Hove in the Past: Furze Hill, Hove.

Judy Middleton 2002 (revised 2023)

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
The Royal Pavilion, Libraries & Museums Review July 2004
Furze Hill in 1835, showing the Swiss Cottage in the centre, printed by the local publishers Mason & Ackerman.

Background

In 1796 when Wick House was let, the document mentioned seven acres being part of land called Furze Field. It seems probable that the furze was specially grown in order to fire the brick kilns that once occupied land where Brunswick Town was later laid out. For example, the Sussex Weekly Advertiser (6 May 1793) carried a report that two stacks of furze faggots belonging to Mr Blundel, brick-maker of Clapham, near Findon, had been accidentally set on fire. In fact, demand became so great in Hove that furze had to be imported from Rottingdean.

Furze, also called gorse, is at its best in April, and the yellow flowers are particularly welcome after a long winter. Birds such as linnets and stonechats like to build their nests amongst the prickly branches. But the sharp spines also reminded country folk of Christ’s Passion, and when they thought about the Crown of Thorns, they visualized it being made of furze.

Another interesting feature of Furze Hill is that underground there is a strata of strombolo to be found in the tertiary beds. Strombolo is a form of lignite or fossilized wood, and poor people used it for fuel. Unfortunately, strombolo also contained sulphur, and so when it was burned, it gave off the most appalling smell. Not that local people had to dig for it because stromobolo was often washed up on the beach, and still does sometime to this day. Poor folk in Brighton were discouraged from using this free form of fuel in case the stink upset the aristocratic visitors.

A Road

On 10 January 1849 an agreement was signed between Baron de Goldsmid and Henry Prescott of 27 Borough Street, Brighton, to make up a road for £82-10s, and to keep it in good repair. The road was to run from the north side of Mr McWhinnie’s house in Upper Brunswick Place to the south-west corner of Mr Rooper’s garden wall, and then east towards the Hove boundary. The road was to be constructed of chalk and shingle from the beach; £60 was to be paid when the road was completed and the remainder ‘after such road shall have been kept in good repair for one year’.

The 1851 Census

In 1851 there were eight households living in Furze Hill:

Sarah Thornhill - She was aged 65 and was described as a landed proprietor. She lived in the house with three female servants and one male servant.

John Davison – He was aged 55 and a civil servant with the East India Company. He lived with his wife, two female servants, and on census night there were two visitors.

George Carr – He was a 40-year old magistrate and landed proprietor. He shared the house with his wife, three daughters, one son, a governess, four female servants, and one male servant.

Frederick Wright – He was aged 42 and earned his living as a house-seller. He lived with his wife, one son, two female servants and one male servant.

William Bodley – He was a retired physician aged 77, and the household contained his wife, two daughters, two female servants, and one male servant. (See also under Beaconsfield below.)

Miss Sarah Green – She was a 68-year old fund holder. It was an all-female establishment with two female servants and nobody else.

It should be noted that employing a male servant was something of a status symbol because you had to buy a licence and in 1853 it cost one guinea a year. Lord North had introduced the tax in 1777 to help defray the expenses incurred by the American War of Independence.

It is amusing to note that the remaining occupants of Furze Hill came somewhat lower on the social scale.

William Watts – He was the head of the household, and was described as a 46-year old coal merchant. According to Henry Porter, Watts’ Laundry was established in 1835. By 1851 it seems that his wife Elizabeth was the laundress and employed ‘45 hands’. Their daughters, Anna aged 21, and Harriet aged 17, were laundresses as well. Also in the household were two other daughters, two sons, a nephew, and one female servant.

Thomas Parker – He was a 31-year old laundryman while his wife was a laundress. They had one son, and one female servant living with them.

(Surprisingly enough, there continued to be a laundry on this site until at least the 1960s, while the laundry became known as Parker & Watts by 1913, and later became the Wick Laundry. However, the location of the laundry by the 1960s was no longer designated as being in Furze Hill but was recorded as being on the corner of York Avenue and Osmond Road.)

House Names

In the 1852 Directory there were six entries under Furze Hill, but only five house names were recorded:

Furze Hill

Furze Hill Villa

Furze Hill Cottage

Gertrude Cottage

Ailesbury Villa (later spelt Aylesbury)

By 1851 Gertrude Cottage was noted as a furnished house, and new entries in the Directory were Merton House and Swiss Cottage, the latter being situated at the entrance to what later became St Ann’s Well Gardens. George Tester lived in the latter, and he was a gardener who tended the private grounds.

A section of The Illustrated Map of Brighton and its Vicinity, published in 1851 by C. Wilmot.

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
1851 map of Furze Hill
(The blue band - dotted line shows the boundary between Hove and Brighton Borough Councils)

Ordnance Survey Map 1877

It shows Furze Hill swinging round to the north-east, while the buildings belonging to Wick Farm were set well back. Further along the road there is a lodge on either side, while on the east side were Wick Hill and Wick Lodge. Wick Hill had a formal garden including part laid out as walks among four concentric circles of trees or bushes. There was another lodge on the north side, followed by Furze Hill Cottage and Furze Hill Villa, while on the south side there were Furze Hill Lodge, Merton House and Ailesbury Villa. It appears that some of the properties were subject to name changes, which makes their history somewhat difficult to trace.

Ordnance Survey Map 1909

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
Furze Hill and surrounding area in 1909

St Ann’s Well Gardens

copyright © J.Middleton
By the time this postcard was on sale in around 1910, Swiss Cottage had acquired another story

In view of the importance of this lovely green space, the entrance to it from Furze Hill is a real disappointment. It is especially sad when you look at old postcards and see the charming entrance with its iron railings and Swiss Cottage on the north side. There is also the fact that when the gardens became a public park in 1908 this entrance was the main one. Before the opening ceremony, Furze Hill was lined with carriages carrying important personages to the event.

Today, you simply trudge up the road past high-rise flats on both sides, when you suddenly encounter a patch of grass and some trees. The helpful map on a council-supplied board is the only indication of what it is all about. At least at Hove Park the red-brick pillars have been retained, and never mind there is neither wall nor railings because the pillars remind you of the importance of this open space and the pride of Hove Council in purchasing the land. The important history of St Ann’s Well Gardens has been completely ignored.

Street Lamps

In 1891 the surveyor suggested that three new lamps should be erected in Furze Hill, and the existing ones re-arranged so that lamps would be spaced 150-yds apart.

A new lamp was also to be placed close to the drinking trough, which was situated in a dark place at the corner of Lansdowne Road.

