-1880 (1984)

Parry, J. D. Coasts of Sussex (1833)

Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove

Victoria and Albert Museum

25 November 2020

Hove Beach

copyright © R. JeevesOnly shingle in view in this 'On the Sands' Edwardian photograph

copyright © R. Jeeves
Only shingle in view in this 'On the Sands' Edwardian photograph