Judy Middleton 2003 (revised 2024)
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| copyright © J.Middleton The architectural style employed in St Catherine’s Terrace could be described as ‘busy’ but it certainly provides an interesting exterior |
The terrace was built in the 1850s, and the 1854 Directory listed eight houses with others being erected. In 1853 George Head, a Brighton upholster, purchased numbers 14, 15, and 16 from Richard Peters Rickman, Burwood Godlee, and William Jenner. Perhaps Head hoped to make a good profit by letting these properties. But by 1861 these properties, plus number 13, were empty, apart from a resident cook who kept and eye on things. It is interesting to note some of the people living in the houses in 1861, as follows:
1861 Census
Number 2 – John G. Cockburn, aged 50, banker
Number 4 – John Newell, aged 42, Parliamentary agent
Number 6 – Henry Chamier, aged 66, lived with his wife, two sons and a daughter who was born in Madras. Her father had been born in the East Indies, and followed a career in the East Indian Civil Service.
Number 7 – Richard Brown, aged 39, physician, who had trained at St Andrew’s University
Number 8 – George Taylor, aged 53, retired merchant
Number 9 – John King, aged 65, magistrate
Number 11 – Charles Burr, aged 45, gentleman
Number 12 – Revd Francis Tebbetts, aged 58, retired clergyman
This was a fairly representative sample of the sort of people who came to live at Hove, most probably with no previous family connections to the town. In October 1870 The Countess of Torre Dias was staying at number 1. She was one of the long list of people who converted to the Roman Catholic faith, having been originally been a Miss Wilcox. Her son became Canon de Zaluetas. The countess presented a painting of the Madonna and Child, a copy by the school of Murillo, to grace the interior of a church in Chelsea dedicated to Our Most Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More.
At numbers 9 and 10 the Misses Moate ran a Gentlemen’s Preparatory School from around 1873 to 1884.
In April 1879 Hove Commissioners decided that the railings and pavement that divided the service road from the Shoreham Road (later re-named Kingsway) should be removed in order that the pavement might be widened. In September 1881 Mr C. O. Blaber applied for planning permission to make additions to numbers 13, 14, 15, and 16.
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| copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove |
In 1927 Mr F. A. Less, the owner of number 16, offered Hove Council the interest in the forecourt of the premises upon three conditions:
That the council clear away the island site and maintain it as an open space
That it should be used as a cab rank, or for parking
That the council should bear the costs involved
Mr Lees was the owner in common with two owners of the three adjoining houses. Hove Council was to approach them, while Mr Lees communicated with the other owners. However, two owners objected to the loss of the island, and Hove Council decided not to proceed with the matter.
This was not the last time the island site in front of the terrace came under scrutiny. In the 1960s Hove Council wanted to widen the Kingsway, and the owners must have objected because a Public Inquiry was held. Unfortunately for the owners, the Inspector found in the Council’s favour, and thus the service road and small gardens were swept away for ever. (For more details see under St Catherine’s Lodge Hotel).
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| copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove |
Development
In 1914 Mr E. Wallis Long, on behalf of Revd J. D. Ewell, received planning permission to convert number 14 into flats.
In 1920 Denman & Matthews, on behalf of the Mutual Provident Society, won permission to convert number 20 into maisonettes.
On 10 September 1971 numbers 2 to 5 received Grade II listed building status.
In March 1994 it was stated that should planning permission be given, the Albany Hotel would be converted into flats.
In October 1997 a two-floor flat was on sale for £220,000. The property contained four bedrooms, two bathrooms, drawing room, dining room, fitted kitchen, and a walled courtyard garden. There was a black-painted balcony and canopy.
Alfred Egerton Cooper (1883-1974)
This artist lived in St Catherine’s Terrace in the 1950s. Quite why the excellent portrait painter is not better known and celebrated today is a mystery. Especially when people are remembering VE-Day and celebrating Winston Churchill’s wartime leadership, because one of Cooper’s most famous portraits was of the great man himself that Cooper painted in 1943. The portrait was much admired at the time and was reproduced widely so that many people would have been familiar with the wonderfully strong representation of Churchill in profile. One cannot but feel that Mrs Churchill would have approved, although a later portrait of her husband displeased her so much that eventually she had it consigned to a bonfire. Another wartime hero that Cooper captured in oils was the Sir Barnes Wallis, inventor of the bouncing bomb. Cooper studied at the Royal College of Art where the eminent artist John Singer Sargent was so impressed by Cooper’s prize work that he offered to take him under his wing at his studio, and where Cooper stayed for a year.