The Wick Estate

In 1906 the Wick Estate, belonging to the Goldsmid family, still owned a good deal of land in the area. A letter from the Wick Estate office, 16 Palmeira Square, and dated 9 February 1906, was sent to Hove Council stating that they were about to deal with thirteen acres on the north side of Furze Hill. The land was held under various tenancies, some lapsed, but the Wick Estate was willing to offer the land to Hove Council on a 100-year lease at a nominal cost of £500 a year in order that the land could become a public park. The letter added ‘It in no wise represents an adequate return upon the value of the land, but, if adopted, it will secure to Hove, the most naturally wooded land here’.

Hove Council had long had their eyes on this piece of land, but had been held back by the cost of acquiring it. However, they were not interested in a lease, much preferring to opt for the freehold. A deal was done, the land was sold to Hove Council for £10,000, and St Ann’s Well Gardens opened in 1908.

But in 1907 the Wick Estate continued to own the entrance lodge, known as Swiss Cottage, the stables, gardens, tennis courts and cottage belonging to The Wick, Wick Lodge (by then occupied by St Michael’s Hall, a girls school) Aylesbury, Furze Hill Lodge, the stables and land on the north side of Furze Hill.

In 1913 Furze Hill was widened on the west side, south of the entrance to The Wick. In order for the widening to take place, Hove Council had to pay Mr d’Avigdor Goldsmid £50 for a small strip of land, and £10 to Mr Uhtoff for a small piece of his garden, and there were also fees to the solicitor.

House Notes

Aylesbury – In earlier records the name of this house was spelled Ailesbury. The 1861 census records that the house was occupied by 57-year old Frederick Wright, a pianoforte merchant. He was evidently very fond of music and it is reputed that the famous singer Jenny Lind (1820-1887) popularly known as the Swedish Nightingale, was once a guest in this house. Frederick Wright was a Brunswick Square Commissioner from 1851 to 1863.

Sir Berry Cusack-Smith (1859-1929) – He lived in this house with his wife and family from 1913 to 1927. He was born in Dublin and came from distinguished Irish stock, eventually becoming the 5^th baronet. He was educated at Eton and in 1884 he became a barrister in the Middle Temple. In 1890 he was appointed Her Majesty’s Consul in Samoa, and later he was Receiver and Custodian of Revenues in Samoa.

Back in England, he became the commanding officer of the 1^st Home Counties Brigade RFA, and it is said that the brigade never had a more popular head ‘while he achieved marked success in increasing the numerical strength and efficiency of the Brigade (he) endeared himself to all ranks by his unfailing courtesy, urbanity of manner and consideration’. When the First World War broke out in 1914, the Territorials were mobilised and Cusack-Smith commanded his brigade in India and Mesopotamia; he was invalided out of service in 1917, and returned to Aylesbury. On retirement he was made an honorary colonel, and he kept up his interest in the volunteers. While he lived in this house, it became a tradition for him to give an annual dinner to the officers of his old artillery brigade who had been part of the Mhow Garrison, and not surprisingly the occasion became known as the Mhow Dinner.

Cusack-Smith also allowed the gardens of Aylesbury to be used in the raising of money for good causes. One such event took place in June 1921 when a garden fete was held in aid of the Sussex Throat and Ear Hospital. The reporter wrote ‘The weather was perfect; and the delightful gardens, just now in the zenith of their summer beauty and with a wealth of flowers and countless shady nooks, were thronged all the afternoon’.

The band of the 57^th (Home Counties) Brigade RFA was in attendance and tea was served near the water-lily pond on the top lawn. Cusack-Smith had roped in his family to help with the event; Dermot Cusack-Smith was dressed as an Italian clown for the comic circus, while Miss Sarita Cusack-Smith sold chocolates and sweets from a stall set up under a spreading tree. Lady Cusack-Smith was resplendent in ‘draped black charmeuse mingled with gold lace with a hint of royal blue about it’, a large hat adorned with black cherries, and a fine pearl and platinum neck chain. There were all sorts of stalls and sideshows, and the comic circus was held in the adjacent garden of St Michael’s Hall. The Cusack-Smiths had another residence called Redlands at Minehead.

Cusack-Smith was closely involved with the Brighton & Hove branch of the British Red Cross Society VAD, and in 1920 he became organising secretary for a rally of over 1,000 Girl Guides that was held at the Sussex County Cricket Ground, and the girls were inspected by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll. In 1928 he left Hove to live at Horsham, and was twice married.

In Hove Cemetery there is a stone in memory of Sarah Allin who died on 12 February 1916 at Aylesbury. She was the fifth daughter of John Allin of Sandford on Thames, Oxfordshire, and she was described as the devoted friend of Lady Cusack-Smith.

Beaconsfield - This house was built in around 1850 by the celebrated Decimus Burton (1800-1881) who also designed another house in Furze Hill, which was originally named Furze Hill but later changed to Wick Hall. Beaconsfield had a name change too – just to add to the confusion – and only acquired this name in 1889, having originally been known as Merton House. Burton worked as an architect from a remarkably young age, being not twenty years old when he embarked on his career. He undertook some prestigious commissions in London, and at Hove he designed the two wings of Adelaide Crescent, having originally conceived the idea of a curved terrace rather like Royal Crescent in Brighton, and this plan was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1851.

Merton House was the family home of retired physician William Holme Bodley (1780-1855) who had married his wife Mary Ann in 1812 and produced a family of three sons and six daughters. The eldest son, Revd William Bodley, caused his father to disown him because he defected from the Church of England to join the Roman Catholic Church. It is somewhat ironic that his brother (the youngest son) George Frederick Bodley (1827-1907) became a famous architect who did such sterling work on behalf of the Church of England, both in building new churches, and the repair and maintenance of so many older churches. In Sussex Bodley’s work include St Michael and All Angels, Brighton (1855) St Wilfrid’s Church, Haywards Heath (1861-5) and St Mary & St Magdalene, Brighton (1862). It seems that Bodley lived at Merton House for a short time, perhaps while he was busy with St Michael and All Angels.

The interior of St Mary & St Mary Magdalene, Bread Street, Brighton
designed by George Frederick Bodley (1862)

It was fortunate for young Bodley that the eminent Sir George Gilbert Scott was a relative by marriage to his mother; he became a pupil to the great man, and thus got off to a flying start. Another great name associated with Bodley was William Morris, and indeed the friendship proved fruitful for Morris because Bodley’s commissions for stained-glass windows was a great help in placing Morris’s firm on a firm financial footing. It is also claimed that Bodley might have designed two of the firm’s early wallpapers. Unhappily, for whatever reason by the late 1860s the friendship had cooled, and Bodley took his commissions elsewhere.

In the north-west corner of the churchyard belonging to St Andrew’s Old Church, Hove, there are three Bodley graves belonging to the architect’s father, brother, and his mother who lived to the grand age of 92.

Beaconsfield was demolished in 1958.

Furze Croft – The Original Site – On this site there once stood an old house known variously as Wick House, Wick Hill and simply The Wick. The house was already in existence in 1796 when Wick House was leased for £145 per annum. The deed was dated 12 December 1796 and was for a period of 8¾ years, the property being owned by John Thomson of Austin Friars, London, who leased it to Sir Godfrey Vassall Webster of Battle Abbey. The deal included the coach house, stable, and use of the road plus seven acres. Webster died on 3 June 1800 and the remainder of the lease went to Richard, 2^nd Earl of Lucan at £80 a year. But his lordship did not stay long, and passed the lease on to Culling Smith of Harley Street.

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
This 1826 print shows the original Wick House on Furze Hill north of Brunswick Square

Sicklemore penned the following description in 1815 ‘This mansion, the property of Revd T. Scutt, to whom the chalybeate also belongs, is situated near the spring, upon a rising ground, enclosed and surrounded by a lawn, garden, shrubbery etc and commanding a pleasing variety of land and sea views’. But another writer, Daniels, pointed out that the house would have had an uninterrupted view of the brick-kilns to the water’s edge.

Sir Edward Kerrison (1776-1853) lived in the house from around 1818 to 1825. He had married Mary Martha from Fife in 1811 but pursued a military career, eventually rising to the rank of Major General. He is notable on account of having been one of Wellington’s officers at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The Kerrison’s son, Edward Clarence Kerrison was born at Wick House on 2 January 1821, and baptised at St Andrew’s Old Church, Hove, 17 March the same year. The year 1822 was a very sad time for the Kerrisons because their two small daughters died and were buried in St Andrew’s churchyard – they were Mary Adelaide Maynard Kerrison who died 19 June 1822 aged five years, and Ann Kerrison who died 25 June 1822 aged four years. The Kerrisons moved to 27 Brunswick Terrace in 1825. Kerrison served as MP for Eye, Suffolk from 1820 to 1852. His second wife was a daughter of the 3^rd Earl and Countess of Ilchester, but they did not have any children.

General St John then occupied Wick House for a short time followed by Revd Edward Everard who was the proprietor of St Andrew’s Chapel, Waterloo Street, Hove, and also ran an academy for young gentlemen in Wick House from 1829 to 1838. George Basevi, the architect who restored St Andrew’s Old Church wrote to Everard on 14 November 1836 ‘I hope having completed my labor (sic) of Hove Church I shall be considered worth my reward. I therefore enclose my account’. The letter was despatched from London by coach, and Everard promptly sent it on to the churchwardens, heading his letter ‘The Wick’.

copyright © National Portrait Gallery, London
Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid (1778-1859)
by and published by Richard Dighton
hand-coloured etching, published August 1824
NPG D10919

Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid (1778-1859) owned Wick House from 1830 when he purchased the Wick Estate, and lived there while having a new house constructed nearby in 1840 called initially Furze Hill, and later Wick Hall. Goldsmid had another property near Regent’s Park, London, but when he stayed at Hove he preferred to occupy the old house and lease the new one. In 1841 Goldsmid was absent from the house and the only occupants were four servants, two male and two female. Goldsmid was solicitous about the spiritual welfare of his servants and when he donated a piece of land on which St John’s Church was built, he stated that he wanted to endow a sitting attached to Wick House, so that his servants could attend services without having to pay.

Daniels also wrote that Goldsmid ‘turned the farmhouse into a country mansion and the grounds into a paradise’ which later became part of St Ann’s Well Gardens.

Revd Thomas R. Rooper and his family lived in Wick House, then called Wick Hill, for over twenty years, and were recorded as living there in the censuses of 1841, 1851, and 1861. In 1861 Rooper was a retired 79-year old clergyman, and his household included the following:

His wife Persis,

His sister-in-law

Their son John Rooper, aged 51, a retired Army Captain

Their daughter-in-law Charlotte, aged 42

Their grandson Herbert, aged 8

Their grand-daughter Alice, aged 16

Their grand-daughter Lucy, aged 10

Nine servants, including a butler, footman, lady’s maid, cook, house-maid, parlour-maid and kitchen-maid.

Rooper moved south because of the delicate health of some members of his family. They lived in some state at Wick Hill, and on the walls were three original portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds of Shakespeare, Edmund Malone the Irish actor, and Samuel Johnson. J. Horace Round (1854-1928) the famous historian, remembered being taken as a child to visit Mr Rooper ‘the quaint old clergyman’. But Rooper was full of good works and as the Brighton Gazette (13 April 1865) stated ‘there were few days when he did not visit some house of sorrow or distress’. Rooper also immersed himself in a campaign to bring education to the poor, persuading the National Society to take an interest in Hove, then fund-raising to build a new school in Farman Street. For six years he funded the poorest scholars out of his own pocket.

It is touching to note that as an elderly man he entertained some 200 of his former scholars in the schoolroom, and many of them travelled long distances to be there. He taught at the school as well – Bible studies of course, but other subjects ranging from Roman history to natural history. In fact he did not retire from his endeavours until 1863 when his eyesight and hearing were failing. When he died, his estate was worth £40,000, a considerable sum in those days. There is a large memorial to him in the north aisle of St Andrew’s Old Church. His widow Persis died in 1871.

Their children were also remarkable. The youngest son, Major Edward Rooper of the Rifle Brigade, served his country for twenty years, and was mortally wounded at the Battle of Inkerman during the Crimean War. Another son became a clergyman, Revd William Henry Rooper, and was the incumbent of St Andrew’s Chapel, Waterloo Street, Hove. Their daughter Maryanne Rooper founded a girls’ school known as St Michael’s Hall in 1844 at Hove, and it is still in existence at Petworth. On 26 July 1946 a Mrs Duthy celebrated her 100th birthday at her flat in The Drive. Her maiden name was Georgina Persis Rooper, and she had been one of the grandchildren living at Wick Hill. One brother, H. N. Rooper was a solicitor in Lincoln’s Inn, a firm founded by their father, while another brother, F. G. Rooper, lived at Rottingdean and played a prominent part in local affairs.

In the 1860s the house again reverberated to the sound of school-boys and was known simply as The Wick. It became a well-known prep school and lasted until 1935. Some famous alumni were as follows:

Evelyn Baring

Rab Butler

Lord David Cecil

Robert Speaight, actor

The grounds also included Wick Garden House, which in 1871 was occupied by the gardener, and Wick Stables where James Cox, a 40-year old coachman lived with the following people:

His wife Emma, 32

James, 13

Emma, 10

Anna, 7

Ada, 5

Henry, 3

His brother Thomas Cox, a 24-year old groom

Thomas’s wife Eliza, 24

Eliza, aged one year

Thomas Griffith, 60-year old stableman

It is interesting to note that the original stables are still in existence as a private house named Furze Hill Cottage.