Cooper knew all about war, having volunteered to serve during the First World War with the Artists’ Rifles. It is a marvel that he could continue to paint because a blast of chlorine gas injured one of his eyes. He went on to be appointed Official War Artist to the RAF.
St Catherine’s Lodge Hotel
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| copyright © J.Middleton This wonderful view of St Catherine’s Terrace shows it in more sedate times, and still retaining its front gardens, while the roof-tops display a riot of chimney-pots. On the left is St Catherine’s Lodge Private Hotel with a RAC shield nearby. |
This is part of St Catherine’s Terrace built in the 1850s. It is interesting to note that the name St Catherine’s Lodge is mentioned in the 1854 and 1856 Directories, and then disappears until the 1890s. The difficulty is in trying to trace the occupants of St Catherine’s Lodge during this time-scale, because whereas in the 1856 the name applied to number 8, by 1894 it applied to numbers 9 & 10. Perhaps a re-numbering took place.
In 1854 number 8 was occupied by William Kirkpatrick, manager of the London & County Bank.
In the early 1890s wealthy Stephen Ralli (1829-1902) and his family lived at St Catherine’s Lodge, while their stables were situated at 2 Medina Mews. On 16 February 1893 Hove Commissioners passed plans for alterations and additions drawn up for Stephen Ralli by the well known builder J. T. Chappell. The Commissioners did not object to the creation of a smoking room but they could not allow a projecting hood to be erected over the public foot-path. Also in 1893, when typhoid broke out in Worthing resulting in over 1,000 cases, Stephen Ralli donated £300 to the Sick Poor Fund.
Another Ralli was to be found at Hove – he was Renton Ralli who lived at 11 Queen’s Gardens with a house at 39 Park Lane, London, while Stephen Ralli also had a house at 32 Park Lane. The Rallis were of Greek extraction and came from the island of Scios. The business was established in London by the five Ralli brothers – Zannis, Augustus, Pandia, Toumazis, and Eustratios, their history of trading stretching from 1814 to 1960. Pandia was also the Greek consul in London. After Pandia died in 1856, the company devolved upon his nephew Stephen Augustus Ralli, and when Stephen died in 1922, his two sons having pre-deceased him, the business went to another nephew – Sir Lucas Ralli. The Rallis started off with somewhat exotic trading – Russian grain and oriental silks – but soon diversified into other fields. For example, by 1873 there were no less than eleven Rallis listed on the Baltic Exchange. When Stephen Ralli died, he left £1,069,000.
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| copyright © J.Middleton The three east windows in All Saints Church were given in memory of Stephen Ralli and his two sons. |
By 2000 the Stephen Ralli building (pathology services) had been demolished as part of the re-development project. However, Stephen Ralli was to be remembered in the re-naming of a former laboratory. There is a brass plaque set in the wall opposite the entrance to the X-ray department stating that money from Mrs Stephen Ralli, the Red Cross, the Order of St John of Jerusalem and two other ladies was used to set up an orthopaedic wing in 1923. Today, the name of Stephen Ralli is still remembered by the Ralli Hall in Denmark Villas, also given in his memory.
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| copyright © J.Middleton The Ralli Hall was photographed on 21 February 2014. |
It is also interesting to note that Mrs Stephen Ralli donated £25 towards the cost of the memorial to the late King Edward VII, now known as the Peace Statue.
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| copyright © J.Middleton Mrs Ralli donated £25 towards this memorial to King Edward VII, now known as the Peace Statue |
In November 1964 there was a Public Inquiry at Hove Town Hall in front of Mr G. D. Kirwan, Inspector. Hove Council wanted to widen Kingsway but the hotel management objected because it would badly affect their amenities. It was stated that at the foot of steps leading to the garden, there would only be some 9-in left, while the new wall would shut out light from their basement. The overall width of the service road in front of St Catherine’ Terrace was 60-ft, and for the scheme to work it was necessary to acquire a strip of land 30-ft wide. The Inspector made his decision to allow Hove Council to proceed with the road widening of Kingsway because it was too important a project to be changed in the interest of a ‘frontager’ - that is St Catherine’s Lodge Hotel.