In 1907 the house and grounds still belonged to the Wick Estate. But the grand house was demolished in the 1930s.

Furze Croft – Modern Flats

Bell Modern Flats acquired the site occupied by The Wick and proceeded to develop the land, having also been responsible for Wick Hall. In February 1937 several advertisements appeared in the Sussex Daily News under the head-line ‘The Finest Position in Hove’. The following description ran as follows ‘Representing the highest development in modern flat construction Furze Croft worthily enhances the residential reputation of Hove. Admirably situated, Furze Croft actually adjoins the delightful St Ann’s Well Gardens, is within a few minutes of the sea and quite close to Hove and Brighton stations. From the choice of its favoured position to the advanced planning of the spacious rooms and the amenities provided Furze Croft satisfactorily meets the needs of those of progressive tastes, at moderate rentals. Each flat commands extensive views, either of sea, or garden and woodland and special features include uniformed porters – automatic electric lifts – electric heater point in every room – points for telephone and radio – constant softened hot water – central heating throughout – tiled bathrooms – ultra-modern fitments in kitchen with Cellulin flooring. All-inclusive rentals’.

All flats contained an entrance hall, kitchen and bathroom, and ranged from a one-bedroom flat for £85 a year to the largest family flat containing four bedrooms, two bathrooms and three WCs. At £275 a year. There was a letting office on site that was open every day, including Sundays.

Famous Residents of Furze Croft

Jeffrey Kruger MBE – The Krugers made Hove their home – firstly at Furze Croft, then in a small house off Dyke Road, and finally designed their own house at Hill Brow. Kruger was born in the East End of London, and the first time he ever left the area was when war broke out in 1939 and he was whisked off to safety in Letchworth, Hertfordshire. It was there that he discovered his love of piano, and although his mother soon fetched him home again, he continued with his piano studies. He started out as a classical pianist, and won some major contests at the age of twelve. Looking back over his life, Kruger realised that he had been a good pianist, but at the time he did not have the confidence to think so. After his stint of National Service, he took a job organising the distribution of films to 25,000 cinemas all over the country. He was good at the job but the pay was poor, and he moved into the more lucrative market of selling children’s films to cinemas; thus in the 1950s he began his association with Brighton and Hove, having discovered that it was his largest market in the south. In particular, he had fond memories of the Gondola Coffee Bar in Church Road, Hove, where the local talent used to congregate. In 1954 he met his future wife Rene, but the couple did not marry until four years later.

Meanwhile, Kruger had gone to work for Eros Films, while at the same time playing jazz piano at various venues in London. Then he hit on the idea of opening his own club, and the Flamingo Jazz Club was born. It acquired this name because Flamingo was the signature tune of the Kenny Graham Afro Cuban Band, which performed at the club. Joan Dowling and her husband Harry Fowler, who were popular film stars at the time, opened the club, while Johnny Dankworth, a noted jazz star, performed on the opening night. The Flamingo became a resounding success, and among the stars who performed there were Hoagy Carmichael, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, and Billie Holiday.

Later on in the Sixties, when interest in jazz began to wane, the club became a showcase for new talent such as the Moody Blues, and the Yardbirds. Other artists appearing there were The Animals, Manfred Mann, Georgie Fame, Deep Purple, and Led Zepplin. In 1974 the lease ran out and Kruger closed the club.

At the sane time as the club was flourishing, Kruger had launched Ember Records in 1957, and it was the first full-time British independent record company. By a happy chance, Kruger managed to acquire the foreign recording rights to Frank Sinatra’s song by being in the right place at the right time. While he and Rene were on honeymoon in Miami, they met and became friendly with Hank Sanicola, Sinatra’s friend and manager.

Kruger was an impresario and promoter too – furthering the careers of performers such as Barry White. He also worked with American artists such as Roy Orbison, Gene Pitney and Glenn Campbell. When he handled Billie Holiday’s European tour, he became a top management name in the USA. In addition he organised tours for Ella Fitzgerald, Barry White and the Jacksons, and was associated too with comedians George Burns and Jack Benny, singer Tammy Wynette, and Liberace. The final tours he arranged were in 1993 and 1994 for the Kirov Ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet

Jack Solomons OBE – He was a world-famous boxing promotor, and he occupied one of the flats for at least fifteen years. His father was an East End fishmonger, but Jack decided to become a professional boxer. It was not long before his wife Faye persuaded him that it might be a smarter idea to promote boxing matches instead of getting himself knocked about in the ring. His first ventures took place in lowly church halls but eventually he graduated to promoting 27 world-title fights; in the post-war era he was recognised as the world’s top boxing promoter. He earned the nicknames ‘The King outside the Ring’ and ‘Mr Boxing’. His most famous venture occurred in 1951 when he brought over Sugar Ray Robinson to fight Randolph Turpin. Most people thought that the result of the fight was a foregone conclusion. But in the event Turpin put up such a good fight that he was pronounced the victor. In 1978 Solomon was awarded the OBE for his services to boxing. He died in December 1979.

Hugh Willoughby - According to the 1951 Directory, he lived at flat number 50. He built up a fine collection of drawings and paintings by Picasso, which hung proudly on the walls of his flat. In the Evening Argus (21 January 1998) it was stated that Lavender Willoughby-Hancock had left estate valued at £3,225,925. Out of this amount she bequeathed £1.5 million to the Sussex Police Welfare Board, £1.5 million to the Guide Dogs for the Blind, and £1,000 to the Salvation Army.

Bombs

On 30 September 1940 two high-explosive bombs and two oil bombs fell on Furze Croft and Wick Hall, but fortunately the buildings suffered only minor damage. Apparently, you can still see where some of the balconies were repaired. Also in 1940 the restaurant located at Wick Hall was identified in a secret list of places in Hove that might serve as a rest centre in an emergency.

Furzedene – The original house called Furzedene, built in the 1890s, was the first one on the west side of Furze Hill, near the lodge at the old entrance to St Ann’s Well Gardens. The occupants were obviously keen cyclists because on 2 March 1893 plans were approved to build a cycle house in the garden. In 1959 the house was demolished, and the new block of flats was completed in 1964, the developers being Johnson Properties Ltd while the contractors were G. T. Crouch Ltd.

Furze Hill Court – On the east side of Furze Hill there once stood a large house called Beaconsfield, and it was most probably constructed in the 1840s. By the mid-1950s Mr Horton Ledger was instrumental in replacing large and uneconomic houses with blocks of flats – in this case there was a block of 53 flats to replace one old house that was demolished in 1958. Gotch & Partners of Brighton and London designed the flats in a cruciform shape especially to give each of the four wings a pleasing aspect. Rice & Son of Brighton were the builders, and Horton Ledger managed the flats. Unlike the large developments of Furze Croft and Wick Hall, these flats were not rented, and were on sale for prices ranging from £2,500 to £3,950.

Furze Hill House – The original house was built in the 1840s, in the late 1870s it was the home of Martin Kenneth Angelo (1837-1912), an East India Merchant. His brother Lieutenant Frederick Cortlandt Angelo (1825-1857) was killed in the Cawnpore (Kanpur) Massacre of the 27 June 1857. There is a memorial to Lieutenant Frederick Cortlandt Angelo in the Anglican Church of All Saints, Kanpur.

On 4 May 1857 Helen Angelo’s husband, Lieutenant Frederick Angelo of the 16th Bengal Native Infantry, was appointed superintendent of the 4th Division of the Ganges Canal. The Angelos had two young daughters with them, Helena aged five and Catherine aged three, and they were happily ensconced in a boat on the river. But on 22 May matters took a serious turn, and nearly all the European women and children were ordered to go into an entrenched camp. Helena found the atmosphere quite cheerful with singing and laughter, but her husband was very anxious and had been ordered to assist at the Battery.

On 28 May Helena wrote in her diary that her husband insisted she and their daughters, together with Mrs Volk, should leave at once and go to Calcutta. Helena was horrified by his decision, believing that husband and wife should be together as far as possible and she recorded that it was ‘much against my wish’ but they left that very evening; it is believed they were among the last European women to leave Cawnpore before the siege commenced. It was a poignant parting because her husband must have known she was pregnant, and their son Frederick was born later on in Calcutta; it is indeed sad that he was never able to see his only son.

Not surprisingly, given the circumstances, some pages are missing from Helena’s diary. However, the family tradition is that they escaped by boat, and if it had not been for some loyal Indian family servants, they might not have survived. Whenever, the servants suspected danger from the mutinous sepoys on the river banks, the women and children were concealed at the bottom of the boat. At length the exhausted family reached Calcutta in early July. On 6 July Helena wrote that there was still ‘no news from my own darling’ not realising that she was already a widow.

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
An horrific account of the massacre reprinted in the
Brighton Herald on 19 September 1857

In Calcutta, a Relief Fund was quickly established, first funded by public subscription and then money poured in from Britain at the rate of £800 or more a day from July 1857. The unfortunate Angelo family caused a deep impression. Charlotte Canning, the Vicereine, was much moved by the sight of ‘those little innocent sweet-looking children, who so very narrowly escaped being murdered’. Lady Canning became god-mother to Helena’s baby son who was named Frederick Canning Coutlandt Angelo. He followed in his father’s footsteps and was already a lieutenant when he was killed in action in Afghanistan at the age of twenty-two.

But Lady Canning did not live long enough to see her godson grow up. In 1861 she went on an expedition taking her painting materials with her because she loved to sketch the scenery and people. She even managed to paint Mount Everest. But she caught malaria and died; she was buried in the garden of the British Embassy at Barrackpore. Her distraught husband, Viscount Canning, having completed his term as Viceroy, sailed back to England where he died a mere seven months later.

The Relief Fund paid for the Angelos’ food and lodging, new clothes, and the cost of the passage home to England, while the Government awarded Mrs Angelo a pension, as well as a whole year of her husband’s salary.

The family sailed from India on 20 November 1857 to return to the United Kingdom and lived in St Helier, Jersey, from the 1860s until the late 1870s. The daughter Helena returned to India in 1870 to marry Richard Whiteway, a magistrate in the Bengal Civil Service. In 1874 Frederick left Jersey to enrol for officer training at Sandhurst, his mother Helena and sister Catherine moved to Hove in the late 1870s to live with their relative, Martin Angelo at Furze Hill House.

In St Andrew’s Old Church, Hove, there is a rather sad memorial to Lieutenant Frederick Canning Cortlandt Angelo of the 31st Bengal Staff Corps, who was killed in action at Fort Battye, Afghanistan, on 26 March 1880 aged 22.

The censuses of 1881 to 1901 shows Catherine along with her mother Helena living with her uncle Martin Angelo at Furze Hill House, the census also shows the family had five servants. After her uncle Martin had left Hove in 1891 to live on his farm in Scotland, Miss Catherine Cortlandt Angelo took over Furze Hill House, her mother Helena died in 1908 aged 91 and sister Helena (Whiteway) died in 1911 at Shottermill, Surrey, aged 58.

copyright © Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
Brighton Herald 15 February 1902
St Mary's is the nearest Roman Catholic Church to Furze Hill

On the day war broke out in 1939 Miss Cortlandt Angelo allowed part of her house to become a British Red Cross War Depot, and there were five sub-depots. Some 14,000 women gave voluntary service under the supervision of Miss D. M. Gore-Brown. The depots closed in 1945. Miss Catherine Cortlandt Angelo died in 1949 aged 95.

The Gables – It is possible that this house was built for the Smithers family. The house was not mentioned in Directories until 1889 when it was occupied by Herbert Welsford Smithers, who with his brother Edward Allfree Smithers founded their brewery in Brighton in 1906.

By 1894 Edward Smithers was recorded as the occupant, and on 6 January 1896 his son, Edward Henry Keith Smithers, was born at The Gables, and he was still living there eighteen year later. He went to school at The Wick, just near by. The brothers Herbert and Edward, were unusually close and when Herbert died on 9 June 1913, Edward was unable to cope with his loss and died on 5 February 1914. Their grieving father was then left with only one daughter, and he gave two stained-glass windows in All Saints Church, Hove, in memory of his sons. Unhappily, there were further tragedies to come for the Smithers family. Edward’s son, who was born at The Gables, became a 2^nd lieutenant in the Manchester Regiment and died on 11 July 1914 when he was only seventeen years old. Herbert’s son, Captain Reginald Cuthbert Welsford Smithers of the King’s Owen Yorkshire Light Infantry was killed in action near Ypres on 16 August 1917; he was nineteen.

copyright © Brighton & Hove City Libraries copyright © J.Middleton
This fine portrait of Captain Smithers is stored in the Roll of Honour Archive at Hove Library, the elegant memorial plaque in All Saints is in memory of Captain Reginald Cuthbert Welsford Smithers.