The hotel retained many of the elegant details from the time it was a rich man’s residence. For example, the dining room ceiling boasted beautiful plaster mouldings and a decorated cornice while from the central rose depended a seven-light chandelier with crystal drops. The same design, on a smaller scale, was used in other three-light chandeliers, and there were matching bracket lamps on the wall. The dining room was in the south-east corner of the hotel, and at either end there were large ornate fireplaces, inglenook in character, occupying the entire wall. The dining room was reached through an ante-room, down some steps, and then there was a long passage-way from the entrance with a curious feature of four bow-fronted windows on one side.
In May 1998 it was stated that Radio Brighton was to hold a 30th anniversary event at the hotel. Former manager of Radio Brighton was expected to attend, and Des Lynan, Jeremy Paxman, and Kate Adie were all invited. The trio had progressed from humble beginnings at Radio Brighton to lucrative TV careers. Radio Brighton had been one of the first BBC local radio stations. In November 1999 Robert Lacey, author and historian, spoke at a lunch organised by the English Speaking Union.
On 18 October 2001 it was announced that after running the hotel for 35 years, John Houlton and his family had sold it to London-based Top Class Investments for an undisclosed sum. Although Mr Houlton said they had enjoyed a profitable year, he had decided to take a break, and spend more time on his farm, and with his family. There was also the fact that operating conditions were becoming more difficult – for example, there were now parking restrictions plus new government regulations concerning better disabled-access.
Descent to Hostel
Top Class Investments lost no time in offering a block booking to Brighton & Hove Council from 22 October 2001 to ease their homeless problem. Naturally, the authorities and the homeless were delighted about the situation, and the head of housing said homeless people moved into the former hotel on the very first morning it was allowed. However in their indecent haste, council officials had broken their own planning rules because the building was in a conservation, and moreover there had been no debate with democratically-elected councillors about the change of use from hotel to hostel. Nearby residents only became aware of what was happening when they spotted men carrying small cookers and fridges, not to mention bunk beds, into the building.
Unsurprisingly, a great row ensued. Councillor Paul Elgood, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said ‘without undertaking the proper planning and consultation processes, the council had acted illegally. We are not talking about a minor breach of regulations but a serious misuse of the council’s powers. Residents have expressed deep concern to me over such an authorised use of the building.’ The council was reported to the district auditor. Furious residents set up their own pressure group called Concerned Residents Action Group. It was not until April 2002 that members of the council planning committee visited the building before deciding whether or not to approve it being used as a hostel. Some of them were unhappy about the situation, Councillor Willows said that people were allowed to cook inside their rooms, which was a fire risk, and when he went to have a look at the basement, he pulled a handle and the door fell on his head. Councillor Bob Carden said he would like the Fire Brigade to inspect the premises, while Councillor Carol Theobald noticed a loose bannister. The decision was deferred.
It
seems the hostel was allowed to continue. However, by 2005 there had
been a spate of small blazes, and the hostel was labelled a fire
hazard. The council endeavoured to cut the number of homeless people
staying in the building. It is depressing to note that some 48 crimes
were attributed to people living in the hostel between January 2004
and September 2007. Valerie Paynter of saveHove said ‘it is a
beautiful building and should be renovated as a boutique hotel.’ In
2009 the property was still owned by Top Class Investments. There was
strong opposition to the idea of re-opening it as a hostel. This did
not happen, and today it is a hotel, although customers from outside
the area might be surprised to find the name-board defining it as the
Smart
Sea View Hotel Brighton
with no mention of it being in Hove, actually.
Hope at Last
Until July 2022 the building was in the care of the charity St Mungo’s that cares for homeless people. No doubt it is a worthy cause but unhappily there were many unsavoury incidents, and indeed the Argus described the building as a ‘crime-ridden hotel’. It is such a shame for an elegant and historic house on a prime site.
However, in January 2024 there was hope on the horizon when news came that the developer operating as St Catherine’s Ltd was planning to restore the building to its former glory. The company proposed creating no less than 36 high-quality homes, and would work closely with the council. Of course it would be cheaper to demolish the building and start again from scratch, and so it is refreshing to find a company willing to go the extra mile. (Argus 26/1/24)
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| copyright © J.Middleton This view of the terrace was taken in July 2020 shows the Smart Sea View Hotel Brighton |
Sources
Argus (12/10/13 / 16/5/10)
Census returns
Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
Royal Pavilion & Museum, Brighton & Hove
Street Directories
Copyright © J.Middleton 2020
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