George Herbert Loftus, 6^th Marquess of Ely (1864-1935) lived at The Gables from around 1919 until his death. In 1928 his only surviving son and heir, Viscount Loftus, was married at St John’s Church, Hove, to Miss Margaret Gordon Gronwold whose parents lived at 53 Brunswick Square. Not surprisingly, the local Press went to town on such a fashionable society wedding in their midst; three columns were devoted to a description of the happy event, while another two columns recorded all the wedding gifts.

The Pines

In February 1903 F. T. Cawthorn submitted plans on behalf of Dr W. A. Bowring for a detached house on the north side of Furze Hill, and these were approved by Hove Council. Dr Bowring was an eminent surgeon, and Bowring Way, near the Royal Sussex County Hospital, was named after him. Dr Bowring died in 1950 but his daughter, known to her friends as Molly, continued to live in the house. She was an accomplished cellist, she loved gardening and travel and during the 1950s she was a ‘dresser’ at Glyndebourne Opera House. In November 1982 she moved into a nursing home on Brighton seafront and died in May 1984. She wanted The Pines to be used as an old people’s home, but the Court of Protection was managing her financial affairs, and ordered the property to be sold. It was stated that the house was virtually surrounded by blocks of flats, and the site alone would be worth £100,000 on the market. Local architect Mark Fisher organised a petition to save the house from destruction because he said it had considerable architectural merit, and moreover it was the last old house still standing on Furze Hill. Then it transpired that Miss Bowring had left the house to the Royal United Kingdom Beneficent Association, a London-based charity for the elderly. She also specified that the house must not be sold or demolished before the end of the century, and it must be used by the specified charity.

Meanwhile, squatters moved in during October 1984, and an eviction order was taken out the following month. But the house remained empty and more squatters soon arrived, stripping the lead off the kitchen roof. In July 1985 the Association submitted plans to convert the house into a nursing home for the elderly. The idea was to extend the building into the grounds so that the place could become a 32-bed home, which would accommodate a viable number to make it worthwhile. The project involved demolishing part of the house but the facade was retained, and the three-storey nursing home took shape. The project cost £1.25 million and those involved were as follows:

Salmon Speed, architects

Nigel Rose & Partners, quantity surveyors

Travers, Morgan & Partners, structural engineers

In January 1987 a topping-out ceremony was held, and the project was due to be completed by July the same year.

In 2021 The Pines was described as a ‘purpose-built luxury nursing home’ and even allows residents to have their own furniture, if practical, and even pets by arrangement. At present there are 35 single rooms, with 29 rooms having en-suite WCs. There has been changes of ownership over the years – for example the present owners, County Court Care, acquired The Pines in 2018 from the Gracewell Health Group.

In June 2021 Country Court Care presented new plans for The Pines that would increase the number of bedrooms to 42, all with en-suite bathrooms. In order to achieve this, two new extensions are proposed for the east and west sides of the building; in addition there would be a single-storey extension at the front after the removal of the present conservatory. The Planning Committee of Brighton & Hove City Council recommended approval.

However, neighbours are concerned about over-development of the site, and there are worries about a retaining wall. Neighbours would like an independent structural assessment to be undertaken, with The Pines paying the costs, and the information shared with the neighbours. There were two letters of concern, and five letters of objection. A spokesman for Country Court Care stated The Pines is very popular with increasing demand for places. The Pines also scores a high level of satisfaction from both residents and relatives. (Argus 8/6/21)

Famous Residents of The Pines

Lady Muriel Dowding (1908-1993) – Lady Dowding spent the last two years of her life at The Pines. She was born at London but educated at a convent in St Leonard’s, Sussex. But Catholicism does not seem to have made a lasting impression upon her because she later became a theosophist. She was also a vegetarian with a strong commitment to the better treatment of animals. In this, she was ahead of the curve, founding the Beauty Without Cruelty Campaign way back in 1959, in order to stop unfortunate laboratory animals having cosmetics tested on them, and also making the wearing of furs a social no-go area; she organised fashion shows at home and abroad, show-casing fake furs on the cat-walk. She was also much involved with the RSPCA. Her second marriage was to Air Chief Marshall Lord Dowding who played such a major part in the Second World War. But when she died, there was little money left because she had given away so much to charity.

Bernard Jordan – He was the most famous resident because he became something of a national hero in 2014 when he decided he must attend the 70^th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. The only problem was that he decided to slip out of The Pines on his own without informing anyone, and he made it across the Channel. The public loved the story, and when he was happily ensconced in The Pines once again and celebrating his 90^th birthday, he received thousands of cards. He died on 20 December 2014, and his wife who was also at The Pines, died a week later, and so the couple had a double funeral. In February 2021 there came news that a film was being made about the exploit called The Great Escaper and starring Michael Caine. The Pines said they were delighted.

The Great Escaper came to cinemas nation-wide on 6 October 2023. It starred Michael Caine and the late Glenda Jackson, and had already received 4-star rating from several reviewers. Michael Caine thought that his film career had come to an end because he was about to turn 90 and he had not received any offers for three years. The film was delayed because of lockdown but it gave Caine and fellow veteran actor John Standing, aged 89, plenty of time to get to know the script. (Mail on Sunday: You 24/9/23)

It is pleasant to record that six staff members from The Pines were delighted to receive a ‘red carpet invitation’ to the premiere of The Great Escaper. Among their number was Tiago Conceicao who is now the manager of The Pines, but on the day that Bernard Jordan ‘escaped’ to France, was on duty as a registered nurse. He said they were proud to be a small part in such an inspiring event. (Daily Mail 14/10/23)

Vicki Page (1927-1995) – Her real name was Ruby Doreen Avey, and she was born at Hove. She enjoyed considerable success as a romantic novelist writing under the name of Vicki Page. She lectured at Sussex University, and was a tutor in creative writing at Hove Adult Education Centre. There were no airs and graces about her, and she lived in Norway Street, Portslade, where she nursed her mother for many years; she was a frequent visitor to Portslade Library.

Wick Hall – The Old House – The house was originally called Furze Hill, and after it had changed its name, Wick Hall was listed in the Directories under Wick Hill but by 1890 it appeared in its true location of Furze Hill. The house was designed by the famous architect Decimus Burton (1880-1881) who designed another house in Furze Hill called Merton House, and then Beaconsfield. Wick Hall was built for Isaac Lyon Goldsmid who had recently purchased the Wick Estate. The property was erected on a site east of Wick House, and although work started in 1833 it was not completed until 1840. The house was a three-storey edifice with a deep cornice extending around the second storey. Overlooking the gardens there was a large curved bay, which had four columns and Ionic capitals The top of the house was adorned with decorated urns, placed at intervals along the parapet. It was said to have been one of Burton’s finest villas. It seems odd that Goldsmid, who had another property in London, did not stay in the magnificent villa when he was at Hove, but preferred to stay in the old Wick House, and lease out the new one.

Major George Way lived in Wick Hall from 1878 to 1889. He was a philanthropic gentleman and from 1878 for ten years he donated £26 a year to the Brighton Society for the Blind. In October 1879 William Booth (1829-1912) popularly known as ‘The General’ of Salvation Army fame, visited Wick Hall. In his letter home to his family he wrote, rather ungallantly, ‘For the sake of The Army and the souls of the people I sat fully one hour and a half over twelve courses of dinner with half a dozen of wordly, godless people’. Apparently, Major Way was not at the dinner himself, and it fell to two of his relatives to entertain the General – they were a captain and a vicar. The vicar was over seventy years old, but interestingly enough, he had a young wife aged around 27. The next morning two of the gentlemen went hunting, and Major Way gave the General £30 to be getting on with, saying that the Salvation Army could not carry on without plenty of powder. Major Way died in February 1889.

By 1892 Sir John Henry Greville Smythe (1836-1901) was in residence, and by 1904 Alderman Jeremiah Colman (1853-1939) had taken a lease on the property.

Mentioned in the above are Major Way and Lady Greville Smythe,
the widow of the naturalist Sir John Greville Smythe of Bristol,
coincidently Lady Greville Smythe’s maiden name was ‘Way’.

In 1908 he purchased the property outright for £12,000 plus three acres. He had been Mayor of Hove 1889-1902, and apparently his mayoralty was universally regarded as ‘one of the most brilliant Hove has known’. The Colmans liked to move around – their first residence on coming to Hove in 1895 was 14 King’s Gardens, and their last move was to 2 Grand Avenue. In 1932 the Colmans celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary.

It is interesting to note that in May 1923 a letter from W. H. T. Collings was sent to Hove Council offering them the freehold of Wick Hall and three acres for £25,000. It was suggested that the grounds could be added to St Ann’s Well Gardens, while the villa could be turned into a museum. Unhappily, the offer was turned down, presumably on the grounds of expense. Wick Hall was demolished in 1935, thus adding to the dismal list of Hove’s heritage neglect in the 1930s because the historic Well House in St Ann’s Well Gardens was knocked down, not to mention the lovely Hove Manor, which was also offered first to Hove Council.

Wick Hall (Flats) – The flats were erected on the site once occupied by the villa known as Wick Hall, and its grounds. An advertisement in the Sussex Daily News (19 June 1935) ran as follows: ‘Here in the most distinguished and fashionable part of Hove Wick Hall provides a residence of unique charm, dignity and convenience. This new estate brings to a lovely setting the fruits of the wide experience, which has made Bell Modern Flats pre-eminent’. Features included softened hot water, central heating, built-in kitchen fitments, electric lifts, garages, a balcony for every flat above the ground floor, and facilities for a restaurant under the residents’ control.

There were reasonable rents too – type A consisted of an entrance hall, living room, two bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom at £120 a year; type B had an entrance hall, lounge, dining room, two bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom at £135 a year; type C provided an entrance hall, lounge, dining room, three bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom at £160 a year.

There were frequent advertisements for the flats, and the one in the Sussex Daily News (4 September 1936) provided additional information such as there being a separate tradesmen’s entrance, and a ‘Roof Garden with views across Sea and Downland’. The head office for Bell Modern Flats was at 115 Park Street, London. At the top of the advertisement an elegant couple wearing hats exclaim ‘These really are the loveliest flats on the South Coast’. In case you did not get the message, the text also proclaimed ‘Wick Hall, in the finest position in Hove, provides a beautiful sea-side home at a moderate cost. Beautifully planned and equipped, it sets a standard of luxury and convenience unrivalled anywhere on the South Coast’.

In the 1938 Directory, no less than 98 names were listed, including the following:

Captain Brandon

Major Brady

Captain Henderson-Roe

Lieutenant Colonel Mackie

Major General Nightingale

Commander Scobell RN

Canon Williams

Famous Residents of Wick Hall

G. Tilghman Richards MBE – He lived in a flat in Wick Hall during the 1950s. He was a pioneer in the development of aircraft, having invented before the First World War the annular monoplane, popularly called the ‘flying doughnut’. He later became a senior research assistant at he Science Museum, and was awarded the MBE in 1953.

Denise Robins – The famous novelist visited Wick Hall often to see her mother, Mrs Groom, who lived in a flat there.

Alan Weeks (1923-1996) – The father of Alan Weeks was an interesting character as well. He was Captain Frederick Charles Weeks who was born in 1889 at Bristol. In 1904 at the age of fifteen he went to sea for the first time; by the time he was aged 24 he was second mate of a four-masted barque, and at 28 he was the captain of a 10,000 ton ship. During the First World War he was chief officer aboard the tanker Sequoya. In 1917 a German U-boat attacked the ship, and there was a 20-minute battle before the submarine sank. After the war, Weeks became captain of cross-Channel steamers Ravenswood and Waverley. In December 1928 Captain Weeks was appointed pier-master of the Palace Pier, Brighton, and it is not surprising to learn that he ran the place just like a ship. He always wore his uniform with his medal ribbons proudly attached. He retained the post until 1953 with an interlude during the Second World War when Lieutenant-Commander Weeks RNR served as beach-master at Deal in Kent on D-Day. He died on 29 December 1961.

Like his father, Alan Weeks too was born at Bristol, but the family moved to Brighton when his father became pier-master at the Palace Pier. Alan Weeks was educated at the Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School, and when the Second World War broke out, he joined the Merchant Navy. Two years later he transferred to the Royal Navy, serving on battleships and frigates, and rising from midshipman to lieutenant. After the war Weeks landed a job as a Public Relations Officer at the Sports Stadium, West Street, Brighton, where he stayed until 1965. Another member of staff was Barbara Jane Huckle who worked as a figure skater and trainer at the ice rink; he married her on 6 September 1947 at Shoreham.

Weeks had a long involvement with the Brighton Tigers Ice Hockey Club, and he acted as their secretary throughout his time at the stadium. In 1950 a BBC talent-spotter noticed Weeks at the stadium with the result that Weeks made his radio debut in 1951; he soon became known as ‘the golden voice of ice-skating’ and went on to enjoy a remarkable career as a sports commentator. He was the BBC commentator for the Winter Olympics in 1964 / 1968 / 1972 / 1985 / 1980 / 1984 / 1988 / 1992 / 1994, and the Olympics in 1968 / 1972 / 1976 / 1980 / 1984 / 1988. He was also to be found commentating on the World Cup and Commonwealth Games. Weeks was the commentator when Torvill and Dean won Olympic Gold Medal at Sarajevo, and they became close friends. Another Olympic ice-skating champion, Robin Cousins, commented that to him Weeks’s voice was the voice of skating, and it had spurred him on when he was a child. Another memorable occasion was when Weeks was commenting on the 1976 Olympics and David Wilkie won the 200-metre breast-stroke.

Everyone agreed that Weeks was a very professional performer. He was also a kind man, and people said he never had a harsh word to say about anybody. In February 1998 Alan Weeks was among the first 45 names chosen to go on the Walk of Fame at Brighton Marina. It seems so sad that such a man should have tragedy in his life too; his son, 27-year old Nigel, was found dead in his flat in Palmeira Square in February 1981, while in April 1992 his daughter, Beverley Noel, suddenly dropped dead outside her home in Lansdowne Place. Alan Weeks died at the age of 72 on 11 June 1996 in his flat at Wick Hall. Around 700 people attended his funeral at the Downs Crematorium on 21 June including David Coleman (sports commentator) Robin Cousins, Torvill and Dean, David Wilkie, Harry Carpenter, Chris Ellison, and Kenneth Wolstenholme.

A Notorious Incident

This famous incident concerned two men, Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Daniel Wintle (1897-1966) and Frederick Harry Nye, a solicitor, of Furze Hill. When the gallant old soldier died the Daily Express was moved to write that Wintle ‘took more boredom out of life in the 1950s than any other man in Britain’.

Wintle was born on 30 September 1897 at Mauripol, in the Ukraine (in 1897 the Ukraine was a part of the Russian Empire), the son of a British diplomat. When he grew up he became a dashing soldier and a famous eccentric. He entered the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich in 1915 and was soon commissioned into the Royal Garrison Artillery. In July 1917 while serving on the Western Front during the First World War he was blown up by a landmine; he lost his left eye and kneecap, 5 ½ fingers and 1 ¼ thumbs, and thereafter wore a monocle. He was sent home to recuperate, and everyone thought his fighting days were over, except Wintle of course.

Wintle escaped from the hospital, and was soon back in France. In 1918 he captured 35 prisoners single-handed. By 1920 he was in Ireland as head of military intelligence, but at the end of the year he applied for a transfer and was posted to the 18^th Royal Hussars at Secunderabad. His career continued to be varied – he went to Cologne in 1923, joined the Royal Dragoons the same year, broke a leg in a riding accident, and undertook another stint in India where he contracted septicaemia.

From 1931 to 1935 he was an instructor at St Cyr, the French Staff College. When the Second World War broke out, Wintle was given the delicate task of assessing just how long France would hold out against the Nazis. In June 1940 he tried to commandeer an aircraft to fly him to Boulogne where he hoped to rescue some members of the French Air Force. Instead, he found himself incarcerated in the Tower of London. Naturally enough, the case against him was by no means straightforward, and after some weeks of deliberation the War Office decided it might be more prudent not to place him before a courts martial. Therefore they offered Wintle his freedom, which he promptly declined. A courts martial did take place after all, but the authorities must have been in something of a panic because the twelve original charges against him were somehow reduced to one, and all he received was a reprimand.

He was soon back in France, this time as an agent, but he was betrayed by a double agent. He was placed in a cell in Toulon from which he twice escaped. While he was thus incarcerated he refused to eat until his French warders smartened themselves up; they complied.

In 1948 Wintle began a legal battle that was to bring him to the verge of bankruptcy. The cause was his second cousin Kitty Wells, a wealthy spinster who had a home in Orpington besides a place at Hove. Wintle’s sister Marjorie was Kitty’s companion and nurse for over twenty-five years, and Kitty assured her that she would not be forgotten in her will. But when Kitty died in 1947 poor Marjorie received a mere £40; there was £40 each to eight other members of the Wintle family, an annuity of £300 to Kitty’s sister Mildred, £2,000 to charity, and the residue went to Brighton solicitor Frederick Harry Nye of Furze Hill who had drawn up Kitty’s will in August 1947. (By 1957 the residue amounted to £44,000). The will was disputed by Miss Vera Wells and Lieutenant Colonel A. D. Wintle on behalf of thirty-one cousins of Miss Kathleen Wells.

At first Wintle went through the usual channels of trying to contact Nye to make his views known but Nye refused to accept his letters or telephone calls. Then Wintle thought up a cunning stratagem, which was to make him a household name throughout the land. Wintle set himself up in a Hove flat borrowed from a friend, then posed as an important client, taking good care to disguise his voice. He invited Nye over to discuss a property deal and Nye duly arrived. Then Wintle produced a pistol, and forced the red-faced Nye to remove his trousers, revealing his long-johns in all their glory. Nye was made to stand in a corner with a dunce’s hat on his head while Wintle took a photograph. Then he released Nye and left him to walk home without his trousers. Wintle had chosen Hove for this scene on purpose because it would be more humiliating in staid Hove, whereas had it been staged at Brighton, people might have assumed it was ‘part of the normal frolics of that licentious town’. It was claimed that Wintle displayed Nye’s trousers in the trophy room of his London Club.

The police arrested Wintle, and in July 1955 he was tried at Lewes Assizes. The court refused to hear the circumstances leading up to the incident, and Wintle was sent to Wormwood Scrubs for six months. While he was there, it must have been some consolation to receive 200 letters of sympathy.

Upon his release, Wintle at once resumed his pursuit of Nye, compiling a detailed dossier. Wintle prosecuted Nye in the High Court, but inexplicably lost his case. However, Wintle was not going to let the matter rest, and so he dismissed his team of lawyers and presented the case himself to the House of Lords. This was a brave move on his part because he was obliged to mortgage his last possessions in order to raise money. In the end his crusade was justified because he became the first layman to take his case to the Lords and win.

Nye was ordered to forfeit all benefits from Kitty’s will, and was obliged to pay the costs as well. Wintle declared that he had been fighting clots all his life, and he supposed one would get him in the end. It did. He died in May 1966.

Sources

Brighton Herald

Census Returns

Dale, A. Fashionable Brighton (1947)

Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade

Evening Argus

Daniels, H. G. Hove with its Surroundings (1900)

Helena Angelo's diary of her escape from Cawnpore. 1857

Hove Council Minute Books.

Ordnance Survey May 1877

Lee, Christopher. Viceroys (2018)

National Library of Australia

Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove

Sicklemore, Eptitome of Brighton (1815)

Street Directories

Sussex Daily News 1935

Wojtczak, H. Notable Sussex Women (2008)

24 September 2021

Furze Hill, Hove.